plywood question

[jwmiller33]

i am going to be putting new plywood in the wood bench seats in my boat and i was wondering what kind of plywood to use? i have one bench that is 12"x52" and the driver bench is 12"x60" and then there are two other benches in the back that are both 15"x22.5". i have heard that using green treated plywood corrodes aluminum, so that is a no go obviously since i have an aluminum boat. I am also adding a platform in the very front of the boat by building supports in the front and placing plywood over the top of the supports for the floor. i am going to put either marine carpet or vinyl on all of the wood that is going into my boat.

i was thinking about getting marine plywood for my boat, but i have read a lot of threads on here where people have said you dont need to get marine plywood. if i put a couple layers of sealant on the wood before I put it in the boat, and then wrap it in vinyl (deco dot), i don't think I will have any problems...

So what kind of wood should I use for this plywood???

Thanks much

[cold one sd]

Use marine grade plywood. It isn't cheap, but it lasts.

[jwmiller33]

what would i use if i wasnt going to use marine grade?

[deerwoody]

Use marine grade plywood. It isn't cheap, but it lasts.

Use marine plywood

[jwmiller33]

where is a good place to get it? i called menards and they said you have to get on a list and it wont come in for a few weeks?

[Tyler23]

check some local lumber yards... hows your project coming? any pics?

[jwmiller33]

check some local lumber yards... hows your project coming? any pics?

all pics will be posted at one time after the boat is completely done! i am going to make a thread and post all the before, during, and after pics...

should be a couple weeks or so...

[Crusty old Swede]

JW, I just saw your boat in your transducer post, my I suggest checking with Lund boats to see how much they want for factory seats? They might be cheaper than buying marine plywood.

[jwmiller33]

what do you mean by factory seats? are you talking about the wood benches?

i can buy those directly from lund as replacements on a 1985 Lund???? i had no idea i could do that... please tell me how???

[Crusty old Swede]

Get a hold of Lund boats in New York Mills MN. Tell them your model & year and they'll let you know if they can make you a set.

[Big-Al]

I agree with contacting Lund for the replacement seats. They have a plastic like coating and will last longer than anything else. I am not an expert on plywood, but I did use marine grade for a floor replacement a few years back. Marine grade plywood is a very high quality wood and can be sanded and stained for a beautiful finish. It is not however that resistant to rot and swelling from moisture. If I was going to redo the project, I would use regular plywood and seal the heck out of it. It will cost about 1/3 of what you would pay for the marine grade and and you will still have to seal the marine grade.

I special ordered mine from a local lumber yard.

[Kidd]

I did basically the same thing as you're doing on a 14 ft Lund a number of years ago. I went with regular plywood, painted it with an oil based paint and covered it with indoor/outdoor carpeting. I sold the boat about 5-7 years later and the seats were still good. I also took out the front small bench and made a casting platform out of regular plywood, paint and carpet and it also was solid when I sold it.

[IFallsRon]

You might want to consider MDF with a layer of formica on top.

[jwmiller33]

You might want to consider MDF with a layer of formica on top.

what is MDF?

[ezwalt]

MDF= Medium density fiberboard. Nothing you’d use in a wet environment.

Marine grade plywood is your best bet. If you definitely don’t want to spend the money for the proper material you could try #60 pressure treated plywood. This is designed to be in contact with earth and not rot. About $40.00 per ¾” sheet and available at most full service lumber yards

[IFallsRon]

Everyone is an expert in what they know. I wouldn't offer a solution if I didn't have experience and knowledge that it would work. I've laminated formica onto MDF for a several boat benches and it has worked better than expectations.

I'm pretty sure that those boat benches have not been in direct contact with "earth" or allowed to sink. Like any composite product, proper installation and sealing are the key to longtime maintenance-free life.

MDF is an easy-to-use and affordable alternative.

[minneman]

...

[jwmiller33]

i am going to try and call lund in the morning and see if they can send me some new benches... otherwise, i will be doing it myself... im thinking im going to go with marine plywood, as i only need 1 or 2 4x8's, i can justify using the more expensive stuff... if i go marine plywood, is there any prep work i should do to the wood before i wrap it in deco dot vinyl and install it on my boat? any sealents or stains or anything?

thanks much

[jwmiller33]

do you know what number i should call to get a hold of the right person to talk to for this? there are only two numbers on their HSOforum. One for the shop in New York Mills, MN but also one number for the Canadian shop. I tried calling the MN one today and it just rang and rang and no one picked up. There is also no one to email or no other way to get a hold of somebody there. Please help someone!

[AaronM]

Flip your bench seats you have over. Sand, coat, and you have new bench seats.

[jwmiller33]

i need new wood for the new platform and to cover the side panels on top where it is missing right now, so im already gonna be buying wood... mind as well redo all the wood while i am at it and putting some extra dime into it with the deco dot vinyl

[fish with teeth]

i am going to be redecking the boat in a week or 2 as well. i found a place( google marine plywood in mn) in apple valley that carries it. i dont rememeber the name as i am not going to use marine plywood. i talked to my neighbor( who redecked his boat 2 years ago and works for a boat supply company( Bell Industries in eagan)) and he told me to use regular treated plywood and treat it with Nautical Epoxycop made by Interlux International Paint in Union, NJ. it is recommended for use on the underwater areas of fiberglass, wood, and some metal but it is not cheap( about $130 for a gallon). hope this helps and good luck with the project.

[marine_man]

I would try calling the New York Mills Plant again. I know they've been shut down intermittently, but you may have to keep trying.

marine_man

[jwmiller33]

thanks marine man

[BoxMN]

i am going to try and call lund in the morning and see if they can send me some new benches... otherwise, i will be doing it myself... im thinking im going to go with marine plywood, as i only need 1 or 2 4x8's, i can justify using the more expensive stuff... if i go marine plywood, is there any prep work i should do to the wood before i wrap it in deco dot vinyl and install it on my boat? any sealents or stains or anything?

thanks much

Hey JW - that is exactly what we did, and with new marine plywood nothing at all you need to do. Just get those corners of vinyl cut nicely, apply adhesive, wrap it, roll it, staple bottom, and you are done.

But note that you must "roll" the adhesive smooth under the vinyl on the exposed side, so that there is not excess there (think bubbles of goo under vinyl...). Use one of those application trowels (the plastic $99 cents ones from Ace work fine) with the V-notched teeth. Small notchs too, as you don't need much adhesive. Then rol it out before you wrap the sides corners down. That will get all the excess adhesive out from the surface. Actually, a bread dough rolling pin works pretty slick and is cheap and easy to find. You will find that you can almost see the wood grain through the dot deco, even thought the marine plywood surface is perfectly smooth.

It will end up great! Good luck. If you have questions you can email me at c-box at comcast d0t net as I have done quite a bit of this on three boats/pontoons.