Replace Flooring in Boat

[Captain B.R.K]

I have a 85' 16ft Lund Angler that the flooring on the deck is going out and would like to update (rip out, replace and recarpet). Also some of the side base boards (where I have rod lockers and storage) needs to be replaced as well.

Anway, I was hoping to get some information as to what type of board (lumber) I should be looking into to put on that. My goal is to not replace the boards in the next 2 years so I want something that will last Can this be done

Looking for some opinion's here.

Thanks guys!

[Valv]

If you do a search for it you'll find plenty of threads, it is a common question.

I would go with standard plywood covered with epoxy or fiberglass resin.

[cloudfisher]

My friend used marine plywood for his Lund. He spent the extra money so he wouldn't have to do it for the next 10yrs

[MikeR]

Did a 86' 16ft. Northwoods last year. Whatever you use try to take out your sections in one piece,I'm no carpenter so its much easier to trace. Mine were partially stuck to the foam after removing the rivets and took a little work to wiggle them out. I myself used 3/4" green treat w/ stainless plates to anchor the seats to, then a decent carpet same that was in my ice shack. The boat weighs a little more but I think the stability more the makes up for it. IMO - very solid

[The_Duckslayer]

I redid the bottom of my Jon boat 6 years ago. Used 3/4 inch treated plywood to do it and did as mentioned above and traced the old flooring pieces. One thing that you may want to do is set the jigsaw to cut at an angle to kind of match the angle of the side curve of the boat. I cut mine right at 90 degrees and ended up having to trim the bottom edges to get them to fit correctly. I also used some 2 inch strips of heavy aluminum to hold it down rather than just go through the wood with screws. The other thing that I did wrong was I should have made the pieces complete from one side to the other. The old pieces were seamed the length of the boat and should have been seamed from one side to the other. I bought some marine carpet at Menards, some good outdoor glue and for the most part everything had held together rather well. Good luck! Take care and N Joy the Hunt././Jimbo

Added: I put the carpet onto the plywood pieces before I put them in the boat, that way I could glue and staple them on the bottom of the piece as well. Makes for a little snugger fit to.

[Steve Bakken]

One thing you may want to consider, if you have rod lockers, etc., is to use the same thickness of plywood that was in it before. We've had customers bring us half-finished jobs like that because they used different sized plywood and now nothing will fit back together right. Also, if you go with a good grade of standard wood like BC, it will save you tons of weight and money and will last the life of the boat if done right. We've been using BC for the last 20 years and never had one come back. The key is to treat it on the topsides to keep the water from penetrating and then proper maintainance once the boat is done. This last part is true no matter what grade you use. Keep it drained and well ventilated and it will probably outlast the boat.

[Captain B.R.K]

All good stuff and appreciate the information. I haven't priced plywood yet, but sounds like I should be going with treated ply, marine grad or this BC.

S.Bakken- what is BC grade?

Hoping for some warm weather now so I can get chance to work on this project!

[Hemlock]

Captain, I'll be doing the same this spring. Replacing part of the floor on my 1997 21' Sylvan. I went to take the bases out for the pedastal seats last night, and realized I better get serious about it. (Phillips screws that were about 80% stripped)

Lots of work! Bakken's Boat Shop has already been a big help over the phone.

[Steve Bakken]

BC is a fairly common construction grade found at most lumberyards. It's what most of the manufacturers use. It's better than the cheaper grades in that it's more consistant throughout with less voids (not a big deal if you're walling the garage, but pretty important when you'll be standing on it.

[leechlake]

Exterior sheathing is CDX (x as in exterior), Steve's talking about BC grade plywood. Regarding the outside veneers of plywood A is the best veneer grade, B the Second, C the third, D, the fourth. So in BC, B is the "face" since it's the best side and you would put the C side to the backside. The BC grade of plywood has less voids on the face of it, a piece of CDX or sheathing grade might have a nasty knot hole on it that would then show when the carpet molded to it, it would show like an indent. My point is a sheet of AA (A on one side A on the other side)plywood would be the best. No need for that for the boat, when you look at BC you'll see how clean/clear of knots it is. Sorry for the Cliff Claven like explanation. I may have confused things, just use the BC.

[Giant_Jackpot]

And don’t forget to add a bimini top after you get the new floor in!

Sorry leech, I just couldn’t resist! Having way too much fun but I’ll stop now.

[Captain B.R.K]

Quote:

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And don’t forget to add a bimini top after you get the new floor in!

Sorry leech, I just couldn’t resist! Having way too much fun but I’ll stop now.

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What is a Bimini top?

So what would be the advantage of putting in a marine grade ply?

I'm assuming that the standard thickness of the flooring is 3/4 inch thick?!?

[danfall]

Hey All,

I've done a little bit of fooling around with floors in boats, pretty sure that Bakken is the xpert here.

A couple points I'll make. Look at the net weight of what you are doing. If you can use a piece of 1/2" plywood over a 2x2 section that is supported well enough for your weight, etc., never overbuild in a boat. I did once in a small lund c14 that I wanted a flat bottom in. I bought a full piece I decided to use part of the sheet to bolster the midsections, which would have been okay, but the total weight of the 3/4 green treated plywood is somewhere in the 80-100 pound range and if the boat wasn't made that way, you just took some weight off your rating. When the plywood got wet, the weight got even higher and the boat wouldn't budge.

I threw those two sections out and it ran just fine.

To do over again, I'd probably run them to 3/8" material and put a stringer or two of 1x or ripped 2x as needed.

Another thing, to reinforce what Bakken said. If the floor can't breathe, it will rot. I made a floor with a real nice bevel fit and it couldn't breathe. When I went to pull the brand new floor up after the boat won't budge incident, it was mildewed real bad and about 3 weeks old and only one trip out.

[Giant_Jackpot]

Sorry BRK, I was just having some fun with leechlake. We’ve been going back and forth in a few topics giving each other a hard time. I think it is a form of “need to get on the open water” fever.

A bimini is a canvas top that would pop up to keep the rain or sun off. Highly doubtful you would want to put one on your rig. Cabela’s sells them so if you go to their web site, you will find a picture. And just for the record, leech started this whole thing!

[leechlake]

Marine grade plywood is void free. 3/4 inch plywood may have 7 layers of veneers to make up the sheet. The 5 inside veneers don't have an open knot holes or "voids" (neither do the 2 veneers that make the face and back of the sheet of plywood). Imagine it this way, a woman walks over the sheet with high heels and if there was a void on one of the inside veneers the high heel may go through the face veneer where the void is. You then would have a dent or whole in the sheet of plywood which you don't want. Feel free to email me if you have any questions I'm not an expert on replacing boat flooring but I do know about plywood, lumber, etc. I may not be good at explaining it in a coherent matter here. My email is krismartinson (at) MCHSI (dot) com

[Hemlock]

Who cares about a hole or dent in the floor, if you've got a girl in your boat with high heels on!