Ideas for replacing decking

[AltheaToldMe]

Ok, bear with me here?

I have some deck rot and will be repairing at some point soon. After the stringers and other sub-structures are repaired I?ll be replacing the deck boards. Right now I have carpet installed and recent reading indicates that carpet is great for holding moisture and promoting deck and structure issues so I have a plan for that (more to follow on that.)

For the deck itself, my thoughts are to take 5/8? or ?? exterior grade plywood and coat both sides and the edges with a layer (or 2) of glass mat or cloth and resin. I?ll use the method of securing deck where you pre-drill holes and fill them with another material to protect the screw holes from getting wet. In my case, I will be using a glass cotton and resin to fill the holes before driving the screws. For those who are not familiar with glass cotton, we use it in my business to fill seal offs and conduits before we pour grout (chico mix) in to them. It keeps the grout plug from running down the conduits while it sets.

I will get new carpet, but I plan not to permanently install it. I will use something else to fasten it like SS snaps or the like. I plan to put the carpet in when I need to, and remove it when I park the boat for the week. That will allow me to dry the carpet between outings and let the boat deck stay dry.

Am I missing anything, or am I way off base? Would I be better served to paint the deck boards and leave the carpet idea alone? I defer to the more knowledgeable of the group to evaluate my plan.

Thanks in advance!

 

[109jb]

Re: Ideas for replacing decking

Everything sounds good to me except not gluing the carpet down. The marine carpets I have used would be a wrinkled mess if just snapped in in a few spots. There is too much stretch in the carpet to be able to do this. Also, the carpet would be shot in no time flat because the backing would get all torn up. Basically, the marine carpet is made to be glued.

If worried about the carpet holding water then why not just paint the deck and add some sand or no-slip chips to it and not put the carpet in at all.

 

[wca_tim]

Re: Ideas for replacing decking

sounds good. I opted to forgo the screws, keep the boards fully encapsolated, bond things together with pl construction adhesive and then glass / epoxy over the joints.

I've recently put new stringers and deck in. After filling all the imperfections,sanding and rolling a coat of epoxy with some fumed silica and ground glass fiber in it, I've primed it with two part primer. I'll put polyurethane-based rubberized coating on it and then a little while later plan to install snap in carpeting. Note that there are special backed carpets for this application that are made not to wrinkle. Also, standard, rubber backed marine carpet without an appropriate backing will stick to the deck and make a mess after a little time.

Hope this is helpful...

 

[Todd Peterson]

Re: Ideas for replacing decking

Is the marine plywood different that green treated or pressure treated plywood? Also, can I use any type of out door carpeting to replace my old carpet?

 

[Todd Peterson]

Re: Ideas for replacing decking

I just put carpet in my 22 foot Baretta with a cuddy. I just put carpet in the deck area. I used indoor/outdoor from Home Depot for .47 cents a square foot for a total of $67.00. West Marine wanted $240.00 for marine carpet.

The carpet from home depot may not be as plush as marine carpet, but I can replace the carpet 3.5 times for the price of the marine carpet. I did glue it down with an indoor/outdoor mastic and used a 1/8 x 1/8 x 1/8 trowel. Worked great, it is nice and smooth.

 

[tboydva]

Re: Ideas for replacing decking

I think I'm alone here in believing that wood has no place on a boat (in this century at least). I posted pictures of some material here: http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=274033 made of fiberglass that is like plywood. It will NEVER rot. I spent countless hours redoing my boat recently and I never want to do it again. I got this stuff very cheap and it is extremely strong (more so than plywood). It's probably a wee bit heavier, but your concerns about rot are out the window. Just my .2c...

TJB

 

[109jb]

Re: Ideas for replacing decking

I think I'm alone here in believing that wood has no place on a boat (in this century at least). I posted pictures of some material here: http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=274033 made of fiberglass that is like plywood. It will NEVER rot. I spent countless hours redoing my boat recently and I never want to do it again. I got this stuff very cheap and it is extremely strong (more so than plywood). It's probably a wee bit heavier, but your concerns about rot are out the window. Just my .2c...

TJB

I don't think anyone would disagree with you, but there are a few things to consider.

First, properly cared for, wood will last a long long time.

Second, plywood is redily available anywhere. For many of us the other products would need to be shipped and in sheet sizes that would require truck shipmment. For wood, the resins and glass matt and cloth can be shipped UPS.

Third, most of the products out there are substantially more expensive than wood. Actually, all of the ones I've looked at are. I looked at your other post and it sounds great to me except you never gave any manufacturer info, or retail price. Your out the back door price doesn't count since not all of us can drive to Altoona, PA, to pick some up.

I would love to get rid of the wood in my boat, but can't justify the price of the alternatives. Show me something that compares in price with wood (including shipping if required) and I'll be all over it.

 

[tboydva]

Re: Ideas for replacing decking

109 - Got your point... I'm just trying to say that there could be other options that appeal (even under a cost analysis). I wasn't trying to be a soap-box adviser, I just wanted to point out that with a little searching, one could find something perhaps better than wood. I remember reading a thread on this forum arguing that most people only keep their boats for several years before deciding that they need something else. Under those circumstances, I suppose I'd go with whatever is cheapest and use the you know what out'ta it. I would also guess if you're retired and like working on stuff, you'd be crazy to fix something "for good" and loose the tinker time. For me, I have to remember the argument my good dad gave me at age 16: When you have time and no money, you'll spend a lot of time saving your money. When you get older and have 3 jobs and kids, you'll spend a little more money in order to save time. For me, paying $300 to fix something that will last "forever" is better than spending $50 and and having to use another two weeks in several years to redo the job. I've always cared well for my boats (2 in 22 years), but water always finds a way in (from my experience). The guy who sold me the laminate says it is manufactured all over (and I've got a request to get more info). There is also a product called Coosa board which is reasonably impervious. No doubt, it is very costly. Before I found the lam, I was willing to pay it for the last ever fix. Good that there's a place to discuss opinions here and offer our experience for the poor souls that have to refurbish boats (I can say it now that I'm done!).