Redecking my pontoon

[bobbarone56]

Well it looks like its time for me to redeck my pontoon boat this winter what plywood should i use as decking?? and what if anything do i treat the bottom of the deck with to help keep it from rotting, i am debating on using the ultra tuff non skid coating for the deck instead of carpet was just wondering if anyone has used this material for their deck and how do they like it?? any other hints on doing the redeck would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks Bob

 

[MH Hawker]

Re: Redecking my pontoon

Their several kinds of plywood that can be used. Personally when I re decked mine last year I went back with marine grade simply because my boat is a 1988 and it was the original deck it lasted and wasn't broke so didn't need to fix it.

Just don't use pressure treated it eats alum.

 

[Bama Hound]

Re: Redecking my pontoon

It is a good time to do a job like that now. Weather is good, not too hot,not too cold, not too many bugs. Little Red Riding Hood says, " Just right, let's re-deck the boat." You will get as many answers to this question as there are people that have done it. I will tell you what I did and you can use what you want and other experiences from board and come up with a workable plan.
First take all rails and furniture off and strip carpet up. Try to reuse stainless steel fasteners. Stainless is the only way to go especially since I see you are on salt water. The rest will be rusted beyond belief and you will have to cut them off. If you don't have a reciprocating saw (saws all ) and a set of bolt cutters you might consider getting them.
My deck was so rotten (boat had sat in yard for years) I started pulling off big chunks and used a bolt cutter on the bolts. Do this part outside cause it is a mess. If your deck is solid and you have an air compressor I would use a pneumatic chisel. Just a suggestion I say mine was rotten and I could break it off in chunks. It is the worst part IMO. Be SURE that after you get all the old deck off you get the pontoon frame sitting square and not twisted or warped. If you bolt your new deck down and the frame is in a out of square,twisted, or warped condition it will be that way from then on, after you bolt new deck down. As far as decking I used treated plywood. I painted it with Min Wax Helmsman polyurethane( two coats). Paint edges first and after you paint flat part go back and paint edges again. You are talking about a non skid surface on top so I would not do but one side, leaving best side of plywood for your non skid coating. I don't have any more to add past this. Do some before , during and after photos and post them. That way folks can get interested and you will get some good ideas. Good Luck!

 

[sawbld]

Re: Redecking my pontoon

If you have any pedistal seats, I added a little more support for those bolts .. as the deck gets older it may save you some time..

 

[bobbarone56]

Re: Redecking my pontoon

I have been checking out plywood wood for my deck marine is very expensive, PT is somewhat cheaper i know marine is 7 ply and PT only 5 ply but with marine being untreated wont it tend to rot quicker or do you seal the bottom with something. Also i was noticing my cross beams from toon to toon seem to be galvanized steel is this normal?? The boat is a 1974 harris flote bote. Im not doing the tear down yet gonna get a coupla more trips to the river with it before i shut it down the weather is just gorgeous this time of year down here. just trying to get all the materials together so when i start i can just keep going till its done. Also im on a budget but by the same token i dont want to have to redo this for quite a while as well. I see some say marine only but some say they use PT and works just fine has anyone used PT and how many yrs has it lasted ???? Thanks for all the info sure appreciate im still a newbie to pontoon boats

 

[MH Hawker]

Re: Redecking my pontoon

Well pt has a reactive chemical to aluminum, and it dissolves it. And untreated marine plywood lasts 20 plus years , alto a lot will seal it. If you do have steel cross members all the way around then PT wouldn't be a issue.

 

[5150abf]

Re: Redecking my pontoon

This has come up before and marine plywood is absolutely treated or it wouldn't last 20 years, it is just treated differently than regular PT.

Being in the pontoon industry I have seen thousands of skids of marine ply and they all have a sticker saying it is treated-do not use for food service-treated with arsenic ect ect and while it is more expensive it is worth it, the stuff just lasts forever, I built a big bird feeder out of that has been hangind outside in the Indiana weather for 7-8 years and is untouched.

