Diamond plate floor???

[Gundog]

I have been thinking about what type floor I want in the fishing cockpit. I originally chose smooth aluminum with a non skid surface applied but they usually use diamond plate. How is diamond plate when it is bright out? How is the diamond plate when the deck is wet is it real slippery? The diamond plate would be nice because it will not need any work if I go with the smooth and non skid it will need to be redone eventually. What are your thoughts?

Thanks Mike

[Chaps]

New diamond plate is slippery for sure but once it gets a nice oxide layer on it it ain't bad. That's how my LaConner is and the grip is OK. On my Edwing the decks are smooth and its always been slippery until just recently when I blasted the surfaces with a fine grit sand. Doesn't look much different but the grip is great now and its smoother than non-skid. Non-skid coatings are OK too but they can be a maintenance headache.

[aluminumdreamer]

Chaps, are there any posts of your Edwing? Do you have any pictures of it? Sorry to get off topic, but I have seen pictures of it in your signature and have always been curious.

Nate.

[Chaps]

Chaps, are there any posts of your Edwing? Do you have any pictures of it? Sorry to get off topic, but I have seen pictures of it in your signature and have always been curious.

Nate.

I don't have many pics of the 21.
She's a handy rig, now in service as the harbormaster's boat

Here she is at about a year old, still sorta shiny

ED21.jpg (104.79 KiB) Viewed 14117 times

With her hoist rig, set up for pulling oyster pens, about 3 years ago.

P6150007.jpg (152.94 KiB) Viewed 14117 times

P6150006.jpg (196.2 KiB) Viewed 14117 times

[MacCTD]

My Workskiff has a diamond plate floor, works great.

[islanduni]

Hi, I'm new to the board. Just bought a La Conner 24 last year. Anyone with a La Conner Hit me up. It's set up for diving.

Cheers Jim

[Chaps]

Hi, I'm new to the board. Just bought a La Conner 24 last year. Anyone with a La Conner Hit me up. It's set up for diving.

Cheers Jim

Really? I've never seen another 24 LaConner besides mine. How about putting up some pics? What year is it?

Also, please start a new post, this one has already been hijacked enough . . . like under the new members topic

[IronwoodIsland]

Better than diamond plate:

Our 19' Ironwood Cabin has a large and roomy cockpit due to the heavy flare on the hull. We haul lots of cabin construction material and have a floor cover of a single large piece of 5/8" cow barn matting. This is a very heavy duty synthetic rubber mat, almost solid rubber but slightly foamed (kind of like really tough neoprene).

You can toss a chunk of metal in onto it from up on a dock and it will hardly bounce and you never have to worry about dents or slipping on it as there is a bit of a texture to it.

It's sold at feed stores and agricultural supply stores. A bit on the heavy side but I consider it ballast!

[Jay Perrotta]

I don't have any experience with diamond plate as non-skid but have been told that with a good amount of blood or other viscous liquid that it is (as my brother-in-law would say) slicker than goose sh*t on a hardwood floor.

Chaps - don't you find that as it ages the edges of the "diamonds" get worn down? Wouldn't this make it less "grippy"?

Blood:



Recently and after years of seeing this stuff on competitors commercial/government boats we used the 3M non-skid "tape" on a boat. I LOVED the stuff and would HIGHLY suggest it as a solution. Just my 2 cents...

[Challenge]

Jay,

3M non-skid "tape"

is that the 3-m safety walk, that you can buy for stair treads at Granger's or is there a marine version? how would it be on bare feet???

Thanks

Rick

[AlloyToy]

I love the sight of blood in the morning

[Gundog]

I decided to go with smooth aluminum and put on some non skid that they use on the Navy ships.

Mike

[Jay Perrotta]

Not sure what you meant by using the Navy non-skid. The use boat coatings and tape - which did you choose?

If tape make sure that you use the edge sealer...FWIW...

[Gundog]

It is a coating I was shown a sample that looked good I beleive it is made local there in Tukwila WA.

[Fisherman]

Gundog, how's your non skid holding up? I was going to ask some of the same questions in this thread, but found it doing a search.

If anyone has any other suggestions about nonskid vs. diamond plate, I'd be interested in hearing them.

