Boat floor restoration

[guywhofishes]

a heated garage changed my life

when spring comes I pull my boat in for a couple weeks and just sit in it after work thinking "what pissed me off last year and how do I rig this little filly to avoid that this year?"

then I gather the necessary stuff and get crackin'

it doesn't affect fishing time much - boat rigging is done at times like late March or November - between major seasons

 

[fnznfwl]

well maybe next time you need a liver transplant you can take some pics and do it yourself...haha

everything beats doing it yourself, like the wife setting a plate of food at my spot on the table, or the kids running me another cold one, or my hunting partner gutting my deer...

Or the water treatment plant cleaning my water for me, could I learn how to do it, sure, but why? Are you telling me cleaning my own water would give me a sense of pride, and it would taste better...haha

I could start my own beehive in the back yard too, but think I will just purchase the one jar of honey we use every other year...

:;:

translated: I really have no idea how to do anything mechanical myself but I'll use the "I'd rather pay someone to do it" excuse.

 

[BDub]

a heated garage changed my life

when spring comes I pull my boat in for a couple weeks and just sit in it after work thinking "what pissed me off last year and how do I rig this little filly to avoid that this year?"

then I gather the necessary stuff and get crackin'

it doesn't affect fishing time much - boat rigging is done at times like late March or November - between major seasons

Being busy = good

 

[Jigaman]

a heated garage changed my life

when spring comes I pull my boat in for a couple weeks and just sit in it after work thinking "what pissed me off last year and how do I rig this little filly to avoid that this year?"

then I gather the necessary stuff and get crackin'

it doesn't affect fishing time much - boat rigging is done at times like late March or November - between major seasons

I agree about the heated garage. However, instead of working on fixing stuff in the boat in the spring I usually end up giving it a half-ass cleaning and just sit in it while drinking beer and hiding from the wife and kids.

 

[guywhofishes]

translated: I really have no idea how to do anything mechanical myself but I'll use the "I'd rather pay someone to do it" excuse.

in my opinion if a guy is lacking in passion or skill in an area he is WISE to pay someone to do it correctly (tiling, drywall, mechanics, autobody, etc. come to mind)

nothing like a butchered project to remind one of that - like the douche who owned my house before me - he left me some real "gifts" let me tell you

 

[johnr]

Haha.
You guys are.very.defensive about boat tinkering.
I have no inadequacy in personal projects such as this. It is just not my idea of fun, or a worthy use of my time. At no point did I intend to imply those that do are better or worse than anyone else. I like ice fishing my wife does not, that doesn't mean I am better or smarter, or full of talent. It means she gets nothing out of it, and would just as soon go to the market and buy fish in the winter.

I do have a better pickup than any of you guys though...haha

 

[guywhofishes]

Haha.
You guys are.very.defensive about boat tinkering.
I have no inadequacy in personal projects such as this. It is just not my idea of fun, or a worthy use of my time. At no point did I intend to imply those that do are better or worse than anyone else. I like ice fishing my wife does not, that doesn't mean I am better or smarter, or full of talent. It means she gets nothing out of it, and would just as soon go to the market and buy fish in the winter.

I do have a better pickup than any of you guys though...haha

Why didn't you mention you got a Ram? Excellent! :;:rockit

 

[espringers]

I did mine a couple of years ago. I used 3/4 inch plywood for the front end, the rear casting platform and the live well hatches. Gave it a good coating of some special paint... may have been oil based and then carpeted. For the main deck I used some of that trex type decking with a light coat of stain. Turned out sweet as pu$$y pie.

 

[guywhofishes]

I re-floored an entire pontoon with 3/4 sheet marine. Basically had it tore down to the toons/frame.

Had the entire deck lined with industrial liner (rhino-equivalent) before anything went back on top. Should last the rest of my life. But hope it doesn't.

 

[NDwalleyes]

Part of me wishes I would have put this in rather than carpet. This would allow a guy to just take a hose to the floor.

 

[mrperch]

Was thinking maybe doing the back like stated above and leave the front carpet

 

[CatDaddy]

Johnr is right, and so is everyone else.....For me, it comes down to this: I love to tinker, but time is precious. Two kids, full time job, fishing as often as I can - it's a challenge to balance as many of you know. I started a flooring project in my boat and am scrambling now to finish with life happening. Maybe my time would have been worth just paying someone else to do it instead of wondering if I'll finish in time for spring catfish? I'll make sure it's done, but likely means some sacrifices elsewhere. Nothing like a week of PTO to work on the boat !! If I had the time I'd always do it myself....but sometimes it's worth my money to make sure my time is better spent.

 

[raider]

nothing beats doing it yourself - while you are in there you can be running conduit (as mentioned), inspecting stuff, replacing anything looking half-a$$ed, etc.

labor of love that pays dividends knowing it all got done right - and how to repair stuff down the road and how to get into it again.

and take lots and lots and lots of pics as mentioned too

seal rivets?

great point guy... would b a great time to seal all seams and rivets on a metal hull with everything exposed...

clean up all rivets with something like this and brush on a polyurea like herculiner from walmart for a great seal... would b a great time for a little elbow grease insurance policy... polyurea also has great elasticity properties for those future incidental bumps and bruises which may make the rivets leak...

fwiw, the more of this type of thing you do yourself, the more you will know going through life... whether you chose to do it yourself or not going forward, knowledge is power... more is better...

good luck...

 

[SDMF]

Polyurea sounds like something you clean outta the bottom of a parrot's cage.

 

[raider]

Polyurea sounds like something you clean outta the bottom of a parrot's cage.

bed liner...

 

[SDMF]

Polyurea sounds like something you clean outta the bottom of a parrot's cage.

bed liner...

I know, but my statement was funnier.

"Polly wanna cracker?" Polly is a parrot. You gotta clean the urea outta Polly's cage. Polyurea. CRIPES!! Did I become as cryptic as svnmag?

 

[espringers]

No.

 

[wildeyes]

did a Main floor, changed runabout front to deck, put livewell in, not hard just scary putting holes in side of hull make sure you use marine ply when it comes to carpet ,hard floor will make more noise when you drop something. I would rhino everything and put snap in carpet also watch out with replacing rivets. I had a fiend of mine do that and the skin on the hull cracked because there was no (give)the new rivets were tight and the aluminum was old.

 

[D-Racer]

Reworked the floor on my boat a few years ago and used marine Tuff Coat (bought it thru Overtons). So far so good, as it is durable and provides good grip, easy on bare feet and can be washed out.

 

[mrperch]

Well I have started the project, and what a deal this is turning into, a have all flooring ripped out the counsel hanging from the garage ceiling. I am now in the process of tearing out the waterlogged foam. Think Ive come to the conclusion of using tuff coat on the entire floor, would a guy have to put screws in after coated?? Would think you would want access to them? I will post some pics as I go here!! Thank you guys for all the great info so far.