How Thick Should the Flooring be on a Fish and Ski Boat

When re-modeling your fish or ski boat or building it from scratch, the question often comes up about how thick the flooring should be. There are several different options when you undertake this project and pros and cons to both.

Perhaps you're re-modeling your existing fish or ski boat or maybe you're an intrepid soul and are building yours from scratch. Whatever the reason, it's important that your flooring be the correct thickness when you go to place it or re-place it.

For most boats today, the thickness of the floor is 3/4" plywood of a marine grade. However, that's not written in stone if you're replacing it or building it from scratch. For example, in some aluminum fishing boats, you may not want to go with a plywood floor at all if you plan on toting the boat on the top of your car or truck. But, if you do plan on pulling it on a trailer you could put in a 1/2" to 5/8" floor for stability purposes.

When choosing the plywood for your boat, some people choose to use pressure treated plywood instead of the marine grade. They run very close to the same price and the pressure treated tends to resist rot for a longer period of time and is more resistant to water and the weather rigors of being outdoors on a regular basis.

If strength is your biggest concern, go with 3/4" plywood, otherwise, you can get by with a thinner less expensive wood or treated plywood.