hey Rojo,
i was leaning towards a product called Seaboard GripEX. looks great , easy to mill and cut, just one issue, you guessed it .....twice as heavy as wood. 80 lbs per 4 x 8 sheet of half inch material. VYCOM made it but discontinued production. probably no interest in heavier products for boats. I did love the fact it was a non slip surface. you only need apply this material and your done, that's attractive!! id be adding 90 lbs to the boat with a little 50 hp motor.
i looked at aluminum 5386 , .0900 in a 4 x 12 sheet. 365$ ill be 400$ + materials and another 500$ for a complete light gray rhino lining.
there has to be a better place to get acceptable aluminum. ill be checking with a metal shop in town tomorrow , hoping for the best.
i could probably get some aluminum diamond plate cheaper, but no weight savings there either, ( and its ugly).
anybody, feel free to join the convo!!
lets share information, maybe someone can teach us something new!!
i really don't want to take a highway sign, i'm already bad with directions, don't need any arrows on my deck!!
Dave
Last edited by firecap#246; 09-03-2020 at 10:34 PM.
thumbnail_image0 (6).jpg This is a pic of the GripEX , reminds me of the ocean boats I've fished on. i would be pouring foam and starting wiring or something.....but someone got too aggressive and put a pinhole in the hull.
Last edited by firecap#246; 09-03-2020 at 10:29 PM. Reason: mistake
Check out "tiny boat nation" on facebook.
I put a new floor in a 16’ Spectrum V-Hull and I used 1x6 cedar planks. I put rough side up and then polyurethaned it. It was a very solid deck and looked amazing, I got compliments on it every time I went out. Not sure it would work for your application but it worked well on mine. If I ever have to replace the deck on my 17’ Tracker, I’m pretty sure I’ll use the cedar again.
If you go aluminum no to Rhino Lining. Epoxy prime with automotive refinish then 2K urethane with non-skid. Will last longer than you want it to. Lots of 2K Urethanes online or I use PPG Refinish Shopline. The epoxy sticks great and the paint will go 10 years. A quart goes a long way, 1 coat epoxy primer - 2 coats 2K, first with non-skid, second no non-skid. Gets a better millage for extended wear. Wash the aluminum with acetone until rags wipe clean before any sanding! Wash again after sanding.
sounds a lot like the urethane's we use in aviation finishes. with the epoxy primers don't you have to etch the aluminum first ?? guess i can just check the label .......always!
hey blaze,
sounds like its really nice looking, i was hoping to have the deck material out live me though. i have noticed a lot of fancier wood options available, not really sure why its not appealing to me, probably the longevity thing. im sure its a lot better cost wise.
someone said earlier to use the money saved to upgrade the electronics and gps.
its still not out of the question.
thanks,Dave
that a pointer in your pic??
Last edited by firecap#246; 09-04-2020 at 11:30 PM.
hey Big O,
ive been watching that guy for weeks, he sure makes it look easy. hes got a lot of good ideas too. you can even buy a aluminum framing package from them for your boat to save the time and brain work. im also definatly using his ideas on boat drainage with the swim noodles as drain tube for the foam.
you remodeled a boat big o ??
I completely rebuilt a 16' fiberglass boat 30 years ago and did a deck extension on a 14' jon boat this spring. I like seeing how the boats turn out on "tbn", but my jon was a simple job.
okay,
so i finally made it to a scrap yard and i found a 12ft sheet of 5/32 aluminum and a 4x8 sheet of stainless got both for the weight cost , which was about 60$. in the end , even with needing to finish the metal, the weight difference was too much to ignore. i only have a little 50 hp motor, don't need to add 200lbs more weight to the boat. with the sheet metal I'm actually reducing weight. some pics soon on the headway. also struggling with removing the old stickers. even with the heat gun, most of the adhesive remains. im watching the other re mod threds ( saw the one about glue on gel coat) to see about other options. so far the professional paint stuff has been best with steel wool. crud cutter i think, must wear good gloves, i don't have to worry as much as others because for the boat material.
see you soon