how about a aluminum flr?

 

To hard to fabricate to allow for seat mounts and texture for traction

 

I’ve read over and over to not use standard pressure treated plywood on any aluminum. The chemical in the PT plywood will interact with and corrode the aluminum. Also, a lot of the marine plywood isn’t actually treated. Some is treated and is safe for aluminum. I would probably buy marine plywood. If it’s not treated, put clear penetrating epoxy on it. It’s good stuff and actually penetrates inside the plywood and hardens. Pretty sure the makers of CPES say it’s fine to just use exterior plywood as long as it’s coated with cpes. Google Smiths cpes and rot dr CPES. Both their sites have a lot of information.
When I rebuilt my pontoon boat I used pretreated marine plywood and also put Rot dr. Cpes in it.

 

No opinion on the wood, but if you're fishing in it mostly, I'd go with a vinyl floor. I keep the carpet shampoo/cleaner industry in business gettin' the mud, blood and beer outta mine, lol.

 

Don’t know if you have carpet yet. I bought mine on line at “boat carpet buys” some of what they sell is equal to or better than OEM carpet, and cost is comparable to the cheaper carpet at the box stores. They will also mail you free samples to choose from. boat carpet buys is affiliated with “pontoon stuff” I bought my treated marine plywood from them, but wasn’t happy with it as it had voids on the smooth side, which is not Generally characteristic of marine grade plywood. They ended up refunding my money and letting me keep the wood, so I bought the appropriate filler, repaired the voids myself and used it. I required 8 1/2 x 4 and it was really difficult to find.
As Mike said most like the vinyl flooring Much better. Hose it off when dirty, will last longer. Carpet will hide voids better and is pleasurable to walk on, especially barefoot. And good carpet will also last a long time if taken care of.

 

Don't go cheap with PT plywood, it will destroy your boat in only a couple years. It won't be worth much, when you're ready to upgrade boats. I've used the marine plywood from menards on a few different boats, for transoms and floors, epoxy coated both sides. Will last longer than factory installed plywood.

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My alumacraft has aluminum flooring which I thought was their standard. Have you removed your old carpet yet to be sure yours has plywood?

 

Did my alumacraft trophy 190 and it was 1/2 inch ...and only use marine plywood. ..just make sure the foam underneath is not saturated with water if so get it out and replace ,,,thats what supports the floor ,,,

 

My floor was only 1/2 inch also. I cut and fitted everything and put two coats of marine epoxy on it on both sides before I installed it. After installing it with large head rivets and screws which got sealed as they were put it I put another coat of epoxy over the wood before installing the carpet.

 

Exterior and pressure treated are two different things, no pressure treated on aluminum, but exterior has the same glue as marine the marine just has less voids

 

^^^^ what s.a.m said... I just used exterior on my boat. I was lucky and the lowes by me had sheets that were more or less perfect. Figure by the time the floor rots the carpet will be shot anyway. The hardest part of all of it was ripping out the floor, which for me came out in hand size peices. (bought boat used) Then making the blueprint of the floor. I saved the blueprint so if I ever need to do it again it'll be cake. Also used SS screws instead of rivets and such...couple zip, zips and the floor will come right out.

 

s.a.m. is correct, marine and exterior are the same thing, other than the voids in the wood. You don't need marine grade for flooring.

 

Your going to go thru all this work and investment and use cheap exterior grade ply? I don't get it.

 

Some guys just insist on learning the hard way.

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If I were going through the effort of replacing mine, it would be done with Marine grade. And wood would be sealed as well. Same if going with wood on the transom. Less 'voids' ='s stronger,more durable and less 'voids' for less chances for moisture to seep in over time. Marine grade is just gonna last longer.

 

It's called TPS.. Tucked, Plugged, and Sanded. Exterior only has a different glue and is NOT structural with a open voids thru out and 4 to 5 ply at best, maybe 4 in 1/2 inch. Marine grade uses exterior glue, no voids, and 7 to 9 ply's when produced. You still have to seal it for longevity. Marine grade or Composite is the only way to do it right.

 

LOL Some of you don't read closely or just like to argue. If it's for a transom or cabinet work, it needs to be marine grade. For flooring that'll have marine carpet glued to it, exterior is all that's needed. Using marine plywood under carpet is like putting custom hardwood flooring under carpet in your house. You're spending more money for the exact same end product.

 

Not even close..

Marine plywood is constructed out of the finest grade of naturally water-resistant tropical hardwood. To ensure the best results, only the highest quality grade of veneers are used. That’s because high-quality veneer is free of defects, which means that when the sheet is cut, core gaps are practically done away with.

To put things in perspective, let’s take structural plywood for example. Structural is already a great plywood product, but the high grade veneers used in every layer of marine plywood makes the latter an even better kind of plywood. And if we are talking about higher-quality marine-grade plywood, you know it is so much stronger and more durable because it’s made up of more and thinner layers of hardwood.

What makes marine plywood perfect for wet and moist external applications is the fact that it is bonded or glued together using phenolic resin. This type of glue, in combination with the already water-resistant hardwood, makes it completely waterproof. Made to AS/NZS 2272 specs, So you do what ever you want but don't tell me their the same.

