M8 last week was asking me what I thought on his 90s non pontoon alloy 6m.
Couple bits of ply floor getting...lets say 'aged'
Was thinking either sections checker plate, welded (as your thought on sealed compartments etc) or just lay plate down.
My 1st question was budget?.. didnt want to spend too much..
To get the alloy AND weld in will not be cheap.
Do you still want to store stuff down there?... Its handy
Being a older boat do you want to check out the hull/ corrosion/ maintenance in the future? Also thinking about future sale.? ... would like to
Which pretty much answered his own question on most counts.
A current issue is the ply can get a bit slippry at times.. hence thinking checker plate.
Checker plate is noisy.. drop something fishing in shallow water.. fish freeze...
gets hot in bare feet... so he suggested floor covering
Adds quite bit weight to the boat, and weight lifting /washing out.. plus the floor covering.
Welding down for compartments...never going to get a crack.. water suck in as heats up and cools when parked up.. or at sea..want to run a few more cables/ mods?
Ply.. yep gets slippery, that a few strips and panels of 3M stick on deck non slip work and last well.
Easy, lite and access...thu bit of a change to the current size, position, weight would make far more practical in more than 1 way.
And if boat sinks, good possibility that a few deck ply panels may float anyway, next to the fish and chilly bin
He asked about marine ply.
Yep way to go, will last another 25 plus yrs if looked after.
On the other hand, I have used elcheapo construction ply for a boat floor deck.. well sealed up and lasted for many yrs, and still fine. Its washed down, rain gets to clean it more, and drys out on fine days...doesnt sit in water.
And a fraction of the cost of marine.
Plus marine or std ply.. itwill be bit knocked around when comes to sell, and either may need replacing then anyway.
Flotation if things turn to custard...
Well if you have 'jackets...a few spares in a open locker, Epirp on your body, Water proof VHF strapped to the jacket...
Is having the boat floating longer actually going to help anything when think it right thru...?
And if everything is well maintained, you are not going to break down on a bar you should not be going over, or marginal..
And if fire is going to be the issue, and often is, you will not be around the boat anyway.
Im not a fan of sealing off access to bulges .. glass or alloy