Wood in alum.boat repair/repace. help!!!!!

LABLOVER

Recruit
Joined
Aug 17, 2002
Messages
1
I am new to both this forum and boating!!!! I recently bought 1975 Smokercraft (anyone know anything about them?)17' open bow boat that needs alot of TLC. I need to put a new floor in it plus replace the wood that makes up both halves of the open bow, the doors that slide where the battery and gas tank go,the vertical wood pieces that fill in the sides (storage area where you could put fishing rods, skiis, where the wires go and the place where the cables run). I hope I am being clear enough-I don't know the boat "talk" for these areas. My questions (finally)are 1:What kind of wood should I use the floor-pressure treated ply? marine ply? etc.? 2. What kind of wood to use for those vertical pieces I mentioned before? I don't want to paint anything as I'd like to get this old girl looking like a new boat. I'd like to get the wood grain look (the old wood grain is like plastic contact paper or the vinyl used on cars like station wagons and it is peeling off or really faded. If I use Formica-would I need to put Formica on both sides like you do if you make a router table? What kind of contact cement would or should I use? 3. Where can I get stainless steel or aluminum sheet metal outside corners, inside corners, j-trim, etc.? Any suggestions or help of any kind, would really be appreciated. Sorry for the length of this post. Thanks for any and all help. Sincerely---LABLOVER
 
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DJ

Guest
Re: Wood in alum.boat repair/repace. help!!!!!

LABLOVER,<br /><br />Replacing wood in an Aaluminum boat is sometimes much easier than glass boats.<br /><br />I just replaced every splinter of wood in a 1983 Sea Nympth.<br /><br />Floor-You can use any old regular plywood. I assume you are going over it with carpet. If you choose, you can seal both sides of the wood with an epoxy product. I like West System Epoxy-available at West Marine. www.westmarine.com<br /><br />Side panels-Ditto, for the side panels. You could put Formica on one side, however, I would carpet them or use marine vinyl-it will make the boat look more modern. Vinyl sold in marine catalogs recommends a glue product usually available in the same catalog.<br /><br />Transom-You will need to bond together three or four sheets of plywwod-probably 1/2". You can use water proof wood glue to do this with stainless crews for added support. This will need to be epoxy sealed.<br /><br />Corner Pieces-These may be VERY hard to find, especially if they are unique to your brand of boat. If you have some digital pictures you can post, I could let you know what you're looking at.<br /><br />Smoker Craft-A good boat. I believe they may still be in business. I do not recall if they were one of the boat companies that was bought up by the now defunct Outboard Marine Corp. (OMC). They were/are located in Arkansas-I believe.
 

Bob_VT

Moderator & Unofficial iBoats Historian
Staff member
Joined
May 19, 2001
Messages
26,082
Re: Wood in alum.boat repair/repace. help!!!!!

djohns is right on the money. Just one comment. Do not use pressure treated. PT has too much moisture in it at the start and it is too heavy.<br /><br />Marine grade is good but $$$$$ so a quality AC will work if well sealed.<br /><br />Bob :cool:
 

KCLOST

Commander
Joined
Jun 22, 2002
Messages
2,095
Re: Wood in alum.boat repair/repace. help!!!!!

Hey, if anyone needs some vinyl, I can get it for free....<br /><br />As I have mentioned before, I work for a Furniture Manufacturer and we have a lot of extra fabric and vinyl that the company ends up giving away to the employess....<br /><br />If anyone needs some let me know... I'll keep an eye out for a particular color you may want, that's the only problem is finding the right color.
 
D

DJ

Guest
Re: Wood in alum.boat repair/repace. help!!!!!

KCLOST,<br /><br />What's your e-mail address?
 
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