Aft Deck Restoration

[carl]

Thank you for your comments and input. This is what I appreciate about this forum, the 'Stop and Collaborate" before proceeding is a good practice to follow. You guys offer up more than just opinions, this is good advice and well received. I had been bouncing back and forth whether to screw or weld the aluminum sheet down to the framework below and you guys are right, If I were to weld it down I could find my regretting it down the road (or channel). I'm back to screwing it down and countersinking the holes to accommodate flat head stainless steel machine screws, I will be installing aluminum rivet nuts into the framework below. I purchased a 2oz. tub of the Ultra Tef Gel for the stainless machine screws that Wayne had found some time ago and shared with us, this is a good compound to use between dissimilar metals, you can find it here: https://www.jamestowndistributors.com/u ... do?pid=546

[carl]

Just took a look at the http://www.PlasTeak.com product line you recommended and linked over to their exterior line of products http://www.PlasDeck.com, interestingly I found this precut template for a 32' Marinette. I will drill down some more and study it all. http://www.plasdeck.com/marine-deck-pro ... -boat-deck

[jralbert]

I forgot about PlasDeck. Very versatile and good looking. You could put that stuff down, tell everyone it's teak and they may never know it's not. But you will when they are scrubbing, bleaching, clear-sealing teak and you are watching pretty girls while pretending to read about medieval history.

[carl]

Ha!

[Busia]

If you use Riv-nuts you will find they will sometimes spin on you. They are thin, but do not sit perfectly flush with the surface, so you get a little bump every place there is one. They will corrode as you can't get them in the correct alloy. Then they will spin on you and make you mad. So the answer is just use sheet metal screws. Be warned that stainless steel hardware is not as strong as carbon steel and will break very easily. You will snap some off. So drill your pilot hole bigger than you think you need. The framing that supports the deck is thick enough that you will have plenty of metal to screw into with sheet metal screws. Just buy a box of stainless SMS and be glad this is one of the easier jobs. If you want to spend some money and make the job easier, find an aircraft countersink that is adjustable. --Ed

[carl]

Would you guys mind sharing with me the actual thickness of the aluminum plate that has been installed on your boats aft decks? Aluminum comes is thin sheets up to 1/8" thick and then any thicker it becomes plate. I realize you may not even actually know the thickness as you may not have ever measured it, when it's convenient for you can you share this information with me and let me know if your experiencing any flex under foot or is it solid? Thank you for your anticipated help with this one.

[javalin390]

It will be spring before I get a chance to get up to mine (on Lake Erie). Not sure how thick it is, but it's pretty heavy duty. My hatch, in the center, has an Al angle iron frame tig welded to it. It's so heavy that it has a set of those little gas charged struts, like on a hatchback, to hold it up.

[jralbert]

Carl: The plasteak people make a plastic underlay which is what I used on the bow pulpit and screw the planks to it. Very workable. And indestructible.
Don't know the thickness but the website will have it, of course. You won't have to be cutting heavy sheets of aluminum with this stuff and cutting screw holes will be a cinch

[carl]

Hey Joel,
Your referring to the Plasteak "Boat Deck Sheets", they come in 1/4", 1/2", 5/8", 3/4" and 1" thicknesses in four different colors. I spoke to them at length months ago considering this material as a replacement for my aft deck, but they informed me that it flexes when walked on if it is not properly supported from underneath. I liked the product, the sheets are 54" wide x 96" long which is a perfect size for my aft deck, it would leave me with only one seam in the center.

[Busia]

The aluminum I have for my deck is 5/32 and is very solid. There is a lot of framing on our boats to support the deck. I think you could use 1/8 and be just fine. I removed some of the support to work, and remove the gas tank, never put it back in as did not need it.
If you do use a plastic decking, be warned it moves a lot with a change of temperature. If you attach it solidly, something will buckle. (get the coefficient of expansion and calculate the movement ) Secret is to attach it in the middle and let the ends move.--Ed