Wood Floor

(mikef9844) · (mikef9844) **Join Date: Sep 2008** 10-15-2008, 6:04 PM

I have an I/O from the 80's and some of the wood inside is rotting. I need to replace some of the pieces but don't know what kind of wood to get. I went to Lowes and they had some basic plywood that was weather resistant, but I don't know how well it will work in a boat. What kind of wood should I get and do I need to apply anything to it to protect it for the future?

(rallyart) · (rallyart) **Join Date: Nov 2006** 10-15-2008, 6:38 PM

Pressure treated plywood is OK. You're best if it has copper in the treatment. You can find Marine plywood or you can use Aquabeam plywood which has a lifetime guarantee.
If you just get pressure treated then maybe add some deck seal to it. The first stuff lasted 20 years so you should get a few years out of what you replace it with. Technology has improved.

(westsidarider) · (westsidarider) **Join Date: Feb 2003** 10-15-2008, 7:05 PM

i rebuilt an old 79 charger jet years back and the wood floor and stringers had rotted out. when we rebuilt it we used pressure treated wood and put a coat a fiberglass resign on it and it worked really well.

(mbouchard) · (mbouchard) **Join Date: May 2006** 10-16-2008, 5:43 AM

do a synthetic board - something like:

http://www.merrittsupply.com/SpaceAge-C715.aspx

(salty87) · (salty87) **Join Date: Jul 2002** 10-16-2008, 6:20 AM

don't be surprised to find more when you open her up. if the floor is rotting, think of what things lower in the hull might be like.

ideally, you'd wet the wood with resin and fiberglass the bottom side, lay the floor, then fiberglass the top to seal it.

pressure treated wood will probably be wet when you buy it, it needs to dry out before resin will stick to it.

(mikef9844) · (mikef9844) **Join Date: Sep 2008** 11-05-2008, 2:13 PM

Ok so I bought some pressure treated wood from Lowes. Bought a 3/4" x 4' x 8' piece and cut it myself and its working really well. It's a lot stronger than the old wood and should work well for a couple more years.

(bmartin) · (bmartin) **Join Date: Jan 2007** 11-05-2008, 2:35 PM

When I laid new floor in an old I/O I used 1"x4" pressure treated boards and built just like a deck, except the spacing between boards was much tighter with only a 1/8" gap between boards. It was much easier to handle and install using boards as opposed to a sheet. Also the boards allow water to more easily drip through to the bilge so it doesn't pool or hold moisture like a solid sheet. I did not use any resin or glass and the floor outlasted the boat. When you carpet over it, you really can not tell it was done with boards if you keep really narrow gaps.