What kind of wood and carpet or not.

[firedawg662]

I have an 85 Bayliner 1710 and need to replace the casting decks. I have 2 questions. 1) What type of plywood do I need?
1/2" or 3/4" and what grade? CDX,AB or cabinet grade? Marine or not. Whichever will be sealed with an epoxy or several coats of Valspar. 2) I am considering painting the top and spreading sand or some other type of "grit" in final seal coat the to have traction on the deck as opposed to re-carpeting. Any advice and help is greatly appreciated. I will post pics of the project when I start.

 

[metriccrescentwrench]

Re: What kind of wood and carpet or not.

The right way to do it would be with 1/2 inch marine plywood (or whatever thickness was used originally), with a ply of fiberglass over it. I'd use at least 10 oz cloth for that, and if I wanted it to last I'd use epoxy instead of polyester resin. At a minimum seal the bottom with a liberal coat of epoxy as well, but if it were me I'd also glass the bottom as that will make the deck stronger.

As far as carpet vs. some alternative, I still use carpet because it sure is a lot more comfortable when I'm standing on it in my bare feet fishing. I'm sure there are other opinions on that, for one thing carpet is going to hold moisture a lot worst than most alternatives.

 

[kungpaoshizi]

Re: What kind of wood and carpet or not.

I'll never use any wood after I saw someone bring up the very valid point of moisture ingress.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: What kind of wood and carpet or not.

Post pics of your boat for the best help, and... because we all love the boat porn here.

If you have rotten decks you probably have other problem you haven't found yet, but will when you start digging in on your demolition.

I agree with putting back the same thickness plywood as what is there.

Carpet absorbs and retains moisture which promotes mildew growth and rot.

 

[greenbush future]

Re: What kind of wood and carpet or not.

I would consider carpet as well for the comfort factor, so with that said having a snap in type built so you can remove and replace or clean is the only way for me. The roughing up of the surface in high traffic area like this doesn't seem to be the best option. traction in this area is pretty important. You don't want stuff sliding around IMO.

 

[firedawg662]

Re: What kind of wood and carpet or not.

Thanks for the input. Tomorrow I plan on removing at least one of the casting decks and seeing what lurks beneath............................:dread: I have decided on a 3/4 B/C plywood wrapped w/ CSM for rigidity. My next question is How can I join two pieces of plywood to make a 1 piece casting deck? Can I join the pieces w a strip of wood attached across the seam on the back side, the front seam filled w pb or resin, then wrap the whole thing w the csm? I hope to post some pics this weekend of what I have.