Casting Deck or Flat False Floor

[Parrot_King]

Hi All,

I have just pulled the old casting deck off the boat as it was sagging and made the boat quite heavy.

My question is since this is an old boat and the floor is quite flimsy between the floor ribs am i better off putting in a false floor or a front casting deck?

I have attached a few photos of the boat with the old deck and now without to give you an idea on what i have to work with and this is a car topper so it would still need to be able to go on top of the ute so not to much weight.

the more weight i can save the better.

Any input would be great.

[Noelm]

Except for the added storage underneath, I never could quite come to grips with a "casting deck" don't see a lot of advantage in standing there casting with 5" of internal freeboard? I know it is common, and it appears you can't cast and catch fish without one.... but!

[gofishin]

...My question is since this is an old boat and the floor is quite flimsy between the floor ribs am i better off putting in a false floor or a front casting deck?...
Is the floor flimsy because it is rotten or because it was made to be light-weight?


...the more weight i can save the better...
You may have answered your own question!

Have you tried to lift it on to the ute with the floor & deck fitted? If not try it. Have you launched the boat yet? If not try it. Being a small light boat you may find that when you stand on the casting deck it is quite wobbly on the water. If you are happy with this, are ok with getting it on top of the ute in 'heavy mode', and prefer a casting deck then you have one answer. Similar for floor.

Boating is a compromise, no matter how big or small the boat.

PS. It looks to have had water inside the boat for a very long time at one stage of its life (see water level marks on front two thwarts). Rivets couldn't have been leaking too much then!


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[Adam_G]

In a small boat the real estate under the casting deck for storage is valuable. I have esky, life jackets, yabbie pump & sieve, tackle boxes and spare fuel stored under mine.

If done properly you can keep the deck completely clear all the time, a tidy organised boat is much more pleasant to fish out of than stepping over and around crap on the deck.

[deckie]

Agree with others up there ^^. Boating is about getting out on the water first and foremost. Whateva it takes to simplify that and make it easier, means the more you;ll enjoy it and do it more often. The fishing practicality/preferences come a distant second to how easy it is getting it in and out of the water i reckon...if its too heavy u wont be going fishing at all after awhile.

Casting decks i cant figure out...nor these television catfish skateboards that have evolved for the redneck element with 200hp on the back. A boat has freeboard...why wouldnt they simply buy a barge tinnie or v nose punt and throw some ply down ? Beats spending 70K on something that u cant even put a rod down without it tripping u over into the drink.

I reckon a compromise with the weight might be to make up a few removable treated ply pieces as the new false floor. I'm no tinnie expert but surely that weight saving of being able to remove the 20-30+kg of ply couldnt hurt getting it on the roof. You really need to be using 15mm minimum ply. 17mm is common for wide unsupported spans. Wet carpet obviously makes it heavier as well. Shouldnt be too hard to simply get the tinnie down then throw in the snug fitting ply floor sections ?? Would also make it easy to dry out the floor and check for sneaky lead sinkers.
Just a thought.
Steve

[Parrot_King]

Thanks Noelm i have never really seen the point in a casting deck either but it was in the boat when i bought it.

gofishin i have loaded the boat on the ute with deck fitted and it was quite heavy, i havent tried it in the water yet. If the boat is unstable when standing on the deck id rather do without it. The comment you made about the water inside and rivets not leaking is one less thing for me to worry about. The floor feels flimsy between the floor ribs as it an older boat it looks like thin material thats just my guess and thats why id prefer a floor on top as id hate to crack the floor while standing on it.

Adam_G the underfloor storage is the big factor here but if the boat becomes unstable when standing on the deck id rather not have it. I have though of making storage behind the rear thwart seat and infront of the front one. its not goinfg to be huge but still something i guess.

Deckie the removable floor panels you mentioned sound like a real goer. ill probably end up with some sort of brace ontop of the floor ribs for extra strength. have you got any ideas what would work best?

[Parrot_King]

Any other comments people?

[deckie]

Sorry mate...i got to start going back over these threads.

Surprised u havent had more suggestions...plenty of tinnie owners must have something to contribute.

The removeable deck panels just seemed like a logical common sense approach to saving the weight for purpose on and off the roof coz carpetted ply even when dry weighs a lot, and for getting a new deck at the same time. Without having owned a tinnie i'm not even sure if its practical...so hopefully others can jump in and help...as well as helping with the practical fishing side of things with stability in mind.

Steve

[Parrot_King]

Thanks deckie, yes the removable floor sounds like a good idea. I would still like to hear from fellow tinny owners on their ideas.

[scottar]

It comes down to your own personal preference and usage patterns. Depending on how you fish a casting platform can make it a hell of a lot easier to work a lure. When we use hard bodied lures for barra we predominantly use a downward motion of the rod to move the lure forward. Having that bit of elevation gives you more room to do so. You learn pretty quick not to go too close to the edge of the platform in a small or unstable boat.

[Horse]

I would make drop in floors flush with the seats to cover the area in front of the forward thwart and aft of the rear one then a drop in floor in the other areas.

[Parrot_King]

Thanks Scottar, casting decks do sound practical and beneficial I just hope the boat will be stable enough though. I will have to try it out in the drink first before making a decision.

Thanks Horse, Your idea sounds good as that would create 2 small casting decks as well as flat floors. Would you bother hinging the front and rear floors that are level with the thwarts or just leave them drop in?