A little help with adding wood floor to fiberglass boat

[cen28468]

Hey guys,

I have a 14 foot jon boat that I'm restoring. This is my first boat to restore, so I'm running into a few issues that I could really use some advice on.

This boat had carpet directly on the fiberglass, no plywood or anything. I've ripped out the carpet and removed the the old adhesive.

I'm giving this boat a "wood" look, so what I'm thinking I'd like to do now is lay some hardwood/laminate in the floor board.

Would the first step be to cut marine plywood to fit the floorboard, then overlay it with the hardwood/laminate?

Also, if anybody provide info on sealing, coating, varnishing, etc., that would be very helpful.

Thanks to all.

 

[cen28468]

Re: A little help with adding wood floor to fiberglass boat

Here are a few pictures I took while ripping out the carpet.

 

[jspano]

Re: A little help with adding wood floor to fiberglass boat

hardwood/laminate????

i think it's a bad idea!!!
i don't think it would hold up... mis-application

IMO

 

[osborn159]

Re: A little help with adding wood floor to fiberglass boat

nix the laminate/hardwood, put it in my house, a/c drain backed up due to biological growth in the drain tube, drain backed up water under flooring, flooring swelled wasnt the nice pretty floor i spent a week putting in any more.
no no no no, spend the money elsewhere or buy teak or another type of wood tolerant of a wet environment.
good luck with your project, and welcome aboard
Dennis

 

[tmcalavy]

Re: A little help with adding wood floor to fiberglass boat

The general rule of thumb for this is to pull the old floor, cut a new plywood deck, fiberglass the plywood or encapsulate it in resin to seal out water, then install and go with your favorite deck covering. Some like carpet, some don't. I live in a very arid environment and my boat sees water about 3-4 times a year (lakes). I sealed my plywood deck with premium grade latex primer and paint...not as permanent as glass or resin, but I know the deck will die of dry rot rather than wet rot, so I did mine for ease of removal/replacement when the time comes. Used to have a smaller boat like yours...the previous owner used tongue-n-groove boards to make a removable deck. Deck was in 3 pieces. It was breeze to remove the panels, and clean out the bottom of the hull when needed. Made the boat much more stable when we were anchored and thrashing around getting set to fish.

 

[NSBCraig]

Re: A little help with adding wood floor to fiberglass boat

What about using a piece if ply with a sanded face and finish that.

I've seen lots of flat bottom v drive speed boats with the balsa core as the decorative interior finish.

 

[cen28468]

Re: A little help with adding wood floor to fiberglass boat

Thank you gentlemen. Very helpful. I am going to look into the teak. I really have my heart set on this wood look. I guess first thing is first, time to get the plywood.

1/2 inch thick? If I should seal it as you guys suggest, can I just go with exterior ply over the more expensive marine ply? I want quality, but I don't need the best quality. I doubt I will own this boat all that long.

 

[cen28468]

Re: A little help with adding wood floor to fiberglass boat

NSBCraig,

I have not even thought of that. I wonder how that would look? Happen to know of any pictures out there?

 

[clockwatcher]

Re: A little help with adding wood floor to fiberglass boat

What about Flexiteek?

 

[ezmobee]

Re: A little help with adding wood floor to fiberglass boat

Happen to know of any pictures out there?

This is my new exterior plywood deck sealed with epoxy. I'm going to be putting marine vinyl over it but I agree it is pretty just the way it is! http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w200/ezmobee/New Boat/DSCF2394.jpg

 

[cen28468]

Re: A little help with adding wood floor to fiberglass boat

That looks pretty good to me EZ. I could definitely handle something like that for a final look. Is the process just to cut, sand, seal, stain and varnish?

You guys have any idea on how much the Flexiteek costs?

 

[tmcalavy]

Re: A little help with adding wood floor to fiberglass boat

If you're not gonna keep it, use plain old exterior grade plywood. 3/8 if you're normal size/weight, 1/2 if you're a BOB (big ol' boy) like me.

 

[cen28468]

Re: A little help with adding wood floor to fiberglass boat

Went and got the 1/2 inch ply today. I could however use some advice on what exactly I need to do after I cut it.

Could somebody throw me a link to the correct resin to put on it? Once I lay it, should I caulk the gaps between the boat and the ply?

 

[osborn159]

Re: A little help with adding wood floor to fiberglass boat

hello again, since you stated you probably will not hold onto the boat long i would think the extra expense of epoxy resin would out, check into polyurathane resin, not as expensive and they still use it to build boats.

 

[osborn159]

Re: A little help with adding wood floor to fiberglass boat

looked at your pics again, what holds the deck off of the hull? i did not see stringers. you could seal with a good marine sealant, i like the 3m products.

 

[cen28468]

Re: A little help with adding wood floor to fiberglass boat

Well ther aren't any stringers that I can see. I ripped up the carpet and there is just this fiberglass base.

Sorry if I sound like an idiot guys. This is literally my first boat to ever work on.


Here is a pic of the underside of the boat.

 

[Bondo]

Re: A little help with adding wood floor to fiberglass boat

Ayuh,... What's the Weight capacity of this tiny barge anyways,..??
By the sounds of your project,... It's gonna be Overweight Before you even step into it....

Grind the crap off the original deck, paint it,+ Go have Fun...

 

[cen28468]

Re: A little help with adding wood floor to fiberglass boat

Yeah the plywood is heavy.. I took out some really heavy oak seats though. He had 3 in there and I'm reducing to two lighter seats.

I guess I could grind and paint as you suggest, and add some wood accents?? I may consider that.

I have some Pettit Polyurethane Topside Paint. Is that stuff going to give me a good, shiny gloss, or should I add some kind of gelcoat on top of that?