Re-Decking Pontoon Boat

[dahanluke]

I am trying to re-deck a pontoon boat. The owner dosen't want the 1" plywood and carpet as the deck any more. They want a fiberglass deck. They have had bad problems with rotting of the wood deck so they want fiberglass. I don't know how thick to get it or where I can get a 18' x 8' sheet of plywood. Anyone know what to do? Or a better solution?

[PowerTech]

Just use marine plywood this time 1/2 inch would be fine and glass over it on both sides with byaxle

[marshmat]

Did the 1" ply work OK except for the rotting? If it did, stick with the same thickness. If it bowed down between supports you need thicker.

Marine ply, or fibreglass-coated AC (not AB) exterior plywood, works just fine. If you must have all-glass you still need a core of some sort to get the stiffness needed; it's usually wood in this case but you could use Nomex or foam.

What I would do here is to use 1/2" AC ply. Use 4x8 sheets with the long axis going port-starboard across the boat. Laminate two layers of this together with epoxy, offsetting the seams by 2'. Then put 2 or 3 layers of biaxial fibreglass, maybe 8-ounce grade, on each side. (You should be doing this on a big flat garage floor or something like that). The whole thing'll be saturated with epoxy so much that it won't rot. Plywood laminates quite well with fibreglass. The resulting sandwich can be cut and screwed down however you like, just make sure to paint all edges a few times with the epoxy resin to waterproof them.

[PowerTech]

dude that will be way thicker than 1 inch when you are done and heavy as hell .1/2 inch marine plywood is strong as hell and coverd in glass forget about it.But on another note get some 4x8 sheets of 1/8 aluminum weld them babys doun or bolt them.Slather it with glue and roll out the carpet and you got a light strong deck that will last forever on a lake.

[marshmat]

true... if you can work with aluminum, it's by far the best....

btw, the deck i described above was based on the assumption that the boat is used for carrying cargo, ATVs, the occasional Bobcat machine, etc. as is normal for pontoon boats in my area- if you're dealing with passengers only, which could be the case here, the 1/2" ply w/ glass is indeed enough

[PowerTech]

I see what you meen.Up in canada you probly use them to transport all kinds of stuff out to remote islands and camps.The boats I was thinking of were used for drinking and cat fishing.Or old farts sunset cruising

[JonathanCole]

An alternative to aluminum supports would be the following process.
Introduce a slight curve into the plywood in the direction between the pontoons. Set a 2 x 4 or smaller lifting block in the center after the plywood has been laminated and is laying on the floor ready to be glassed. When the first side is dry, flip the unit and block it in reverse with the risers on the ends this time. Then apply the fiberglas on the 2nd side. The slight curve will intensify the structure inherent in stressed skin materials.

[SamSam]

Originally Posted by dahanluke

I am trying to re-deck a pontoon boat. The owner dosen't want the 1" plywood and carpet as the deck any more. They want a fiberglass deck. They have had bad problems with rotting of the wood deck so they want fiberglass. I don't know how thick to get it or where I can get a 18' x 8' sheet of plywood. Anyone know what to do? Or a better solution?

We lived near a TVA lake that had oodles of pontoon boats, almost a plethora. The local solution for rotted decks was to replace the plywood with pressure treated plywood. A roofing company in the area had some rubber roof material in various widths on huge rolls, the stuff was pretty much like innertube rubber. A one piece sheet of rubber was then glued onto the ply using some sort of floor mastic and a notched trowel, then a layer of outdoor carpet was glued to that the same way. BTW, your pontoon deck is made of 4x8 sheets of plywood and not one big 8x18 piece. Sam

[FAST FRED]

If you want to go light , get some Nadia Core.

Find a flat floor and cover it with polly.

Lay down some 3/4 core about 6 inches bigger than the finished size.

Fibrerglass the core with 2 layers of 1 -1/2 OZ matt.

A "Steel roller" and paint roller and long handle is all you will need.

When it cures , gently turn it over and lay it on a 2X4 that represents the CL of the deck.

This will induce enough Camber to be really stiff, Glass the other side with a layer of roving added between the mat. Should weigh about 2 lbs per sq ft and will outlast 15 plywood decks .Trim to size.

Not cheap in the short term .

I have used this flat panel method (with Airex core) to construct decks , cabin sides etc for decades . It works .

FAST FRED

[johntec1]

Our community recently purchased a 1984 24 ft pontoon to convert to a floating platform/observation deck to install adjacent to our dock. We removed the carpet and the deck is weathered and cracked. Can we cover it with 5/4 decking boards so it has the same appearance as our dock? Do we need to provide a 2 x 4 spacer between the old pywood and the decking boards?

[FAST FRED]

5/4 will be heavy , but if its just a floating dock , no sweat.

There Is now plywood that is similar to "Green colored lumber " that has been treated with wood preservative .

It lasts far longer , under a carpet or astro turf than untreated ply , but don't attempt to glass it.

FF