replacing floor boards with checkerplate

[timddo]

So my boat is 3.5 years old and the floor has started to rot. I would say by the end of this year it will need to be replace. I have decided on aluminium floor checker plate, 3mm for easy cleaning and it will outlast any other material. Exterior ply is good but will last, what 5 years max. Cost per sheet seems to be around $180 a sheet and i would need 2 to start with. I will gradually do the rest at a later date.
My question is, How do i fix the checkplate floor to the boat.?
I was thinking sikaflex and pop riverts or stainless steel screws.

I will make a sump at the back of the boat which will collect most of the dirty water and pump out. The boat is not selfdraining.

celuka is around $150 a sheet i think and could be an option.

I'm looking at long term. Do it once.

P.S if you know of a cheap place to buy checkplate . PM me.

Boat is a Tabs and i have removed the floor one or twice but didn't really have a look.

[nigelr]

Tim I'm assuming your boat is a 'tinny'?
Sort of went through this excercise myself before and after I bought my present 'tinny'.
Decided I wanted to be able to remove the floor with comparative ease, so as to keep a good eye on what's going on under there.....
So ended up going with 19mm formply. Did it properly, sealed all edges and holes with Norseal Epoxy, and made it a 5 piece instead of a 3 piece floor.
No longer a difficult or time consuming thing to remove a sinker etc from under the floor.......
If I was going to use checkerplate, I would screw it down, rather than rivet and/or sika it, for exactly the same reason ie to make it easy to get the floor up if necessary. Only problem would be the SS screws could eventually cause the screw holes to corrode........I used SS screws with mine but coated them with lanolin grease before I fixed the floor.
Before I bought my present boat, I was set on a 'sealed' floor.
Then I went down to the Central Coast NSW and inspected a Pacific Sportfish.
Truly scared me to think what was going on under that floor.......the whole vessel was a floating anode!
When I thought about it, twin bilge pumps and the ability to get at the bilge area easily (to keep it clean and I like to spray mine with UP Lanotec) became my preferred option.
Cheers.

[Jarrah Jack]

A properly treated ply floor should last as long as the boat. I would cover mine with west system epoxy especially the ends and any holes made for fittings etc. If no moisture can get in then it won't rot. I also like Nigel's idea of having a number of small panels rather than two large ones.

[timddo]

While on smoko ::) i found out that Celuka is $110 a sheet and will not rot.

Now to do the floors on the boat will require 2 sheets of this stuff. I'm looking at 12 mm as the old boards are that and i can't fit anything thicker.

Normal sheet of ply is say $60 plus $80 for exposy. Giving me a total of $200.

So i'm thinkin celuka foam boards in the 12mm now. Will this stuff span 450 cm????

Also it comes in Black or White? i was thinking black? white can get a little dirty

[frankgrimes]

While on smoko ::) i found out that Celuka is $110 a sheet and will not rot.

Now to do the floors on the boat will require 2 sheets of this stuff. I'm looking at 12 mm as the old boards are that and i can't fit anything thicker.

Normal sheet of ply is say $60 plus $80 for exposy. Giving me a total of $200.

So i'm thinkin celuka foam boards in the 12mm now. Will this stuff span 450 cm????

Also it comes in Black or White? i was thinking black? white can get a little dirty

Hey Tim - Know nothing about celuka, but reckon the black would get very hot(Unless you have some rubber matt/carpet planned?)

Mick

[timddo]

Hey Tim - Know nothing about celuka, but reckon the black would get very hot(Unless you have some rubber matt/carpet planned?)

Mick

Mick

The boat will be carpeted. Either clip on with studs ( like my bimini) or glued down.

Black just makes the boat look a little cleaner then white :P .

Another idea

To illiminate different metals , could i sikaflex the celuka to the support beams and pop rivert them in,and sikaflex the joins. This will make the floor water tight with a sump down the back like Bar Crushers. This will illiminate all the SS screws currently in use.

Every new idea means more money.


Or should i just replace the boards and screw them in.

Bring out another thousands seems right for a BOAT

[shano]

i work with ally everyday , and have a tinnie also. i decided against a checker plate floor in mine and opted for marine ply and marine carpet . reason is ally checker plate is bloody slipery when wet if u have shoes on, also the glare from the sun is terrible. so decided against it!

[Alchemy]

While on smoko ::) i found out that Celuka is $110 a sheet and will not rot.

Now to do the floors on the boat will require 2 sheets of this stuff. I'm looking at 12 mm as the old boards are that and i can't fit anything thicker.

Normal sheet of ply is say $60 plus $80 for exposy. Giving me a total of $200.

So i'm thinkin celuka foam boards in the 12mm now. Will this stuff span 450 cm????

Also it comes in Black or White? i was thinking black? white can get a little dirty

Tim, how does the celuka compare to the 19mm ply in so far as weight goes?

[timddo]

Dave

From reading a thread from bluefin59 about him replacing his ply floorboards. It says 1/3 the weight of ply. I think his boat was refitted by origin boats.

I'm ordering the boards next week and should know the weight. Spoke to the plasic guy and he says some people buy it to make eskies and boards. I want to do it once and i may buy decktreck and jus stick it on. No more carpets

[Alchemy]

Dave

From reading a thread from bluefin59 about him replacing his ply floorboards. It says 1/3 the weight of ply. I think his boat was refitted by origin boats.

I'm ordering the boards next week and should know the weight. Spoke to the plasic guy and he says some people buy it to make eskies and boards. I want to do it once and i may buy decktreck and jus stick it on. No more carpets

Thanks for that Tim. Yes, I remember bluefin posting about his boat re-fit. I'm looking to replace the ply in my 3.9m tinnie due to the weight.