Putting a deck in a Jon Boat

[riddleofsteel]

I just picked up a 1648 Alumacraft NCS. It has a large front deck and a rear seat. In between is an 8'x 46.5" flat area with no seats and just the bare ribs. I just laid a piece of treated plywood in the bottom and I like the look of the large open floor.
Last night I was reading that the current type of copper treated wood with eat away aluminum after a while! So I took the plywood out and will use it for a box type blind or tree stand.
Here is my question; What is the best way to deck a jon boat? If I use regular plywood I will have to seal it with epoxy and paint it. Plus it will be HEAVY. I am considering having my welder order a sheet of aluminum diamond tread plate and sitting it over some closed cell foam between the ribs. All I have to do is figure what weight I want and give him the dimensions.

What do you think?

[saltynut]

Put a peice of foam insulation board under the plywood. It will keep everything nice and quiet. Paint the plywood with parkers duck boat paint. I sprayed aerosol automobile undercoating on my floor before I painted it. That makes it slip resistant and keeps it in place nicely.

[Simple Man]

I have a 1548DK Sea Ark that I put a floor in 2 years ago. It is 1/8" aluminum riveted to 1 1/2" aluminum angle which is riveted to the stringers in the floor. All rivets are SS. The aluminum angle brings the center of the floor up high enough to mount a center seat base flush. The front edge is broken up at 90 degrees and riveted to the front deck.

I bought a 4x8 sheet of the aluminum from a sign mfr. (customer @ the time) at their cost - just under $100 at the time. I laid it all out in cardboard before giving the dimensions to a fab shop to cut and bend. The corners are cut at an angle at the back and I had the fab shop break the "drops" from those angles at 90 degrees - that supports the floor at the back. I also left about a 3/4" gap at the back to flush mud out. The entire floor is painted in a aluminum primer/etcher then coated w/a latex garage floor paint that has some sort of sand in it. It is not slippery when it is wet and I can't be more happy w/how well it has held up to abuse for 2 years. My best guess is that I have just under $200 in it. Here are some pictures...

[Tater]

Good looking work Simpleton [img]graemlins/thumb2.gif[/img]

[riddleofsteel]

nice

Thanks

[Stripa Swipa]

A friend of mine got the aluminum diamond tread cut to fit and dropped a camo neo mat on top of it. Worked out pretty good.

[riddleofsteel]

I went with the aluminum 1/8 diamond tread plate. I painted it with self etching automotive primer and let it cure. Then I painted the deck and my front flipping deck with epoxy garage floor paint mixed with a container of silica crystals (sand). After 72 hours to cure I had a non-slip set of decks that are no glare, no slip, and will last for years.

[riddleofsteel]

Here is a link to three pages of pictures of my new rig. Rather than tie up bandwidth here I posted them to my site.

http://www.yerfrockethellhound.com/b...?1154045769830

[QUACKSHOT]

Originally posted by riddleofsteel:
Here is a link to three pages of pictures of my new rig. Rather than tie up bandwidth here I posted them to my site.

http://www.yerfrockethellhound.com/b...?1154045769830

How do you like the scavenger mud motor?

[riddleofsteel]

This is my second one. I bought a 5.5 HP first and found the 1236 boat and the 5.5 HP engine to be too small for my usage. When it came time to step up I gave Scavenger a call. That is the highest praise I could give them, repeat business. I think they have the widest selection of engine, types and sizes in the business.
The 13HP is a good choice for those that want power but are not hooked on speed. I cut up about two acres of water hyacine and arrow plants today. It was pushing my 1648 thru 4 to 6 inches of water in between stumps and old logs as we explored a marsh at the upper end of medium sized lake. I don't think a boat had been up there in many years, if ever. Place was full of ducks and mud cats.