Epoxy marine plywood on aluminum boat or not?

[Fish4Eyes]

I am changing the floor on my aluminum boat and am still on the fence whether or not I need to epoxy/seal the Meranti plywood before laying it down. Are these expoxy's/sealers safe when in contact with aluminum? If recommended, any particular brand I should be using and where can I buy it?

 

The boat is a trailer boat so it will be exposed to the elements.

 

I did notice a couple small areas on the aluminum framing has some surface rust. Do these surface rust spots just need to be sanded off or is more required?

[muskymatt]

Yes just clean the aluminum and you should be fine. I coated my transom with this product http://westcoat.com/ I would definitely seal the wood. I laminated to layers of 13 ply marine mahogany plywood together and then coated with this product and it's bulletproof. It's used on exposed wood on sailboats and is UV and slip proof.

 

Total cost to me was about $200 for the coating, I recommend you get the pumps for proper mixing.

[JoshS]

Definitely seal it and you won't have to worry later. I sealed mine with 4 coats of spar urethane when I redid my carpet. Seems invincible now. I had a tough time finding epoxy locally for a decent price. But I researched spar urethane was a good alternative and worked well.

[Tim Mills]

If your going to spend the money on marine ply you might as well seal it.

 

I used System 3- S1 Epoxy Sealer. I bought it at Noah's in TO but its alot cheaper The Masons Store/Chandlery at the Port Credit Marina- good guys there who know the products as well. Good selection of Stainless hardware and Electrical supplies too.

 

I have also read about the use of SPAR Urethane as an alternative to EPOXY as well,. I think it was on the Wooden Boat site.

Just an FYI that the Canadian version of some of these marine products are more enviormentally friendly than the ones in the USA and may not hold up as well.