Ac2 deck boards

[rebelx5150]

Hey guys I have an aluminum pontoon with a floor that needs replacing. I'm considering not having carpeting and just putting down deck boards I can stain every year. Anyone done that? Fresh water boat only michigan months so may to Sept. Msds says safe for alum contact.
Thanks!

 

[Scott Danforth]

Good luck, I wouldn't do it. AC2 boards still corrode the screws, so pretty sure it will still corrode aluminum.

 

[ahicks]

Looking at doing the same thing. Without knowing any more about it, it looks like an option that would work well for me as well. Not sure about corroding screws/fasteners, but if that were an issue, thinking the use of stainless (which I would do anyway) would make that a non event.

Though I haven't actually compared it to marine ply, one of my bigger concerns would be about weight. Other concerns would be about structural rigidity (as the most likely plan would be to run the planks front to rear) and sealing between planks to eliminate water splashing up through them while underway (or go with tongue and groove?). Last problem would be dealing with available plank lengths. I'd need 20 footers, or figure out a way to make the splices look OK.

Would like to hear from anyone else that's done it!

 

[lmuss53]

Two reasons not to do this, both already mentioned, The decking on my 2006 Forester is part of the structure of the hull, your's may or may not be too. Secondly, unless you can figure out some way to seal these boards together, or seal them from below, you will get a tremendous amount of spray up through the deck boards making for a very wet ride for you, your passengers, and everything on the deck.

 

[rebelx5150]

Two reasons not to do this, both already mentioned, The decking on my 2006 Forester is part of the structure of the hull, your's may or may not be too. Secondly, unless you can figure out some way to seal these boards together, or seal them from below, you will get a tremendous amount of spray up through the deck boards making for a very wet ride for you, your passengers, and everything on the deck.

Hmm I'd use Coated deck screws or stainless...the spray up most likely wouldn't be an issue as we're on a 100 acre lake and our top speed is 5mph.

 

[ahicks]

Pure 100% guess is the vinyl boards might feel spongy when walked on when compared to 3/4" marine ply. I hate that personally - kinda like walking on a wimpy dock, wondering if the next step is going to result in it breaking. The cure might be to double up on the number of side to side stringers, to cut the distance between them in half (or go from 24" centers to 16"?). At that point you'd surely have good support/rigidity. Big question is would doubling up on the stringers be necessary? Answer may depend on the boat. Higher quality boats might have sufficient stringer stiffness as is? All based purely on guess work.

 

[rebelx5150]

What if I went with the lighter synthetic deck boards instead of treated lumber?

 

[jbcurt00]

I've never seen synthetic decking that was lighter then PT 5/4 decking.

You'll need at least twice the fasteners to hold down 5.5in +/- deck boards of any kind, PT or synthetic.

Why not 3/4 marine plywood and marine vinyl?

 

[rebelx5150]

Is the vinyl like a sheet? Where does water drain from it?

 

[ahicks]

The vinyl is an option, like carpet. Has a non slip texture and comes on rolls 8-8.5' wide, just like carpet. My concern here is will it hold up as long as carpet does?

 

[rebelx5150]

Hey guys what about coating marine plywood with fiberglass?

 

[lmuss53]

I will use the Arauco brand exterior grade plywood from Lowes for my redecking when the time comes. It is a quality product at half the price of marine grade. I used it on the decking for my Sea Nymph and it is still perfect after 5 years. My brother redid the interior of a 1996 BlueFin and the deck boards were all still fine after 20 years. They were untreated, unsealed, Arauco plywood. That was enough of a quality statement for that brand, for me.

I will re-carpet with UV resistant outdoor carpet, either from one of the big box stores or from a local carpet/hardware retailer, whichever can supply the best product at the best price.

I used outdoor carpet from Lowes for my Sea Nymph, but damaged the deck portion and replaced it with Marine Vinyl 2 years ago. If I had that to do over I'd have stuck with the carpet. It is much easier to work with.

Good quality exterior grade plywood and carpet will last for another 20 years on your redecking.

If you don't want carpet, then go with the marine vinyl from a distributor like Defender and use the adhesive they recommend.

I like the looks of the deck boards on the newer boats and don't blame you if that is the look you are going for, Just be sure your boat structure is sufficient to allow for the loss of support provided by the plywood.

 

[rebelx5150]

I will use the Arauco brand exterior grade plywood from Lowes for my redecking when the time comes. It is a quality product at half the price of marine grade. I used it on the decking for my Sea Nymph and it is still perfect after 5 years. My brother redid the interior of a 1996 BlueFin and the deck boards were all still fine after 20 years. They were untreated, unsealed, Arauco plywood. That was enough of a quality statement for that brand, for me.

