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| I bought a used boat in late August and one of my winter shop projects is to build a rear casting deck. I had thought I would use marine grade plywood but someone suggested treated, exterior plywood would be better and longer lasting. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks |
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Posts: 1209
| Marine plywood weights significantly less. The two boats I built I treated with a product called C.P.E.S. " clear penetrating epoxy sealant from rotdoctor.com" makes the wood almost plastic like and super hard. Hard to staple fiberglass down. But the boats turned out as desired and I'm sure there going to have a good floor for over 20 years. But as green treated construction plywood its softer/ more flexible, wet, fiberglass won't bond with it. Heavy.
We did replace some stringers with foundation grade but that's when we learned that it isn't ideal. Good luck and have fun with it. |
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Posts: 83
Location: Des Moines Iowa | Do not use treated plywood if an aluminum boat. It will react with the treatment. I did a complete interior wood replacement on my Lund 3 years ago and used marine plywood and gave it 3 coats of spar varnish on all sides. Great so far! |
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| Thanks! I was not comfortable with the idea of treated plywood but wanted some input from those that had done a similar project. I like the idea of coating the marine grade with epoxy or spar varnish. |
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Posts: 323
Location: Elk River, MN | It also depends on your budget, if you're trying to save money then yes you can use treated plywood as long as you take the right precautions (making sure contact points with aluminum are coated and covered.)If you're willing to open your wallet more then yes choose marine grade plywood and coat it. |
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Posts: 100
| I considered doing this on my last boat, but I was going to use King Starboard rather than plywood.
http://www.kingplastic.com/products/king-starboard/
http://www.kingplastic.com/applications/marine-rv-application/
It is heavier, more expensive, but it does not require any varnish/epoxy, will not rot and they offer a version (Starboard AS) that can be used without carpet. http://www.kingplastic.com/products/king-starboard-as/
There are other similar products out there as well. |
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Posts: 300
Location: Minocqua, WI | I suggest nothing other than Marine Grade plywood. Thickness of 1/2 or 3/4in is good for the platform. Be sure to polyurethane the heck out of it for extra protection. It will last for several seasons of use if done right.
I rebuilt a custom jon boat with flooring and front and rear decks with said materials. I wouldn't do it any other way.
Edited by AndrewR 10/25/2015 9:23 PM
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Posts: 791
Location: North Central IL USA | agree with the above. If you're going to take the time to do it, do it right. Should last forever if you cover the boat unless you fish out in the rain an awful lot. |
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Posts: 385
| Use regular plywood and fiberglass it. It will last longer than the boat. |
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Posts: 1209
| Marine plywood uses different glues than regular plywood to hand moisture better. Do it once do it right and enjoy. |
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Posts: 100
| FWIW...the research I did when I was looking into this indicated that the Starboard would outlast marine plywood and be less work up front. |
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Posts: 42
| I used ACX plywood for my casting deck. Been 3 years now and so far so good. I painted all sides of it with a good quality latex paint I had left over from the house. |
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