[NoCo]

I go with wood. plywood is relatively cheap. Varnish every few years.

 

[Drewbie_91]

After spending hours on the Buzz looking at many of your fine workmanship I took a stab at building out decking for my ‘14 raft. I also added a Bimini. Now that a season has passed I figured I would share lessons learned. I explained in detail and added materials list, so someone with similar inexperience isn’t intimidated to give it a shot.

Material: 3/4” textured HDPE from Piedmont Plastics in Denver. Went 3/4” vs 1/2” due to the large span of my front deck 65”x22”. The HDPE is (in my opinion) a slightly tougher material to work with than plywood and less pretty. Ongoing maintenance was the major consideration for material selection. I would consider using wood to cut down on weight/cost, but the HDPE durability is nice.

Cutting/Fitting: Ordered the HDPE lengths pre-cut from Piedmont Plastics. Used a Jigsaw to cut out frame joints and cleaned up corners with a dremel. Used a router with round over bit for all of the edges/holes with no issues. 1-1/8” spade bit to drill the holes. In hindsight, I would recommend going bigger for the holes, maybe 1.5”. Would also add more of them. May go back and adjust later. Drilling round holes was easier/cleaner solution than slots.

Flooring/grip: Used generic Amazon EVA boat flooring for the side decks and cooler/dry box top. Picked desert camo color to match the river muck.

Bimini: Amazon Bimini (8’L x 54”H x 61-66”W). 8’ provides nice cover on the 14’ boat. Opted to buy the stainless steel hardware, which I mounted ~18” in front of my oar towers. May move it forward a couple inches. I’m going to replace the plastic top caps down the road. Thought about replacing the Bimini straps with cam straps, but that has not been necessary.

Links to items/cost:

• 3/4” HDPE Sheet ($500; used a little more than half and sold the scraps for $100) HDPE Plastic for Cutting Boards | Piedmont Plastics
• EVA foam flooring ($65) Amazon.com: OCEANBROAD Self-Adhesive 96''x16''/23''/38''/47'' Camouflage Boat Flooring Non-Slip Traction Pad EVA Foam Sheet for Jon Boat Surfboard SUP Board Kayak, Camo Black/Blue/Green/Brown/Yellow/Gray : Sports & Outdoors
• Amazon Bimini - ($75 - Amazon had a “used” one on sale) Amazon.com : Leader Accessories 10 Colors 3 Bow 4 Bow Bimini Top Cover for Boat Includes 4 Straps 2 Rear Support Poles Mounting Hardwares Storage Boot with 1" Aluminum Frame : Sports & Outdoorsref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
• Stainless steel Bimini hardware ($15) 2 Pack Bimini Top Deck Hinge with... Amazon.com: 2 Pack Bimini Top Deck Hinge with Removable Pins, 316 Stainless Steel : Sports & Outdoors
• Used 1’ cam straps to secure to decking so its removable

 

[Pine]

After spending hours on the Buzz looking at many of your fine workmanship I took a stab at building out decking for my ‘14 raft. I also added a Bimini. Now that a season has passed I figured I would share lessons learned. I explained in detail and added materials list, so someone with similar inexperience isn’t intimidated to give it a shot.

Material: 3/4” textured HDPE from Piedmont Plastics in Denver. Went 3/4” vs 1/2” due to the large span of my front deck 65”x22”. The HDPE is (in my opinion) a slightly tougher material to work with than plywood and less pretty. Ongoing maintenance was the major consideration for material selection. I would consider using wood to cut down on weight/cost, but the HDPE durability is nice.

Cutting/Fitting: Ordered the HDPE lengths pre-cut from Piedmont Plastics. Used a Jigsaw to cut out frame joints and cleaned up corners with a dremel. Used a router with round over bit for all of the edges/holes with no issues. 1-1/8” spade bit to drill the holes. In hindsight, I would recommend going bigger for the holes, maybe 1.5”. Would also add more of them. May go back and adjust later. Drilling round holes was easier/cleaner solution than slots.

Flooring/grip: Used generic Amazon EVA boat flooring for the side decks and cooler/dry box top. Picked desert camo color to match the river muck.

Bimini: Amazon Bimini (8’L x 54”H x 61-66”W). 8’ provides nice cover on the 14’ boat. Opted to buy the stainless steel hardware, which I mounted ~18” in front of my oar towers. May move it forward a couple inches. I’m going to replace the plastic top caps down the road. Thought about replacing the Bimini straps with cam straps, but that has not been necessary.

Links to items/cost:

• 3/4” HDPE Sheet ($500; used a little more than half and sold the scraps for $100) HDPE Plastic for Cutting Boards | Piedmont Plastics
• EVA foam flooring ($65) Amazon.com: OCEANBROAD Self-Adhesive 96''x16''/23''/38''/47'' Camouflage Boat Flooring Non-Slip Traction Pad EVA Foam Sheet for Jon Boat Surfboard SUP Board Kayak, Camo Black/Blue/Green/Brown/Yellow/Gray : Sports & Outdoors
• Amazon Bimini - ($75 - Amazon had a “used” one on sale) Amazon.com : Leader Accessories 10 Colors 3 Bow 4 Bow Bimini Top Cover for Boat Includes 4 Straps 2 Rear Support Poles Mounting Hardwares Storage Boot with 1" Aluminum Frame : Sports & Outdoorsref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
• Stainless steel Bimini hardware ($15) 2 Pack Bimini Top Deck Hinge with... Amazon.com: 2 Pack Bimini Top Deck Hinge with Removable Pins, 316 Stainless Steel : Sports & Outdoors
• Used 1’ cam straps to secure to decking so its removable

Nice work! Looks great.

 

[801Flyguy]

3/4 sanalite HDPE is strong and versatile. I used it for
the sides, cam straps hold it down well. I needed a bench seat on the rear for my 2 young sons, so I used 1/2 under a repurposed pad that Rusty’s custom upholstery made for my hookd cooler. Oceanfoam via Amazon sticks well and provides slip free footing. Sanalite HDPE is fairly inexpensive and very easy to
work with. I sourced it locally from a plastic supplier. There are a plethora of places to get it online.