1st time build.... 1986 Alumacraft 1648

[kbeazy35]

Are those 2x6 boards? if so they will check and crack under any acceleration.sandwich two 3/4 plywood together with liquid nails

 

[cruise11140]

No they are 2x8... Fit perfectly and transom is very strong

 

[cruise11140]

Picked up a 70lb motor guide pro series troll motor for cheap today...

 

[cruise11140]

Hand sanded the entire boat tonight

 

[cruise11140]

First coat of paint on the outside of the boat... Gonna do the inside light grey to keep the heat down... Happy with the look so far

 

[cruise11140]

Steve spraying the inside

 

[cruise11140]

She's looking pretty good... Its came a long way... Next step is to build and carpet the decks and floors

 

[Big_ug_chevy]

Very nice! I too would worry about the 2X8 transom boards. But hey, if it works who cares what others think!!!

 

[cruise11140]

Got a lot done last night on the boat... Got most of the decking mesured and cut to fit... Still gonna extend the front deck to where the floor ends Just waiting on alluminum braces... Still got lots to do but making progress!!!

 

[lckstckn2smknbrls]

Everything is looking good with the exception of the dimensional lumber for the transom. What are you using to seal all the wood?

 

[cruise11140]

Its treated 1/2 inch ply wood and will be covered in marine carpet... The transom will be fine its a lot stronger then when it came out from the factory.... It has a thick aluminum plate on the outside and those 2x8 are not moving.... Its not like I'm putting a 150-200 hp motor on the back... the transom will hold the 25hp I have just fine

 

[lckstckn2smknbrls]

You don't want to use treated wood on an aluminum boat. The copper in the wood will corrode the aluminum.

 

[cruise11140]

well it's good thing I'm wrapping the wood in carpet where it will never touch the aluminum boat...

 

[cruise11140]

I think we are going to either paint the wood or bed line the wood before we carpet it so that will also help protect it...

 

[lckstckn2smknbrls]

The copper is going to leach out of the wood, carpet will not help.

 

[-CN-]

well it's good thing I'm wrapping the wood in carpet where it will never touch the aluminum boat...

When that wood gets moist or wet it will not matter if it's directly touching the aluminum or not.
I don't even know if you can completely seal the plywood somehow to prevent having problems. The problem with pressure treated wood is that it takes a long time to get dry enough to seal it. If you seal it while it's wet, whatever you seal it with will not last. And then, it'll be back to raw treated wood leaching copper onto your boat.

I know it sucks that you bought the plywood, then did all that work. But I'm afraid to say, you should do it all over again with regular plywood before you invest any more time or money into what you got going currently. You're talking about potentially ruining your boat here if you keep going.

 

[perchjerker]

I concur with both comments about the leaching

that's a lot of wood, if it gets wet the water ( and chemicals from the wood) coming off it will find its to the aluminum and the results wont be pretty

wont happen right away but it will happen

there are pics on this site with the damage if you search around for them

 

[Big_ug_chevy]

I agree with the wood comments. I made the same exact mistake. I recommend going to 1/8 Aluminum plate. It will never rust and last for the life of the boat. It will also reduce the weight significantly from using treated OSB. You will find out how top heavy and unbalanced the treated wood makes it. Once I swapped over to all aluminum my problems were solved. Make the change now before you're in too deep. It sucks but I wouldn't chance it. Lesson learned.

 

[hoosier78]

It looks good but the transom will not hold up and as previously stated treated WILL eat up you're aluminum.

 

[cruise11140]

lol the way you guys are talking I better take my plywood to the scrap yard since cooper is bringing almost $2 per lb... lol smh ok so if in 15-20 years I have to redo my decking so be it.... its a 200 dollar boat AND I have hardly any money into it.... its a aluminum boat so anything can be fixed on it... When we are done with it I will enjoy it and that's all I care about