Floor Boards

While waiting for The inside paint to cure, I thought I'd add my floor boards, before the seats and braces are in.  what makes the best floor?  I am thinking clear Cedar 1X6, looks good, light, bends easily.

TIA

Russ

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Permalink Reply by Dave Z on November 15, 2010 at 7:41am
plane it down. I used 1/2" by 4" doug fir on some and then I got ahold of some cypress and used it on another boat.

1" thickness or 3/4" is overkill. Planed to 1/2" and adding an intermediate cross member beneath is fine for all but the biggest dudes.
Permalink Reply by Jordan Davis on November 15, 2010 at 9:46am
This is a very good question. Although i am just beginning the framing process I too am considering options. At one point I saw a post that had some floor boards coated with truck bed liner, or a similar substance. The black just looked awesome against the wood of the rest of the interior of the boat. Plus, if any knuckle heads want to step into the boat with spiked felt, the spikes will have an awfully hard time getting through the liner! Does anyone know where those pics are? I have searched the forums with no luck. I don't mean to hijack your thread, but maybe this too will give you some ideas.

JD
Permalink Reply by Greg Max on November 15, 2010 at 3:05pm
I have a natural wood finish in my boat, so I wanted to preserve this look on the floor boards but also give them some texture. I opted to use the standard varnish that I used for the rest of the interior, but shook silica sand on the wet surface. A few more coats of varnish and I had some great, natural looking floor boards that offer a great grip! Hope that helps somebody....
Permalink Reply by PATRICK M CLEAREY on November 17, 2010 at 4:08pm
I used sticky backed traction tape, nor sure how it will stand up to studs.

Permalink Reply by Rick Finnell on November 15, 2010 at 10:27am
Like Dave Z said , I planed them to1/2" plenty strong. I broke tradition and put full floor boards in front of the rowing seat, I stand there to drift fish ,so I'm not in a hole
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Permalink Reply by Mike Baker on November 15, 2010 at 10:48am
One more opinion on using 1/2" plenty strong.
Here is a pic of some coated floor boards and another of a boat that has seen a lot of spike action, Ads to the patina in my opinion.
Mike

Permalink Reply by Randy Dersham on November 15, 2010 at 12:40pm
1/2" is perfect.

We ship 1/2" Port Orford Cedar for floor board in our kits. Any flat grain lightweight wood will do. Be careful if you are using any vertical grain. It can split easily if given a reason. If you are going to cover the floor boards with a bedliner then you could use 1/2" plywood.

We use Durabak (Click Here) to cover the fir bottom under the floor boards. It would be very easy to use Durabak on the floor boards also. After trying many types of liner we settled on Durabak because it is just a little soft and is easier to walk on that the some of the very hard bedliner material. It is also easy to paint with a textured roller brush.

Greg Hatten just covered the inside bottom of his beautiful boat with black Durabak at it looks fantastic.
It will pit or wear if you are using spikes on your shoes; however, a quick refresh of the paint and it will be good as new.
Permalink Reply by larry Hambley on November 15, 2010 at 2:14pm
I just finished a Rapid Robert and opted for plywood (3/8 AC) floor panels. The ply is used as sheets and not cut into strips. I covered both sides of each sheet with bed liner. The result is a not bad looking floor that is super tough while being fairly light. Best of all, it is cheap enough to be replaced quickly if that ever becomes necessary. My other build has conventional floor boards and looks better but took much longer and is prone to show wear. Either method works, but the beauty of building it yourself is the freedom to do as you please. Good luck on your project.
Permalink Reply by Lawrence E. Long on November 16, 2010 at 5:38am
I have used eastern white cedar- planed to 1/2" , no sanding and no finish whatever. As stated you don't want vertical grain- mine even has knot holes- helps with the drainage as per the gaps between slats. Excellent nonskid surface even with the bare feet of grandkids.
Good Luck
Permalink Reply by AJ DeRosa on November 16, 2010 at 9:53am
Russ,

As usual, you got lots of good info from the forum members. Here's my 2 cents. Half inch stock is plenty strong. Boards or ply wood will work fine. Our fleet, which is up to around fiveteen boats now, have either board or plywood floor boards. Most are finished with the same oil as the interiors. Oil is a very good finish on the floors. It is cheap, easy to maintain and is NOT slippery. The oil soaks into the wood and the natural grain gives a very stable, nonslip surface. Spikes will put dents into the surfaces but it is just superficial as the wood can stand decades of spike abuse. With a large fleet to maintain we subscribe to the KISS technuque (keep it simple).

AJ
Permalink Reply by Riverman on November 16, 2010 at 6:33pm
Dave Z mentioned Cypress... my friend has a sawmill here and has a big truck load of it cut and dried. Think I will make my floor boards out of it.
Permalink Reply by Dave Z on November 16, 2010 at 7:13pm
Riverman-

Go for the Cypress. Plane it to 1/2" and you will be good to go. I'll second AJ- oil the floors too. It is NOT slippery as he said. The floors take abuse and in my mind should they get destroyed, they can be replaced easily.

Cypress is good stuff too. Really rot resistant. I have several bluebird boxes on my property made of it and they look good as new. All of my beehives are made form Cypress as well, and have no finish.

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