 

^^^Well said Pops^^^
If there were no difference in marine grade versus exterior grade plywood, they wouldn't 'grade' them differently.
To each their own and I don't really care if someone else uses cardboard in their boat.
Bottom line is if I use wood in my boat for whatever reason...it will be sealed,marine grade period!

 

Doesn't take much research

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Just a thought... but if your gonna seal the wood anyway, what's the point. Water shouldn't get in the wood anyway. Talking about just exterior not PT.
I didn't seal mine...figured I would just see how it goes. Now if I was doing a transom, or owned a 30K rig, then I'd do a overkill on it.
I get it though...best material and stuff is the way to go if you never want to touch it again. I bought my boat for 5k, it's a little beat up but I always say "it's a fishing boat, that's how it should be" Plus I like the fact that I don't have to be nice to it, which some of my friends always comment on. "Nice to be on a boat when you don't have to worry about spilling your coffee, getting fish blood on the carpet, or wacking the dock too hard and messing up the gel coat...oh wait, I don't have a gel coat, just another character scratch.
But to each his own...guess the OP got his ? answered.
Couple pics for your amusement. 2015

View attachment 290783

 

Not even close..

Marine plywood is constructed out of the finest grade of naturally water-resistant tropical hardwood. To ensure the best results, only the highest quality grade of veneers are used. That’s because high-quality veneer is free of defects, which means that when the sheet is cut, core gaps are practically done away with.

To put things in perspective, let’s take structural plywood for example. Structural is already a great plywood product, but the high grade veneers used in every layer of marine plywood makes the latter an even better kind of plywood. And if we are talking about higher-quality marine-grade plywood, you know it is so much stronger and more durable because it’s made up of more and thinner layers of hardwood.

What makes marine plywood perfect for wet and moist external applications is the fact that it is bonded or glued together using phenolic resin. This type of glue, in combination with the already water-resistant hardwood, makes it completely waterproof. Made to AS/NZS 2272 specs, So you do what ever you want but don't tell me their the same.

you speak of bs1088 marine grade, also exterior plywood uses exterior glue/resin, that's why they call it exterior grade!

 

Just curious...for those that have done it and suggest using exterior plywood for this job, what grade of exterior plywood do you recommend?
And since the exterior plywood is assembled with exterior glue did you totally seal it with epoxy as well...or is that not needed because of the exterior glue?

 

I put a bench seat over my fuel cell used exterior plywood and painted with porch and floor oil base paint, looks like the day I did it three years ago. In the weather from spring till winter

 

I said my opinion earlier.....would use marine grade, you can’t expose aluminum to the non marine grade treated plywood, and want to add, There is no way I would use regular exterior plywood without sealing it with epoxy.
Also Mmitchel said the wet foam should be removed because it supports the floor? I agree to remove the flotation foam if waterlogged, I’ve used spray insulation foam to replace...... However, I don’t know if this is the best option?
I’ve gutted 3 fiberglass runabouts and all their floors were supported by wooden stringers between the outer hull and floor. I would think any boat floor would have either aluminum or wood stringers to support the floor. The floatation foam is between the stringers and floor.

 

Good call on the insulation Harry.
Long as it's 'closed cell' insulation, it should hold up fine.
Another thing worth mentioning to replace when the floor is up is any rubber fuel or water lines that may be under the floor. And definitely check all wiring as well. Taping the wiring harnes and running the harness through PVC tubing isn't a bad idea either.

 

The stuff I used was either 1/2 or 3/4 don't remember, grade PS1-09/ veneer grade BCX (lowes). I may be right or wrong but I didn't seal it. My thought process at the time was this boat only sees water for maybe max 10% of the year and 90% of that time the wood only gets a little water on it from a fish. The rest of the time it's sitting on a trailer all nice and dry under a cover. If I don't seal it right or a crack develops water might get in the wood then it won't be able to dry causing it to rot.

 

Thanks spectrum!

 

I would use bcx plywood never use treated in an aluminum boat . I would either use epoxy or incase it in a layer of fiberglass to seal it up .No need for marine grade for a floor transom yes .I did a transom and used marine because of the layers and no voids which is stronger but a floor regular ply is ok but I would seal it so probably never have to be replaced again. I need to pull my floor up to replace my livewell drain hose its busted someplace just drains in the boat and when I do I want to use 3/4 ply and im going to fiberglass it since I already have the material to do it .It has 1/2'' in it now I think it gives some on me since Im a big guy my carpet is good so maybe I can reuse it don't know if not I may use seadeck or whatever its called where you paint it don't need carpet in a fishing boat since I mostly fish for big slimey catfish

 

you could put a couple coats of west system expoxy on the wood. that will seal it and it is so tough that you could even skip carpet or vinyl on top. if you want non-slip, you could do what i did in the motorcross trailer... after coating the floor, and while still wet, I sprinkled that flooring sand all over the thing. it is so rough now that you can't even sweep the dirt out, have to use the compressor and blow it out. made a sprinkler out of a peanut butter jar with holes drilled in lid. coating mfg suggests mixing in paint and the put on surface, I thought a "salting" of the sticky surface would work better and i have not been disappointed since did that back in about 2000. still rough as ever too...