My 2 cents would be that the deck is a major strutural part of the boat so make sure you get it bolted down really well, skimp on the bolts and it will start getting loose pretty quickly and this is a job you only want to do once.

 

[MH Hawker]

Re: Redecking my pontoon

When I said untreated I meant that a lot of people add a lot of different coatings ever thing from fiber glass to paint or water sealants. I didn't add any extra stuff. Mine wasn't bad and may of had several years of life left in it but I wanted to do a rebuild so I wouldn't have to fool with it later

I am 59 the boat is a 1988, its 24 years old and it was the original deck. Their were no extra screw holes or broken off screws to indicate it had ever been touched. If it holds up 21 years I will be 80. If I still have the boat then one of my grand kids can do it next time. The manufacturing treatment is more than enough.

I know in my case when I re decked the only thing I did do was to use a liberal amount very high quality silicone calking on cross members where the sheet seams contact the cross member before screwing it down to help stop water splash from the toons from coming through the deck. It was like that originally. I used a stainless drill/tap screw that was counter sank so the heads were below deck level and used the same silicone to level them out. And also filled the upper sheet seams. just to stop any thing from showing back through the carpet. and I may of over done the number of screws but I used 8 per seam on 1 foot centers just because. The original was on 24 inch centers with 4 screws per seam

I chose not to add any sealants simply because I didn't want to risk any bonding issues with the silicone. Later as I learned a good bit more I was glad I didn't. No matter how well it is sealed up eventual it will get wet and if it cant breath its going to stay wet then mold sets in and the rot starts. Lots of 10 year old glass boats with rotted transoms around.

 

[bobbarone56]

Re: Redecking my pontoon

Thanks for all the info i will use the marine as i dont want to do the job again as for fasteners what is recommended it looks like they are bolted to the cross beams but havnt taken apart yet this boat was redecked at some point in time by the guy i bought it from at least thats the story but he used like 1/2ply cuz you can see the very front is 3/4 then it transitions to 1/2 obviously he didnt do the job right so how many fasteners per sheet of ply would y'all suggest and what is better SS screws or elevator bolts (i think thats what they are called) thanks again for all the info sorry to be a pain in the rear!!!

 

[MH Hawker]

Re: Redecking my pontoon

I am not sure what a elevator bolt is but I used the drill/tap 3/16 in a stainless because it was just me working on it and the original screws were 3/16 drill/taps. That type of screw drills out the hole then treads its self in and holds very well. Very handy when working by your self. And like most things I do I tend to over kill, after it had drilled the hole I removed the screw and used a 1/2 wood spade bit to counter sink the hole so the head would be lower than the plywood then gave it a shot of silicone to stop any water intrusion then put the screw in. Then used a putty knife to smooth the silicone out and fill the hole making it flush with the deck. And I worked from the sheet center out to each side to spread the sheet out and hold it down tighter.

I use stainless because the old screws were plain steel and several had the shanks rusted to the point of uselessness.

And no problem at all, you will find the people here more than willing to help out. snickers , I tend to put a whole new shine on over kill though.

 

[sccatfish]

Re: Redecking my pontoon

I am not sure what a elevator bolt is but I used the drill/tap 3/16 in a stainless because it was just me working on it and the original screws were 3/16 drill/taps. That type of screw drills out the hole then treads its self in and holds very well. Very handy when working by your self. And like most things I do I tend to over kill, after it had drilled the hole I removed the screw and used a 1/2 wood spade bit to counter sink the hole so the head would be lower than the plywood then gave it a shot of silicone to stop any water intrusion then put the screw in. Then used a putty knife to smooth the silicone out and fill the hole making it flush with the deck. And I worked from the sheet center out to each side to spread the sheet out and hold it down tighter.

I use stainless because the old screws were plain steel and several had the shanks rusted to the point of uselessness.

And no problem at all, you will find the people here more than willing to help out. snickers , I tend to put a whole new shine on over kill though.

An elevator bolt is like a carriage bolt, except the head is flat instead of domed shape and a lot bigger. You can tighten them down and they'll be pretty much flat with the wood. Drill your hole, drop them in, and tighten the nut on the bottom side.