Decking Replacement - Boat Rebuild

[carpedium]

Got some supplies for this weekend in today!

[carpedium]

Just picked up some 5/8 advantech. Good compromise between weight and strength. I called the manufacturer, and they said although its not labeled for this use, their ongoing tests indicate that this would be a good application. They use a waterproof epoxy resin embedded into the wood fibers, so there is no need to overcoat with epoxy or seal in any way.

I will use whatever leftover gluvit epoxy I have to seal it anyway, for added protection.

[Mortigan]

Good luck with the project. I'm looking forward to seeing the finished product.

[gokudl3]

I finished mine a couple months ago and used advantech, I love it. The herculiner I used was great and can't think of a better floor option. For screwing to the stringers just use stainless steel and they don't have to self tap if you pre-drill. Pep boys has a great price on stainless accessories, I was surprised but they are cheaper than lowes and the depot.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[gokudl3]

If you don't want the screws to be visible when your fine you should use flat head so they are nice and flat with surface, then you can bondo and sand and they are gone.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[carpedium]

Did the leak test tonight, certainly a few loose rivets. Also, about mid-hull there is a substantial amount of water leaking out of the keel plate. What do you guys make of this?

[GAMBLER]

I would think it is coming out of a rivit and traveling ddown the keel plate.

[jimski2]

Put your thumb on the rivet, and if it spins freely, the rivet is no good.

[Has Been]

On the construction site, We use the cut offs advantech 3/4 ply as walk boards during the constrution procees . Lay them in the mud & water for month sometimes. The edges get frayed a little & they get dirty but stay in tach. I have used them after for fixup project & shelfs etc. w/ no probs, Seal them good w somthing after cutting to size before attaching. No screws,rivets only. Screws back out.

I want to know how this works out for you. I may redo a boat somtime soon.

[ioiosoiwork]

First off, THANKS for posting this build, I'm contemplating doing the same thing this coming Winter (1989 Blue Finn Sportsman) THANKS for the info on Advantech, from you & other readers, I was thinking of using a heavy gauge aluminum for decking and then some kind of "Duraliner" type coating..........with that being said, I'm thinking your rivet test was done by filling the inside of the boat w/ water ?, my question is, is this after using Gluvit ? THANKS AGAIN !, Marty

[carpedium]

Put your thumb on the rivet, and if it spins freely, the rivet is no good.

Jim,

Thanks for the tip. It turns out that most of the rivets that are leaking, don't spin. Is this a symptom of another problem? e.g. instead of vibrated loose, stressed loose, etc.

[carpedium]

On the construction site, We use the cut offs advantech 3/4 ply as walk boards during the constrution procees . Lay them in the mud & water for month sometimes. The edges get frayed a little & they get dirty but stay in tach. I have used them after for fixup project & shelfs etc. w/ no probs, Seal them good w somthing after cutting to size before attaching. No screws,rivets only. Screws back out.

I want to know how this works out for you. I may redo a boat somtime soon.

Thanks for the additional info. I have 2-part epoxy that I will be sealing the thing good with.

[carpedium]

First off, THANKS for posting this build, I'm contemplating doing the same thing this coming Winter (1989 Blue Finn Sportsman) THANKS for the info on Advantech, from you & other readers, I was thinking of using a heavy gauge aluminum for decking and then some kind of "Duraliner" type coating..........with that being said, I'm thinking your rivet test was done by filling the inside of the boat w/ water ?, my question is, is this after using Gluvit ? THANKS AGAIN !, Marty

Yes, I filled the boat to the water line and marked where water was raining. I am considering aluminum decking as well. I'll keep this thread posted!

[carpedium]

I need to make a decision on the decking.

My buddy has some Aluminum sheating, but i am told by a lot of people that the aluminum will be very loud. I like the advantage of no rot for a million years, and very light weight.

A.) From a trolling standpoint, will this extra noise and vibration cause a problem with spooking the fish? I would think so?

B.) I will be coating with spray in bedliner, so I would think this would deaden the noise. I can also put rubber gasketing between the stringers and the deck. Can anyone think of an additional way to deal with this?

C.) Given these variables, what would you do?

[Knotlost]

Here is what will work great.... Having done now 6 boat floors here are a few things I have learned.

1. buy the Arauco plywood, this is almost the same as marine. It is I think 7 ply 1/2 inch and has great exterior glue just the same as Marine. I boiled a piece in water for 2 hrs and it was just as good as when it went in and thats the test for Marine grade as well. It is almost void free and has a great finnish and is much cheaper and available localy and its stocked in most Lowes.

2. Get epoxy from US composits and give it 2 coats each side. Then do what ever you want it will not matter, it will last a very long time. Use the fast cure unless your not in a hurry, the medium takes at least 1 full day in warm weather to harden up decent.

3. Use a pvc pipe condit to run anything under your decks and over size it about 2X of what you think you need.

4. use pool noodles or the blue foam board to replace the pour in foam, and try to keep if up off the aria where water will run or lay.

those are a few to get you thinking...

[dave524]

Here is what will work great.... Having done now 6 boat floors here are a few things I have learned.

1. buy the Arauco plywood, this is almost the same as marine. It is I think 7 ply 1/2 inch and has great exterior glue just the same as Marine. I boiled a piece in water for 2 hrs and it was just as good as when it went in and thats the test for Marine grade as well. It is almost void free and has a great finnish and is much cheaper and available localy and its stocked in most Lowes.

