12 foot aluminum boat flooring

[joeyquicksand*]

Maybe I'm getting ahead of myself, but I want to put in flooring in my 12 footer, but want it to be light... so any ideas on material that I will be able to saw in to shape for flooring on my boat, that will be light, light, light... or as light as possible.... or should i just stick to wood?

[keith schultz]

stick to wood & carpet not that grass kind, real water pruff kind..

[Minnesota Fats]

Wood isn't light, especially when it is wet. Even adding 100 lbs to a 12 footer with (I assume) a smaller motor is really going to kill your performance.

[Fishin=Easy]

I'd say aluminum of some sort with some decent carpet glued on real well. But thats mostly for the weight issue. If I had a 12 footer id want it super light for throwing in the river or pothole without access.

[joeyquicksand*]

yeah, thats what i'm worried about... i was hoping that one of you guys would let me know of some sort of cheap light material that i could use opposed to wood.

[Lowblazah]

aluminum is your best option. I just redid my boat floors with it and it worked great. Its way lighter now than it was with all the wood in it.

[polarsusd81]

A nice thin sheet of aluminum would work for you, but you will need to probably cut some angles and what not to use as reinforcement for the floor. It may be kinda tough to do with a 12'er. Are you planning to floor the whole boat or just the sections behind the triangle up front? The reason I ask is you might be doing more than what will be beneficial. Not trying to change your mind or anything, but it is a pretty small boat and even lifting the center of gravity a little bit will start to have its effects. I have a floor in my 14 but it is a deep and wide lund and still plenty low for the floor, below the water line.

[joeyquicksand*]

i have a bench in the back that i sit on and a bench in the front. I took the middle bench out, and I was going to put a floor on the middle to stand on... your right, it might just not be worth it...but, where can I get a nice sheet of aluminum and how much would it cost?

[Lowblazah]

Discount Steel in Mpls. They can even cut it to size for you.

[polarsusd81]

Yep, back when Low was getting ready to do his boat, I gave him that recommendation and he got a pretty good deal. One thing I can tell you, if you want to get material from them, go on their HSOforum and get a material estimate for what you need and print it out. Bring it with you, it could save you money like I did last week. That saved me over 20 bucks on a sheet of aluminum that would have cost me 50+ without my print out from the HSOforum.

[Lowblazah]

 Originally Posted By: polarsusd81

I gave him that recommendation and he got a pretty good deal.

Actually I think you recommended Ryerson....

[polarsusd81]

Yeah, thats right. I thought I said something about Discount too, but maybe thats just because I pass it everyday. Great place to get your metal fix.

With my old job, I used Ryerson a lot for all my metal needs, but that was huge quantities all the time. And it is a little tougher for the general consumer to get stuff there. Both are great for metal, and Ryerson will have more of the specialty metals. That is not saying however that discount doesn't have a good selection.

[Lowblazah]

yeah I couldnt remember what Ryerson told me. I think they wanted my contractor number or something like that...or maybe it was a minumum order.