Floor in tinnie

[dnej]

Hi Pete,
I have weighed ( LOL)up your idea, and you are correct. However, the ply I weighed, sometime back, was lighter, than aluminium. Tell me more.
Many thanks
David.

[PeterT]

Not talking about heavy 5mm checker plate alum and not suggesting you do anything illegal, but saw a boat up here, an ally craft 12 ft barra boat with floor made out of aluminium from one of those big road signs. Never warp, never rot. Never have to replace it.

pete

[wewak1111]

Mate, I just floored my 12 footer using 17 mm form ply, and it spanned 1150 mm without any bracing and works fine.

Varnish on all the cut surfaces and I reckon I'll get quite a few years out of it. Construction (form) ply is far superior to marine ply.

Cheers

Graeme

[DaveSue_Fishos_Two]

Road signs are made of 3mm. Not strong enough without substantial bracing to support a full floor. Heavier guage aluminium strong enough to act as flooring without much bracing is as heavy, and sometimes heavier, than using ply.

Aluminium boats are not built and designed just because they are light. Their primary advantage is their resistance to corrosion. But an appropriately weighted aluminium boat provides a more comfortable ride, increased stability, and greater control.

As for wooden boats going out with button up boots...... I have yet to see a 'Carvel' aluminium, or a Roberts, or a Bulger. You will never see these fine boats constructed out of aluminium. They have always been timber and glass and will always remain so.

Cheers
Dave

[PeterT]

Reel naughti - my comments on wooden boats was made in jest and I am well aware of some great boats made of wood. If I had the time, space and money to waste, I would love a wooden steam launch.

Must tell my mate that his road sign floor doesn't work, he will be real surprised after using it for several years, as it only has the bracing that was for the decayed ply floor that it replaced.

pete

[Grand_Marlin]

[Geoff_Atkinson]

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[stevos]

Just stumbled across this thread doing a searc hand thought it might be work putting my 2 cents in if its not too late.

I think that anyone installing a marine floor should investigate recycled HDPE sheeting. This product is UV stabilised, non-rotting/corrosive and does not need to be carpeted (unless you want to). It can also be machined and cut as per timber.

You will often see park benches, planking on jetties, and bollards made from it. Try a company called repeat plastics if you are interested.

Cheers,

[finga]

http://www.replas.com.au/

[FNQCairns]

How comparable in price is this plastic to CD structural ply? It's one of my major considerations, would dearly love to do away with the ply but at what price?

cheers fnq