Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire So I was given a boat (Pics added, I think)

You're not gonna do better than Alweld in a commercial aluminum boat. You don't NEED a floor. Everything in the fuel system needs to be cleaned or replaced, especially hoses.. Think of the "weak link" theory...one problem will lead to another until it is all fixed. The real question is whether you really want a boat. If you do...it's worth it.

I have the same problem. Just use regular high grade plywood and coat it with a good epoxy sealer like TotalBoat Penetrating Epoxy followed by several coats of spar varnish. That's used on decks and outdoor furniture and lasts a long time.

.100 thick aluminum is what mine is

Forget about aluminum. You can get marine plywood delivered anywhere. But exterior ply should be fine on a free boat. Just replace the pieces that are damaged.

I would go with good exterior plywood before aluminum. The only real difference in marine plywood vs exterior is that all the voids are filled in marine grade. You can add some extra sealer if you want. One other thing that I would emphasize is to use stainless fasteners for anything you put in the boat. It may not seem important at the time, but it is.


Jerry

A lower cost alternative would be 1/2" ACX and then water proof it on both sides with some of the sealers mentioned already. Another coating that would work is Flex Seal or something similar. Bedliner is something else I've seen used on wood decks but it gets heavy if it's sprayed on thick Some bedliner coatings aren't flexible enough either.

Airboat. ANY TIME IT RUNS BREAK OUT ANOTHER THOUSAND

I have a much easier test.

On anything at least prior to 2005( our new 05 Yamaha 25 2 stroke had lines eaten up) you don't have to test anything. ANYTHING plastic/rubber gets tossed. Cost us about 150 bucks for new lines, primer bulb, tank(yes I had red residue in the carb) filter etc... replace it all. Its cheap in the long run....

Right now I have to replace a big fuel tank in our CC and all the fuel lines on an 83 OMC 200.... before I can run it again....

Trade it off for a nice rifle and you'll be better off!

Actually, the difference is that marine grade is made with waterproof glue so it won't delaminate if it gets wet. The wood will still rot if constantly exposed to water.
On this boat project, the wood won't constantly be exposed to water. He can use regular plywood and coat it with an epoxy sealer will keep the glue dry and also prevent rot in the wood. The epoxy is more expensive but it's a much better sealer than the paint-on type like Thompsons Water Seal. It will also last far longer.

Once you get it running, I have found that this gadget helps get underpowered boats plane more easily.

Ultrasonic cleaner for the carbs.........teak works well for floor if you fish bear foot.

Use alcohol free gas and you will thank me later. I got about 30 2 stroke engines to take care of and alcohol free gas means I can let something sit for a year and no screwed up gaskets or lines.

Well Evil Genius may be correct. I decided to go wood covered with resin and fiberglass for my decking like in this video( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjFNhMmTPRw ). I ordered all the materials and started pulling the old wood deck to use as templates. Pulled the floor and found some cracked/ broke welds on the stringers ( i guess thats what they are called).


Thought no big deal. Removed the front casting deck all looks good. removed the back deck and found the transom pretty much gone. I could stick my finger through it.


So this morning i decided to go all in and am tearing everything out.

I pulled the motor.


I need to find someone who can weld aluminum and get a estimate on the cost of welding up about 40 inches of stinger and the cost of building an aluminum transom to replace the wood one with. Then Ill have to decide if it is close enough to the cost of a spool gun for my welder to justify going out and buying one of those.

I may be late to the thread but having put floors and stringers in a couple of inboards, Its generally accepted that most marine and exterior plywoods use similar glues. The bigger difference is the voids that can be in exterior and not marine grades of plywood. The layers are thinner in marine ply as well. In both marine and exterior there are different grades and woods used and among boat builders there is a lot of discussion which is best used where.

Speaking of my ski boat experience is that if you have wood in a continually wet environment (like a carpeted floor) its going to rot eventually. For me I wouldn't use wood for flooring under carpet. if I had to use wood I would go with one of the better grades of exterior, treated with CPE and then encapsulated in glass/epoxy . However, If its the kind of boat you really want to ride hard and put away wet, the material to use is Coosa board encapsulated in glass/epoxy. Very expensive but hopefully forever. My stringer floor projects were enough work that I would rather spend the money to make sure I never had to see the inside the hull again.

......and it begins $$$$$

I have been thinking now that I'm on the other side of 40, I don't have to build stuff to last forever, just 15 years or so will probably do. Do yall think that foam stuff is necessary. Im going to pull it all out, the bottom half fills in the v's in the bottom of the boat and soaks up water. If it is then im going to lay down some thin aluminum over the floor to keep the v's open to allow the water to drain to the back of the boat.

Yes, its necessary. It add to the buoyancy of the boat!

Foam,
Do you want it to float if swamped? Folks I know go either way. Some say foam will get wet ( and weight in a skiboat means more wake) others don't want their baby to sink. if there is a misshap. In the ski boats I deal with its a warm weather sport and if the boat were to sink all you would lose would be the boat. In a fishing boat, particularly one used in cold water I think ones survival chances are better sitting in a swamped, but floating boat than in the water. US composites sells foam, most folks do 2lb foam where its just flotation.

I think your wise to keep the foam out of the very bottom of the bilage.

Yes and when you put the flotation foam back in make sure to use closed cell foam. It is not as likely to absorb water.
As for replacing the transom I would just use plywood that has been epoxied seeing as you are already buying the epoxy.

If you do sink the boat you are going to sink the engine too.
Dealing with a waterlogged engine will probably be more of a pain than the rest of the boat.

Having built a wooden boat out marine ply (and one non marine ply piece which I had to replace) I'd suggest the proper way to keep ply from rotting is to coat both sides with 6 oz fiberglass cloth using epoxy. Edges should be rounded with a 1/4-1/2" radius router, the end grain thoroughly soaked with epoxy and two layers of 10 oz fiberglass cloth epoxed over the end grain and operlapping the sides by an inch.

Looks like with a bit of labor and an infusion of cash you'll have an excellent little skiff.