Aluminum flooring

[Rodger]

I want to install aluminum flooring in my jon boat the plywood I had rotted out. I had 5/8 plywood for the flooring with foam in between the ribs I was thinking a 1/8 aluminum sheet but was told this was overkill. I want to put back the pedestal seat that I had in it the same type as in the picture and bolt it to the aluminum floor what thickness would I need to support it?.

 

[eeshaw]

What I used on my boat was .125 inch for the main floor. Eighth inch is pretty heavy so it will add a lot of weight to your boat. I did it because I put a large seat mount base in my floor and the piece I used is 48 X 60? Something like that. Anyways, you can get by with .100 inch if you support it with rigid foam in between the ribs of your floor. You can get it at the large stores like Lowes, Menards, etc.. Just use the seat base in a spot that is well supported and you shouldn't have any issues.

 

[onthewater102]

It all depends on what you do behind the aluminum sheet. The thinner you go the more framing you'll need.

Your best bet will be to anchor the seat bases to the framing and not the decking skin. As for what gauge to use for a decking surface, most jon boats are only .063", so with the proper support you should be able to use something similar - I see .080" a lot on boats that have decks looking @ manufacturer's specs. I kept the unsupported spans down to less than 12" and I have no flex in my floor and I used thin gauge materials, but much of my flooring is backed by expanding foam too, so that takes a lot of the issues away. Backing it all with expanding foam you could easily use 1/32" if you wanted, it's all in how you design it.

 

[Blkrvrbart]

I used 1/8” plate to redeck with for two reasons. That’s the plate I had, and I knew it wouldn’t rot back out. Worked out really well. Also, 1/8” plate aluminum weighs the same per square foot as 5/8”plywood.