puting carpet on my home made casting deck

[fish-miester]

so heres the story.. i put a casting"deck" into my aluminum boat early this season.. and well its exactly that .. a Deck, as i used deck boards.. and well its deffenetly strong enough for 2 ppl plus my pedestal seat.. but was wondering how i should carpet the deck now as i dont really want it to be uneven or wavey / with the grooves of the boards showing.. and ideally i would like it to be nice and flat and well look good...

 

any ideas?.. what are your thoughts ?

i am no carpenter and any ideas, tips or hints would greatly be appreciated

 

i was thinking if i was to sand each board down flat and level with each other , then coat the wood in fibre glass resin ?

or add a thin layer of plywood ontop of the already in place deck boards.. and then add the carpet ontop of that ?

or maybe sand and fill the grooves in between the boards?

 

 

 

thanks again a fellow angler.

Edited September 11, 2009 by fish-miester

[brifishrgy]

First off .. what kind of boat (aluminum or fiberglass) and what kind of deck boards .. I believe pressure treated and aluminum don't go well together ( thats what I have been told anyways)

 

With what you have I would use a thin piece of plywood cut to fit and tremclad the sides, top and bottom .. screw it to the deck boards ( I wouldnt glue it so the deck boards can expand and contract with the temp changes ).. use some outdoor carpet glue and bobs your uncle

[scugpg]

With what you have I would use a thin piece of plywood cut to fit and tremclad the sides, top and bottom .. screw it to the deck boards ( I wouldnt glue it so the deck boards can expand and contract with the temp changes ).. use some outdoor carpet glue and bobs your uncle

 

Yup do that. Home depot has the I/O carpet for $20 a 4x8' roll.

[backbay]

Hi F-M:

Brifishrgy's suggestion of the the thin sheet of plywood makes sense. I would consider sealing the ply sheet with marine spar varnish though, as it will be kept wet by the water absorbed by the carpet when fishing. I think a thin sheet, like a 1/4" would be at risk of rot over time...

Good luck with it, I'm sure it'll be great.

[fish-miester]

as of right nowi have a 14' aluminum and 2'' deck boards because i bought them off of my gfs dad after he built his fence.. i fibre glass resin'd them, and well its solid.. a little heavy but not complaining as i have had 3 people standing on the deck..

so you think my best bet would be to lay a 1/4 sheet over top? i was just worried about gaps below.. aka inbetween the two different surfaces.. aka room for mold? or anything ?

[hirk]

Fish I have read the only difference between marine and pressure treated plywood is that the marine grade can't have any gaps in the waffers.My advice is don't use less than 3/8's (1/2" is better) as it will have to much flex should you have any uneven spots under it,screw and glue it so it's a solid unit and make sure the carpet you use has both uv inhibitors and is not a closed loop cut or you will curse it everytime a hook gets near it.As mentioned by others seal up the ends and all the cuts you make to prevent water intrusion

[fish-miester]

awesome thanks hirk

[bubbles]

Fish I have read the only difference between marine and pressure treated plywood is that the marine grade can't have any gaps in the waffers.My advice is don't use less than 3/8's (1/2" is better) as it will have to much flex should you have any uneven spots under it,screw and glue it so it's a solid unit and make sure the carpet you use has both uv inhibitors and is not a closed loop cut or you will curse it everytime a hook gets near it.As mentioned by others seal up the ends and all the cuts you make to prevent water intrusion

 

 

I agree, don't go any less than 1/2", as soon as it gets wet it's going to be a disaster if you use thin plywood.

[hirk]

YW fish,feel free to shoot me a IM if you have any Q's while doing it.

[dagoat_1]

2nd on the 1/2" nothing less. I can se the 1/4" causing issue if exposed to moisture which it will constantly be.

As for the pressure treated mxing with aluminum, I have been told the same over the years and still used it on 3 boats now. Each boat I built was upgraded within 5yrs so i can at least tell you that it held up with no issues what so ever.