2. Get epoxy from US composits and give it 2 coats each side. Then do what ever you want it will not matter, it will last a very long time. Use the fast cure unless your not in a hurry, the medium takes at least 1 full day in warm weather to harden up decent.

3. Use a pvc pipe condit to run anything under your decks and over size it about 2X of what you think you need.

4. use pool noodles or the blue foam board to replace the pour in foam, and try to keep if up off the aria where water will run or lay.

those are a few to get you thinking...

Sounds like some one visits the Starcraft Forum on Iboats, lots of good reading there for anyone rebuilding/restoring an aluminum boat, spend some time going through the threads there.

[carpedium]

Here is what will work great.... Having done now 6 boat floors here are a few things I have learned.

1. buy the Arauco plywood, this is almost the same as marine. It is I think 7 ply 1/2 inch and has great exterior glue just the same as Marine. I boiled a piece in water for 2 hrs and it was just as good as when it went in and thats the test for Marine grade as well. It is almost void free and has a great finnish and is much cheaper and available localy and its stocked in most Lowes.

2. Get epoxy from US composits and give it 2 coats each side. Then do what ever you want it will not matter, it will last a very long time. Use the fast cure unless your not in a hurry, the medium takes at least 1 full day in warm weather to harden up decent.

3. Use a pvc pipe condit to run anything under your decks and over size it about 2X of what you think you need.

4. use pool noodles or the blue foam board to replace the pour in foam, and try to keep if up off the aria where water will run or lay.

those are a few to get you thinking...

Sounds like some one visits the Starcraft Forum on Iboats, lots of good reading there for anyone rebuilding/restoring an aluminum boat, spend some time going through the threads there.

yup, read that for days!

[rolmops]

About that leaking along the keel plate.If you want to know exactly where it comes from you can add some food coloring to your testing water.It will show up where the leak is and it will leave a color/water trail after it is dry.

Fixing it is one thing,preventing it from happening again is another.

It may help a lot if you raise the side supports on your trailer a bit,just so that there is less pressure on the keel while trailering.

PKomrowski,I remember the pics you posted on I-Boats of the Dive Wench. Now that is a nice looking Islander.

[labsrus]

I did the same project on my 1984 Starcraft a few years ago and used 1/2 plywood treated with epoxy to seal it.

Used pop rivets to hold it down

At the time I used carpet to cover it, it was marine carpet from Cabelas. Did not wear very good and took a bunch of stains on it.

This winter I used Hydro Turf to replace the carpet.

It is a 1/4 in very light weight close cell foam that is glued down.

Found it on the Duck Hunter Forum and so far it is pretty good.

Will know better when it is down for a longer time.

[carpedium]

About that leaking along the keel plate.If you want to know exactly where it comes from you can add some food coloring to your testing water.It will show up where the leak is and it will leave a color/water trail after it is dry.

Fixing it is one thing,preventing it from happening again is another.

It may help a lot if you raise the side supports on your trailer a bit,just so that there is less pressure on the keel while trailering.

PKomrowski,I remember the pics you posted on I-Boats of the Dive Wench. Now that is a nice looking Islander.

Rolmops, I will post some pics of my boat on the trailer. I believe my bunks are all the way up, but I could probably modify the brackets as needed.

[carpedium]

I did the same project on my 1984 Starcraft a few years ago and used 1/2 plywood treated with epoxy to seal it.

Used pop rivets to hold it down

At the time I used carpet to cover it, it was marine carpet from Cabelas. Did not wear very good and took a bunch of stains on it.

This winter I used Hydro Turf to replace the carpet.

It is a 1/4 in very light weight close cell foam that is glued down.

Found it on the Duck Hunter Forum and so far it is pretty good.

Will know better when it is down for a longer time.

Thanks, please let us know how it works

[carpedium]

Well, had a VERY productive day yesterday thanks to my friend Joey. We ended up getting the hull watertight again which included replacing/sealing/bucking all necessary rivets. Around 10:30PM the gluvit went in and it sat overnight to cure. I still havn't been out to the shed to check it out, but will update on how it turned out later.

For now, here are some progress pictures:

The aluminum decking..

Had to move it inside due to rain

Welded stringer ends

Replaced rivets with epoxy for overkill.

You could literally eat off of this thing. We applied adhesive remover to remove the rest of the carpet adhesive and foam that was stuck to the deck. We then powerwashed it really well, and vacuumed, then blew out with compressed air to dry. Then scrubbed the interior with degreaser, then brass wire brushed all rivets from the interior, vacuumed, went over everything with automotive paint prep and wiped all down with a clean cloth.

Gluvit went down... Used about 1/2 of the gallon container on the first coat. Oh, it went on very thick. Easy to mix and paint though.

All seams and rivets were treated

[buckboardjr]

Nice progress! You guys are kicking butt.You'll be on the water in no time.

[carpedium]

Gluvit looks good, foam going in!

[ Post made via Android ]

[carpedium]

Got the floor in today, again with the help of my buddy. I ended up going with the advantech, since I don't want to end up with a boat that is loud and possibly spooky to fish while trolling. It went in well, and we slathered it with epoxy. Fastened the deck down with 3/4" diameter SS rivets. It is SOLID!

Next up:

Paint consoles

Add spray-in bedliner

Add secondary bilge pump

Replace thru-hull fittings

More pics!