planking deck- before I start

[Roberta]

I don't like glassing bright finished wood. Not necessary with a durable finish like polyurethane and too hard to repair.

Roberta

[TomB]

A word of caution...1/4" plywood is about 4 times stronger than 1/8". Depending on the span, that may not matter. Don't rely on the strips of deck board with caulk in between to provide flexural strength athwartship. (a tambour door is only strong in one direction). If the sub-deck is spongy when you stand on it, odds are the deck will be a little spongy too. I'd throw on another layer of 1/8" ply.

My two cents,

Tom

[Roberta]

While I agree with, Tom. 3mm plywood is just not the proper substrate and you could laminate another layer and maybe go 5/16" on the deck boards. You need enough thickness to allow the screw to hold the board and a deep enough bore for the bung. There are a substantial amount of battens in the front and frame spacing is closer than smaller boats making the deck sturdy enough to make using 3mm plywood with thicker deck boards feasible. Some builders have driven screws with washers in the caulk seam to hold boards in place while epoxy cures. Then the screws and washers are removed and holes are caulked over. That way you can use thinner deck boards and save weight. There are options.

Roberta

[Yakima]

Thanks Tom and Roberta - I will just stand on it and see! The front/bow is small enough that the 1/8 ply might be strong enough but towards the back, that indeed may require another layer. Ill just do the real test and stand on the deck!

Side note- I used the raptor stapler with plastic? staple for the sides, with 1/8 planks. I have built a few canoes with metal staples and now I wonder why. That plastic or resin staple leaves no visible marks. Next canoe will be built with the raptor staple gun. A beautiful tool!