I was wondering what you guys think would be the best marerial to use for redecking a 15 foot aluminum boat. It has a plywood deck in it now but it is roting and not able to hold the seats securely. I was thinking going back with new plywood and coating it with a roll on polyurithane - similar to rhino lining. What do you guys think would be best?

I'm actually building a deck in my boat right now. I'd stay away from the treated plywood as I've heard the new chemicals used are bad for the aluminum. I'm doing mine with regular plywood, coating with Thomspons water seal, and topping with marine grade carpet.

Use regular 3/4" plywood and encase it in an epoxy or polyester resin.

Polyester resins can absorb water. That's why the compartments on your bassboat are gel coated.

I used Diamond plate Aluminum and pop rivets. It was about $300 for the aluminum, pop rivit gun and rivits. I had the pieces cut to fit the main floor and just trimmed out around the ribs. Not perfect but I will not have to do it again.

Isn't that kind of bright with the glare? Good idea, but I would think the glare and noise would be an issue?

So you guys think Thompson Water Seal would be better than a polyurithane?

resin the plywood thats all you need

The glare was covered up by Tuff guard rubber roll on lining. This on a duck boat and they have several camo colors. Under the floor I used spray in foam insulation for floatation as well as sound deadning. Also the rubber roll on lining also helped on sound deadning.

applied thompsons first then fiberglass resin(plywwod).
hard as nails.
been two years not a problem out of it.
no signs of rot, warp.
cut to fit then applied the thompsons,then resin to all sides,edges and pre-cut holes.

resin wont stay on treated or that water seal very long just paint it with resin making shure you seal it good and youll be ok

where can I buy resin and how much am I looking at for a gallon or two of it? (have never dealt with resin before, any tips?)

Good advise going on here, do not use Wolminized plywood. 2reasons. 1. that plywood is made for ground contact use, it does not fare well when used as a floor. It is and will separate on you. 2. It has to be the sorriest grade of wood and especially plywood that you can buy. It is not even as good as CDX grade. The ultimate is useing aluminum. expensive,sure, but permenant. Coating the plywood on both sides is the way to go. I prefer latex house paint. Latex will breathe and allow moisture to pass thru it. An oil base will trap the moisture in the wood and rot will occur more quickly. An average floor will last 10 years painted with latex, both sides. If you want a texture floor, paint the 1st coat topside and let dry, 2nd coat paint on heavy and while wet add PLAY sand or Sand Blast sand on top. Let dry, sweep, paint third coat.. When it gets dirty , just grab the latex and paint again. You will be supprized as how well it works on fiberglass too..
P.S. 5/8" plywood is thick enough. A word of caution. Only put enough screws in to hold the plywood in place. It the hull is rivited, you screw the floor down god awful tight, You will probably start cracking ribs. If it is an all welded hull, screw it down tight. The rivited hulls have to flex, if they get ridged from adding a thick heavy floor, the ribs will start to crack, then the hull will crack. If the hull cracks crossways of the boat, It's worth 16cents a lb. (scrap)

Thanks for the info!