Boat plywood how much $$$ and where to get it

[glen]

Anyone know the price of Boat plywood and where to get it near barrie?

 

I am falling though the floor at the back of the boat so i need enough to do a 15' boat.

 

Thanks for any help.

[Greencoachdog]

It all depends on how you want to do it... do you want to do it the right way?... or the half-ass cheap way? For Kiln dried boat deck/marine grade Pressure treated plywood, you should expect to pay somewhere in the neighborhood of $80/sheet. This is the ONLY pressure treated wood that is still allowed to use Arsenic... because the new ACQ and MCQ PT wood is highly corrosive to aluminum.

 

Sure you can go to Home Depot and buy exterior grade CDX plywood and put that down and do it the half-ass cheap way... but don't expect it to last... and don't expect the carpet you put on it to last either, the oils in exterior grade plywood are notorious for degrading carpet.

 

As to where to get it, contact a local boat dealership... if they don't have it or can't get it, they will know somebody that has it.

 

It all depends on what you have and what you want. Do you have a little "el cheapo" 12 or 14' tinny that you or someone else has modified?... if so, you can go the CDX route... but don't expect it to last.

Or do you have a fairly decent namebrand boat that you plan on keeping for awhile???

 

Have you ever heard the old saying "pay me now or pay me later?

[irishfield]

Was talking about this with another Gent today and my question to him was "do you know if the plastic deck manufacturers make an imitiation "plywood" sheet to go with their deck boards". If they did that might work great for a casting deck....but I don't know if they do.

[Sinker]

I don't think the PT lumber has any effect on aluminum like they say. I've had a PT floor in my boat for the last 6 years, and its just the same as when I put it in. No problems whatsoever, and I wouldn't hesitate to do it again. I had the whole thing stripped down the last couple weeks to do some reno's and all the metal is just like it was when I got the boat. Its a '93 starcraft.

 

I used 1x6 fence boards, and its great. All the water and dirt goes thru the small cracks between the boards. A quick power wash and its like new again. A lot easier to install as well. The floor of my boat is like a nice deck.....all its missing is the hot tub and BBQ! It dries in no time, and holds no dirt like carpet does. I hate carpet! All it does is hold dirt and stay wet!! I still don't understand why they ever put it in boats?

 

Sinker

[Jigger]

I think it depends on if you have carpet or not. The PT board breaks down quality carpet in no time. If you're short on cash go with the PT. If you've got marine carpet back there, you might want marine grade ply down as well. I just finished my "el cheapo modified" with floor sheathing and indoor/outdoor carpet. But plan on getting the marine grade carpet and ply in about 2-3 yrs. Get what you can afford, or more to the point, how often do you want to do the job?

[KyleM]

Sinker, I believe they just recently changed the recipe for PT plywood.

It is very corrosive to aluminum. The other thing you need to watch out for is using this new PT with riveted boats. Some of the chemicals in the newer PT can eat the

rubber gaskets in the riveted boats.

 

I order this stuff dang near every week and I can tell you that marine grade ply holds up just aslong as exterior. They use the same substance to bond the plys together, they both break away the same.

If you want something strong that will hold up for the rest of your life then up the number of ply on the sheet. Regular 5 ply will rot (marine grade or not) within 10 years.

 

Another good thing to do is burn in your joints. If you have a belt sander, grab an old beat up belt with next to no grit left on it. Fit your plywood in place and burn all the edges with the dull sandpaper. This creates a hard surface that water cant get into.

 

If your not able to use a belt sander then 3M makes a great compound, I like to use the 5200. Smear it around the edges and joints.

 

There are tons of places to price out plywood. If you can, locate some 5x8 instead of 4x8 sheets. most boats 15' under have a floor width of under 5' so you can run a good length before making a joint.

 

Try.....(you will hafta locate the numbers online as Im not at work)

 

Wanderosa in Bolton

Commonwealth

Robert Bury Lumber

 

A couple weeks ago I called Wanderosa and they had a flat of 5x8 sheets on order.

All the 5 footers come from Italy so sometimes it takes awhile to find them.

[Dutch]

I am currently replacing the transom in my aluminum. I will be using marine grade plywood. To me the extra cost is worth it over PT.

 

I would suggest water-proofing with a coat of 2 part epoxy, especially on the edges. If you are putting screws in, coat them with 3M 4200 or 5200 before turning them in. No sense in letting water into your newly water proofed floor. Marine grade ply with epoxy should last a lifetime.

 

If you want to use PT, I would think that any corrosive reaction with the carpet or aluminum would be negated with a good coat or two of the epoxy as well. It doesn't let any moisture in or out, so it may act as a seal - maybe someone can confirm?

 

Good luck with it.

[Sinker]

Sinker, I believe they just recently changed the recipe for PT plywood.

It is very corrosive to aluminum. The other thing you need to watch out for is using this new PT with riveted boats. Some of the chemicals in the newer PT can eat the

rubber gaskets in the riveted boats.

 

So the new recipe is corrosive? My boat is fine, I've been keeping a close eye on it since I heard about this whole ordeal.

 

I agree on the marine grade pl as well. Regular exterior ply will last just as long.

[sirfish]

GCD, marine grade plywood in Canada is not treated with arsenic. It is a 7 ply dense strand that comes in two thicknesses. This weighs a ton for a 4X8 sheet and comes in at over a $100 a sheet.

Glen go to one of the local lumber places they should have something in stock being as you are from the Barrie area if they haven't got it they will get it for you Or check out the more reputable marinas. they might have it but you will pay more as they are the middle man. Good luck.

 

Dutch , I replaced the tramsom on my springbok 10 yrs back with marine grade. I epoxied 2 pieces of 3/4 together and then sealed it and have not had a problem yet.it still looks new today.