Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

So before I get chastised for not conforming to the group suggestion of using aluminum for underskinning...well. I like to be different. I actually talked with another member on here that used sheets of 1/8" hdpe plastic as underskinning and he's been very happy with it. In his situation, he routinely has asian carp that fly out under the boat and having a 10lb fish banging on aluminum underskinning would have been a pretty sad sight. So for my 20' I used 4 sheets of 4x8 that I ordered from a local menards. It was $142 for the sheets, which was less than half of what I was finding locally for the aluminum. I used #10x3/4" self tapping stainless screws with 1/4" stainless washers. If the screws start working their way out, I can always take them out and drill out for a rivet. I predrilled the holes for the screws because the drill bit went in a lot faster than the one that comes on the screws. So far it looks good. I was actually going to winterize the boat and already cleaned it and put in the mothballs and dryer sheets, but of course, this weekend it's supposed to be 90. So maybe I'll take her out and see how it performs. One thing is for sure. This stuff is tough! It won't break, but will bend. Even the small scraps that I tried to break will only bend and kink if you step on them. I think for impact resistance this would outperform aluminum. A full sheet I believe weighs 40lbs, and I used 2/3 of a sheet because the distance between the toons were 5'. So I cut it down with a circular saw to 4'x5' pieces. I'm guessing it added about 120lbs of weight. I would guess it's more than aluminum, but not a crazy amount.

I like it. I think it will be fine.

Moth balls and dryer sheets?
I'm a noobie... enlighten me, please...

[quote="yardbird"]Moth balls and dryer sheets?
I'm a noobie... enlighten me, please...

[/quote]

Many people believe that strong smelling items such as mothballs and Bounce dryer sheets discourage rodents from building a nest... Truth be told that most of these only work as it simply is not your turn yet... I've read more than once of mice building their nest from dryer sheets and eating the Irish Spring soap that was also used to ward off the little vermin...

same material for 3 years

I like it! Might have to put that on next years list! Dryer sheets have worked every year for me. I put a bucket of charcoal to soak up any moisture as well.

[quote="teecro"][quote="yardbird"]Moth balls and dryer sheets?
I'm a noobie... enlighten me, please...

[/quote]

Many people believe that strong smelling items such as mothballs and Bounce dryer sheets discourage rodents from building a nest... Truth be told that most of these only work as it simply is not your turn yet... I've read more than once of mice building their nest from dryer sheets and eating the Irish Spring soap that was also used to ward off the little vermin...[/quote]

Yeah, I thought the same thing, BUT, it cost me about $10 in mothball packets and dryer sheets. So does it work? No idea, my first year with a boat. Cheap insurance? Maybe. Or, I pick them up in spring and throw them out.

About the only thing I would have done different would have been to use oversized washers.

[quote="Retired OG"]About the only thing I would have done different would have been to use oversized washers.[/quote]

I actually did. I used 1/4" washers for #10 screws.

Does this underskinning stuff do anything at all for a small boat? With a small motor? My Landau is only a 19 foot and I'll be hanging a 40hp on it. Certainly no speed demon. And typically we're in the canal and not out on the river or lake (Niagara River, lake Erie or Ontario... we're minutes from either).

[quote="yardbird"]Does this underskinning stuff do anything at all for a small boat? With a small motor? My Landau is only a 19 foot and I'll be hanging a 40hp on it. Certainly no speed demon. And typically we're in the canal and not out on the river or lake (Niagara River, lake Erie or Ontario... we're minutes from either).[/quote]

From my understanding, it helps to quiet down the ride, stop waves from smacking the bottom of the boat and water seeping in through the plywood seams, and stops the beams from acting as a brake. All the reasons seem to be more fitting towards a faster boat.

And if anybody ever tells you to go ahead and do this, and "it's easy". They are lying !! I had the boat on a bunk trailer, so I had about 5' underneath it to work with. I used stands to hold up the sheets while screwing them in. It was in my driveway so I had all the tools I needed, and I precut the sheets to 4'x5' to fit between the bunks and line up on the beams. It was still a giant pain in the butt!

Easy versus hard is relative to the task at hand... Putting up 2' x 8' of 1/2" OSB to a 9' ceiling is EASY compared to putting up full 4' x 8' sheets while working by yourself...