make wood deck on aluminum boat??

[olboatbob]

Since I cannot afford a runabout, and not familiar with boats, can I put a wooden deck on an aluminum fishing boat? If so what kind of wood? Plywood?
framing attachments? Etc., Thank you, this is my first note, I am 76 yrs old...
Bob

[the1much]

you could use marine grade ply,,and rivet in supports to your boat to hold your deck,,,,how far from the bottom of your hull are you planning on comming up with your deck?.

[olboatbob]

I would put the deck on from the top of the sides, probably 3 feet back from bow, like a runabout, put controls on it, maybe another one in back of the front seating..
Bob

[lazeyjack]

are you talking deck or cockpit sole, welcome, for a deck you need a (shelf) welded around the gunnel, then beam,s attached to the shelf, with correct crown height, , and with sole, tabs welded to the topside plate, then a wooden cleat to the tabs, then sole bearers, then marine ply glassed, send , pics and beer

[BHOFM]

Sorry, did not read enough!

[the1much]

another thing to consider,,is with your "new" deck,,,,your boat is going to handle and rock WAY different,,,,telling us the size would help,,,but pics are whats needed,,,some boats just cant handle a deck,,,they become top heavy and heel from side to side,,,,is like sitting on a 2x4 thats a foot tall,,,,,,then sit on 1 thats 10 feet tall.
Thanks lazyz,,,i knew a "metal" guy would show up sooner or later,,hehe

[olboatbob]

I am sorry if I do not know the correct descriptive words. I want something to mount a steering wheel too, and a windshield. The boat is about 15 feet long. Maybe I shouldn't try it. What would be a good book? Thanks everyone.
Bob

[g.maclaren]

Here is a wood deck on an aluminum boat.
(The boat is 83 ft. long and recently completed.)

[the1much]

so bob,,,,,you just want a steering wheel and seat?,,,not the whole deck (floor)?,,,,if thats all your looking for,,,it shouldnt actually be that hard ( well not as hard as doing a whole deck).

[olboatbob]

Sorry, I do not mean a floor (deck) just a small fishing boat that I want to look like an outboard runabout with a 3 foot long cover on the front so it looks good, maybe with some painted in caulking to look like narrow planks.
Bob

[redtech]

olbob, start simple one thing at a time lazeyjack gives good advise most of the time just have to get over the rough edges of language differances
start with a paper and lots of questions (what type of boat, what do i want from this, ect.)
build a console and having the flang or flanges welded in for mounting

[the1much]

sounds like a simple aluminum sheet spread across the bow , go aft as far as you want,, and connect to a few aluminum "studs"(sorry lazyz,,hehe,, im not a aluminum dude,,hehe ),,at the end have a few more supports to "hang" a console.,,, what you want to do with your cover ( lay on,, walk on,,use just to cover "supplies and gear") will determin how "heavy" to go.,,,,,,and hanging a console may be easier then building 1 up.,,,,but i defer all advice to lazyz,,,,,he's the "tin man" hehe

[kmorin]

olboatbob,

Most of the small (15') aluminum skiffs are not welded material they're riveted with heavy extrusions rolled and mounted on the hull panel edges. This means the tops of the sides likely has an extrusion of some shape that has a groove to fit over the edge of the side sheets at their top edge (sheer)

Welding a flange to this is pretty expensive, relative to the project scope, so I'd investigate if the extrusion were shaped so the ply foredeck could be mounted directly to that existing hull metal? SS sheet metal screws could be used to hold a ply deck to this part of most production skiffs by bedding in 5200.

If not, then I'd glue (3M 5200 bedded) a series of wood strips inside as a sheer clamp to mount/seal the deck to. Once you'd glued four 1/4" x 1-1/2" strips of wood to the one bedded and glued to the topsides extrusion, then I'd butt a couple of deck beams to this with triangular shaped glue and screw blocks (knees or breasthooks)

Decking this with ply, glued and screwed to the two main side-to-side (transverse cambered frames) and the sheer clamp, would make a find job of this conversion.

There is a plywood made to simulate teak and butyl calked strip planked decks that may be available thin enough to form over this small area? That and some cover boards (curved wood planks arranged around the top of a boat as edges for decks) would make the skiff look very dressy.

What seems the most important decision to make is the relative height of the topsides. Sitting on the forward thwart (cross wise fixed seat) and holding both hands over your knees, arms bent at the elbows, that is about the bottom of the steering wheel. So we could say that 4 to 6 inches above your hands is the lowest the deck could be and have the steering wheel cable box under the bow deck.

In most of the small open press formed aluminum skiffs I've seen the topsides are (far) too low for this deck to have the controls as high as a runabout does. If you don't mind sitting completely above the deck and controls, as I think the case would be with the depth of this type of skiff? then all that has been said above will work you'd just have the controls very low and the wind screen disproportionately tall to the deck level.

Wood will work for aluminum boat modifications of this scale if the wood is sealed as much as possible and bedded (glued with a thick rubbery sealant type adhesive) well.

Lunds, Gregors, and Starcraft of this size all seem to be much lower depth than what looks like would be needed. Bayrunner is a bit deeper in the same size range, as an example, but even then; at 15' most skiffs this size have very shallow hulls which would set the deck height, and that would dictate the looks and influence the design, greatly.

cheers,
kmorin

[lazeyjack]

sorry bob, I am a bit blunt, i will help you even ring or pm you if you want, MR Morin posts nice stuff) I hate typin'