"Mothers...tell your children...not to do as I have done...."
So, with some healing time for boat-inflicted damage (elder abuse?), and one heckovalot of driving around trying to find what should SIMPLE stuff, went back at it. Living out in the country, 25 miles from any town with more than just the basics: Gas station, food store, three bars, and a part-time restaurant, makes for a fair amount of mileage accumulation.
Got a sheet of 1/2 inch exterior plywood for decking, cut to...er...call it 30x42, 31x43, and 24 by something else. Applied coats of spar varnish. Installed replacement transom pieces of 3/4in exterior plywood.--two laminated inside, one bolted outside.
Then revisited the plan to have drop-in decking of minimal height. I have no argument with the existing seats and their placement. I was fortunate enough to get two like-new seats from Bulldog, which should arrive this week. Nice man, good person, he is.
Figure on one swivel seat up front and one for my skinny ole butt in back. Not sure what to do about the bow floor. I like the depth of it for leg room, but it is currently the site of the eternal accumulation of mastic and looks like a war zone.
Took my decking pieces and some adhesive, having driven 70 miles round-trip to a super-sized home building store just to get the pipe insulation in a color other than black. Of course, managed to spend $70 there because I was like a 4 year-old in Toy'sR Us. Went through every darned department, looking for alternative floor covering for the deck. Examined and dismissed carpet runners, indoor/outdoor carpet, floor mats, cushioned work-station ergonomic? floor coverings, walnut or polystyrene beads to be added to paint, and truck bed liner paints. Most of this stuff was in dark colors, which surprised me. Somebody must prefer lighter colors, but apparently they don't shop there.
A good idea whose time has not come
This was a brilliant plan, partially induced by smelling spar urethane for two hours, which involved using aluminum window screening, to be held down by the adhesive quality of the wet spar urethane.. THAT didn't work, so I stapled it, and applied yet another coat to get great adhesion.
I did not get great adhesion, but I did use one heckovalot of expensive spar stuff. My thinking (addled) was that I wanted something with traction, light weight, which was impervious to water covering. Well, it will provide traction, it is light, and is impervious to water. It is also fragile and will tear, doesn't adhere with the wood protection, and to put some glue down to hold it would probably fill up most of the texture which provides the traction. It also looks stupid. Works for the moment to hold the gas can, and with the old pool noodles, doesn't rattle around.
Next step, put the pipe insulation around the decking in front of the rear seat. This worked a charm! I then used a little adhesive to put the pool noodles under the 1/2in plywood where it bowed when I stood on it. (I'm somewhere between 190-170 lbs...dunno. I threw out the scale when I went on a restricted diet at the beginning of March. Told my kids to buy me a scale for my birthday in June.)
It holds my weight, doesn't slide, no gouging of the sides of the boat by the plywood, and is supported by the expanded foam supports on sides and belly.
Next to the decking in front of the second seat. This was a little more problematic, since I am dumb.
(Don't make fun of dumb people, we have a hard time with stuff.)
The plywood wouldn't lie flat, even though I carefully measured to make sure the supports were the same height. Just an aggravation to me. I got out of the boat and looked at it, glaring. I looked under the boat. hmmmmm. I lifted up the deck and observed that that whole "semi-v" design involved the ribs rising up further from the belly towards the front. Since I was using some lift from the ribs, the front of the decking need longer support.
sighhhhhhhhhhh. duh.
Fine. I cut a piece of 2x4, nailed the sunnvagun in, and it was firm, stable, and didn't slide. But I had to remove two of my beautiful support noodle-pieces.
(Odd fact, I really like cutting pool noodles. Can't say why, but there's something about how easily they accommodate themselves to being modified.)Front support.
Rear-most support
Then, having gone to another town, this one a 50 mile round-trip, where I picked up a segment of textured vinyl linoleum (marine? we don't have marine vinyl, sir. Have you tried the recruiting office? hee hee. grrrr.) Screw it, it is temporary. I tacked it down with 6 dots of Sportsman's Goop...a silicone product. I didn't trim it yet, don't know whether I'll pull the pipe insulation off and put the vinyl to the exact edge of the wood, or trim it to the insulation. Not a big deal, I'm still looking for a floor covering, and with Bulldog's seats arriving, I'll try and find a color not too discordant with their excellent upholstery.
So, there we are. The decking is stable, strong, didn't fly up when the boat was trailered to the lake, has moderate traction, and I can lift it out very easily. Had some engine problems, so I'll probably go out again soon, this time with the dog for his first trip in the boat.
I have hesitated to get into my little project, because I go back over the extensive and professional conversion work done by other guys here. This doesn't compare, but it has gotten me off my duff and may work out. What the heck, the water and the fish don't care.
Excelsior !!!
