advice needed

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xsafecracker
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 5:25 pm

advice needed

Post by xsafecracker »

I recently purchased a 22' aqua platform pontoon boat. It is need of repair. Structurely it is sound but needs new seating and decking. My question is : Can I use synthetic decking boards [backyard decks] instead of the marine plywood for the deck? I am going to use this for clamming and crabbing in a small bay area. The deck being wet is not a problem however the small gaps between the boards would make hosing the deck and cleaning very easy. I would appreciate your comments.
jem
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Post by jem »

Synthetic decking boards are often made with recycled wood chips, like cedar, but have polyethylene plastics blended in with it as well.

I'm not sure what the structural properties of such "lumber" has or if it's strong enough for structural loading. But I'm guessing no.

Epoxy dooes not sitck good enough to any plastic for structural bonds.

Any pictures? If the deck is not a load bearing member of the hull, then you could use anything you wanted.
-Matt. Designer.
banoe
Posts: 53
Joined: Mon Jun 21, 2004 9:40 pm

Post by banoe »

xsafecracker,

Matt is right synthetic deck boards have no structural properties and need to be put on 16" joist centers for support. They also have a very strong tendency to stain and mildew the wood composite is like a sponge and soakes up everything. I dont think your deck would stay looking good for very long with fishing and crabbing slop on the deck. Plastic decking is also very heavy it could add a lot of weight to your boat. You might be better off putting treated plywood on the deck and covering it with texured vinyl flooring the kind that comes in 6' rolls. You could just glue it to the plywood with marine carpet cement.
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