I say if it becomes an issue you will probably upgrade to larger/different boat by then.

you can resin over the 1/2" to be safe but I can tell you that will add a ton of weight, found that out on my first casting desk I put on a 14". I used 3/4" which worked out fine but like I said if i did it again I would just used left the wood as is, maybe a sealer thats it.

Good luck.

[Dara]

I wouldn't think the lines would show that much. At 2" thick already, I would just glue the carpet down to that

[fish-miester]

i was going to originaly build the boat out of 3/4 and suport it properly, but we had all the wood left over so we cut them all to size and put it in, sure its a tonn of weight but hey if its just me in the boat its perfect, and well i was thinking if i some how leveld the boards and filled the "grooves" then would that work ?

 

cuz i was just thinking if i put a hole new piece of wood in (which covers half of my boat) thats going to add alot more weight,

and yes i do want this to be a decent looking boat at the end of the day .. but after college im gunna be getting myself somthin a little nicer.

tho that means it has to last me about 4 years..

[misfish]

I wouldn't think the lines would show that much. At 2" thick already, I would just glue the carpet down to that

 

Personally myself,I would just fold the carpet under the plywood and staple it. This way you can replace the carpet and still use the same deck. Worked for me.

And yes,pressure treated and alluminum do not work together.

 

Good luck.

[Lunker777]

Heres mine.... I built my deck out of 2x2 braces and 1/2" ply.... I tried the 3/8s and there was to much flex...

In a 14' tinny. weight is always an issue. I dont know about you, but for me, I wanted to save as much weight as possible. I would suggest replacing the 2"deck boards.... just sounds like alot of un needed weight.

 

We had my boat decked and carpeted in about a day..no tincluding the time it took for the water proof to seal on the wood.

I have no concern on how many people can fit on the deck as far as weight is concerned... ive had a good amount of weight.... 450lbs and it was fine !!!

 

Take a look !

 

Peice of 1" angle aluminum used for support.

 

 

I dont have a GOOD pic of the finished deck but this will give you an idea. I used the indoor outdoor carpet from home depot thats used around pools and such. It has a rubber backing kind of that helps keep the water out. It has worked great and feels good on the feet when bare foot. They sell the compound for gluing it down as well.

 

PM me if you have any questions

[aplumma]

I have built a few boats over the years and I used a marine grade carpet that was laid directly on the wood with an outdoor mastic glue on the wood. You first use the mastic to fill in between the boards and let it dry then you apply fresh mastic to the wood and lay the carpet.After you get it laid in place then staple the over run over the edges to hold it tight. Let dry and trim the back as needed for fit and looks.

 

 

Art

[splashhopper]

why not use 1/4" Easyboard from Home Depot....

about $18 for a 3x 5 sheet...

can cut it with a utility knife

it is very light...

and is used under tiled floors(1/4 - 1/2 ")... behind shower walls (1/2 inch for walls)etc

 

can withstand water too

 

i use it for floor tile installations a lot.

 

a

[John Bacon]

Have you considered just painting or staining it? Home Depot sells a product that you can mix with paint or stain to create a non-slip surface. It is a powder that costs about $3 or $4 per package; each package is designed to be mixed with a full size can of paint.

 

This is what I did for an extension that I had build for my old boat. It was much easier than carpeting (which I had done previously). I had actaully planned on ripping up the carpeting in the rest of the boat and just painting the floor. Unfortunately my boat sank in August so I won't bother now.

[Radnine]

as of right nowi have a 14' aluminum and 2'' deck boards because i bought them off of my gfs dad after he built his fence..

 

I guess it's a good thing that he wasn't making a patio...

Jim

(this is hilarious after three glasses of wine)

[SlowPoke]

I guess it's a good thing that he wasn't making a patio...

Jim

(this is hilarious after three glasses of wine)

 

Should I carpet or vinyl over my interlocking brick casting deck?