What plywood should I use for my floor? [Archive]

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Eric82

05-22-2006, 10:36 AM

Well I've got the complete floor ripped out :sick: of my 82 entertainer o/b, and I'm getting differing opinions on what kind of plywood to use. 1....I've been told marine plywwod isn't really an advantage for a floor the only difference is it has less voids than regular wood. 2. I was told to use pressure treated plywood by one guy, then someone else told me that fiberglass won't stick to pressure treated, then I was told it will stick if I leave it out in the sun to dry for a couple of days.....3. I was told resin is porus, so there is no point in coating the wood with resin to seal it.... I had to rip out all the foam in my main floor area as it was saturated with water, I don't really plan on re-doing the foam so I thought I would leave it a regular bilge area so I wanted to seal the wood so water in the bilge won't rot it.Also should I just replace the 3/4" wide floor support that runs the length of the floor, or do I also need supports going across the floor since I won't have the foam in there to support it. Thanks in advance for all your help, I'm fairly new to this type of repair and I want to do it right the first time :thumb: ......Eric

Chris

05-22-2006, 11:05 AM

Well...

Up here in Canada, most Fir good one side plywood uses marine glue.

So that's what I've always used.

Blizz

05-22-2006, 01:15 PM

As Chris stated good quality Ext plywood is good for the floor. You need to coat the entire thing with resin top,bottom and sides. Do not use pressure treated as resin does not bond very well to it and it is still an extremely wet wood. You can put a layer of glass across the entire top if you want..

Blizz

05-22-2006, 01:16 PM

If your stringer is wet replace it you can use plywood for that also..

Eric82

05-22-2006, 01:20 PM

Thanks for the suggestions, I will try to get the "good one side" wood. :thumb:

TRsCheckmate

05-23-2006, 12:25 PM

Most exterior B-C or A-C plywood uses marine type glue. A-C is more expensive and hard to find. B-C ply is always in stock at Lowes and Home depot. I used B-C and resin coated all pieces of plywood.

good luck,
-TR

Eric82

05-23-2006, 01:52 PM

:shakehead: It's amazing how these projects multiply on you, I went from thinking I had to replace a small section of the floor, to replacing the COMPLETE floor, to now as I was doing my final cleanup of the bottom of the boat I discovered a soft area (right below where the original hole in my floor was where a ski pylon was installed) in the "balsa core".:pissed: I guess I will just cut it out to dry wood , but my question is, should I try to find balsa to replace it? Is it even available anymore? the first place I called said they had it in the 80's, no help there. If I can't find it, what should I use in it's place?...thanks in advance for any advice, anymore surprises and I'm about ready to pull the plug on this project...:irked:

Blizz

05-23-2006, 07:43 PM

Yes replace the balsa with the same and make sure you get rid of all the wetness or you'll be doin it again next year.
http://www.fiberglasswarehouse.com/core_foam.asp
www.noahsmarine.com
Not sure where your located 2nd one is in Toronto.

wickedrister

05-23-2006, 11:20 PM

Eric, Post some pics of where you are at in the rebuild. It sounds like you are doing a super job. It also sounds like it's just yourr normal loads of fun repair job. Rotted floor, saturated foam, soft stringer boat torn all apart. Have fun, I bet yours looks like most any older checkmate that needs some attention. Let's see what it's looking like:thumb: Thanks Wicked

Eric82

05-24-2006, 09:02 AM

Eric82

05-24-2006, 09:35 AM

hopefully this will work, let me know, Eric

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=198cqr9e.2v84tct6&x=1&y=mszp84

Chris

05-24-2006, 09:47 AM

Thanks for the suggestions, I will try to get the "good one side" wood. :thumb:Exterior Fir G1S. ;)

cooperider

05-24-2006, 09:47 AM

Try following these instructions for posting pics.

http://checkmate-boats.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5425

Chris

05-24-2006, 10:00 AM

Well I was going to post pics, but I guess I'm not allowed to yet.:mad: Does anyone have any suggestions? Can a moderator fix this for me? I'll try to attatch a link to a kodak gallery if I can't post them here. - EricHere are the instructions for posting pics.

http://checkmate-boats.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5425

JUPITER PULSARE

05-29-2006, 02:08 PM

Eric, I am using marine ply glassed on both sides for the new floor of my Pulsare (see My Pulsare is Having Surgery). With properly glassed marine ply you should never have future problems. You need to make sure you roll the glass out and get all the air bubbles from under the glass so it bonds securely to the wood.

TRsCheckmate

05-30-2006, 01:46 PM

ndmate

05-30-2006, 03:09 PM

I recently redid a hydrostream floor and used a 1/2" Baltic Birch plywood, both sides were epoxied and fully encased to keep from rotting. I used West Marine Epoxy and it turned out great. Baltic Birch comes in 5 foot square sheets and can be purchased at Home Depot or your local lumber yard. It is super strong due to 9 layers in 1/2 inch!!! Great Stuff, I highly recommend it.

Eric82

07-01-2006, 01:37 PM

Eric,
I ran into the same thing. Routine floor replacement and found wet balsa. Check out this thread http://checkmate-boats.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3343 It is my TRV-17 overhaul thread. I inserted a great set of instructions for replacing balsa core. The instructions were written by Coop, he had posted on them on another thread on this site. I had never replaced balsa before, so the instructions were a life saver for me.

-Good luck

-TR

Thanks for the link, it helped alot:cheers I just got my balsa, and filler from Merton's marine, he gave me some good advice also, I had to put a hold on the repair for a little bit, I will get back into it soon and hopefully post some pics....