I will re-carpet with UV resistant outdoor carpet, either from one of the big box stores or from a local carpet/hardware retailer, whichever can supply the best product at the best price.

I used outdoor carpet from Lowes for my Sea Nymph, but damaged the deck portion and replaced it with Marine Vinyl 2 years ago. If I had that to do over I'd have stuck with the carpet. It is much easier to work with.

Good quality exterior grade plywood and carpet will last for another 20 years on your redecking.

If you don't want carpet, then go with the marine vinyl from a distributor like Defender and use the adhesive they recommend.

I like the looks of the deck boards on the newer boats and don't blame you if that is the look you are going for, Just be sure your boat structure is sufficient to allow for the loss of support provided by the plywood.

Hey I muss thanks for the reply. I think I need to use sheeting as the joists are 24" apart - too wide for deck boards.
So I'm looking at lowes and it looks like they don't have arauco plywood anymore Is it still manufactured?

 

[lmuss53]

http://www.arauco.cl/informacion.asp?idq=1167&parent=832&IDIOMA=32

It must be a locality thing, the last time I looked it was still here.

I would look for a quality exterior grade plywood. There are designators in the codes on the ply that tell you it meets certain exterior grade qualifications in the finish and adhesives used, but I don't remember what they are. Ask the folks at the lumber place for an exterior grade plywood.

 

[ahicks]

Asking potentially inexperienced help for info I'm going to be betting the money and time involved with a project like the project we're talking about here, is a gamble I would not make. Due diligence, and guarantees, are a much better plan....

If this ply fails, you're out not just the price of the ply, but also your carpet/covering material, and the time, money, and effort required to change both - again.

Myself, thinking this is a job where cutting corners is not going to pay well in the long run.

 

[MH Hawker]

when you dont fix things the right way it never works worth a damm and no one will buy it when its time to sell, but its yours do what ever you want

 

[lmuss53]

To each his own, I am 62 and my rebuild is 4 years old right now, I damaged the carpet last year and replaced it with Nautillex Vinyl. When I pulled the carpet up the Arauco looked perfect, still sealed with the cheapo resto forum recipe, I am confident that if I use the boat until I am 80 it will still be holding up fine.

I'm also confident that if I decide to sell the boat the floors are and will be solid and watertight.

I took the time to research the products I thought would provide the most bang for the resto buck. If someone else want to pay twice as much for Marine grade ply, with the same number of ply's put together with the same adhesive, more power too them.

 

[lmuss53]

http://www.continuouswave.com/ubb/Forum3/HTML/003543.html

Interesting read, I learned some things.

I used Arauco Exterior grade AC, not sure of the species used. I sealed it all over twice, and three times on the edges. I'm confident it will be OK for many years to come.

 

[ahicks]

How well does the carpet/vinyl glue hold when applied over something that's been treated like that? It would seem that if it can't soak into the wood pores a little it wouldn't be able to hold?

 

[lmuss53]

The plywood remains somewhat porous, almost like a deck sealed with Thompson's water seal, but it does repel the water. My decks were never shiny and slick. I have seen the epoxy bartop finishes on some restoration thread floor sections. I don't know how they would hold adhesive, looking like a piece of glass. My adhesive (from Lowes, with the outdoor carpet stuff) held the carpet quite well, and pulling it up was no treat. I belt sanded the high spots, and spread more of the same adhesive, before putting the vinyl down and it is staying put quite well.

I would recommend wrapping floor pieces if using vinyl. I have a seam that is fine most of the time, but on really hot days there is a small wrinkle in about a 3 inch spot, where one of the deck boards is moving some and the other is not. I am sure if I ever get a crack it will be right there. I didn't see it much this year, so maybe the floor and vinyl are getting along better as time passes.

Doing it again, I would replace the Lowes outdoor carpet, with more Lowes outdoor carpet, not Vinyl.

Lowes carried the vinyl, but Defender had the Nautilex at a great price so I went with that.

Some guys go at this restoration stuff like they are building furniture, and their boats are works of art, more power to them.

I took a worn out boat and made it a very nice looking fishing boat, (with less than $3K total invested) which is exactly what I was looking for. I pulled it out of the water in December and had it back in in April.

To get back to the original question here. On a low speed, small wave lake, I don't see any reason why you could not use vinyl deck boards to re-deck a pontoon boat. Use plenty of stainless fasteners, and try to make sure you get adequate support, or replace the lost support provided by 4x8 sheets of ply on the current deck.