[JETTYWOLF]

Oldie but a goodie........Was this Gundogs new boat needing a deck? And why wasn't it aluminum from the start?


Learning something new about boats every day.

[kmorin]

fisherman,
my remarks are from a commercial fishing back ground, I've done some rec boats but not of the same type as the net skiffs and larger working net boats that make up the majority of my welded aluminum building experience.

Diamond tread in the welded marine environment would probably be 6061 alloy sheet/plate and that is a harder, less malleable material than the 50 series alloys of other plate. 6061 is (more) subject to wear from sand and grit on your boots. Now if you don't beach and work trailer to dock, make the run and fish with clean decks and only get fish on the deck; there's not abrasive in that scenario - so the diamond raised areas will take longer to round over smooth.

But once they do you're stuck with a welded in 'bump deck' surface as the grip is solely from the edges of the embossed or raised pattern against the rubber soles of your boots. (If anyone is tough enough to walk bare foot on diamond tread decks their opinion is likely more informed than mine!)

Remember that the treads or diamonds actually reduce the surface friction area of a boot's deck surface contact and that friction is proportional to surface area! So diamonds work by engaging the boot sole's bottom.

Next is the discussion of boots. I know this may sound odd (what do I post that doesn't?) but I used to be asked for diamond tread decks in skiffs and two adjacent fish site neighbors bought these skiffs. Both thought the tread plate good anti-skid. Both had different experiences.

One fell over so many times he wanted to sand the decks ( and he did) so he could paint with non-skid (sand in paint products). The other one never fell and laughed at his neighbor's cracked ribs (fisherman humor) and kept his tread plate decks for three seasons before he painted them over. Eventually the beach sand of set net fishing in our area will scour all decks.

I was bothered by these two with matching skiffs and differing results on the deck traction so I went fishing with both of them on alternate days. The only difference was their boots!

One fisherman wore soft bottom boots and the other word a hard rubber type; the soft boots gripped the diamonds and the hard rubber was like walking on marbles. Extra Toughs are softer and have a wide set of 'waffle print' patterns that grip the diamonds better, initially. Black, roll up, hip boots are only ridged side to side and are much harder rubber than the softer Xtra Tough. So there can be other factors effecting the use of tread plate as a traction surface.

I suggest smooth plate, with traction tape, paint or some anchor pattern by blasting the surface as the most effective because once the embossed areas wear or loose their edge they are permanently rounded and I know of no way to reshape those raised edges to regain traction. Paint, blasting and tape can all be renewed indefinitely.

I don't care for the practice of welding 6061 sheet into a 5086 hull if I can avoid it- it's good and strong but I prefer 5086 alloy all the way through the hull, decks and cabin if I can possibly build with that alloy.

Cheers,
Kevin Morin

[JETTYWOLF]

Good gawd......or good night Irene.

Don't know which is appropreate.

I think I'm on the wrong forum. Is there space to include here on AAB a designated area that doesn't include forts, camper boats, boots, ice, snow, heaters, stereo systems, de-icers? ( Ya know, a set of "Dave pages"... )

Cause I gotta tell ya, I'm feeling a little like a real minority here, as should others not acustomed to the list above, and places where it's warm and comfy.

Nothing against Kmorin, but I can't tell ya the last time I wore boots, out fishing. (No, No...I'm not in Crocs with sox guy, or sandal slapper, either)

Not that there's aything wrong with that.

But really, how many southern states regulars do we have here, (we had a blitz of Louisiana guys that went absent quickly, probably realizing the same that's just hit ME!) that love center consoles, breeze in your hair, warm salt spray.....

MERLIN please come back!
I know you were on the other side of the continent, but I miss you already!

IN2DEEP???
Mojo??
Capt Tom???
Someone, I implore you....help??

































(jus comentary...ya'll don't get yer panties in a wad)

[Fisherman]

Thanks guys....glad for the input. I found another thread on AAB from a while back that has helped me form my opionon on this issue. Where I'm located, I doubt if I'll ever fish barefoot. Boots and nonslip deck is important to me.

[spoiled one]

How many alloy hulls do you see your way, Dave? That might explain your position. Lots of alloy up here in the great land and PacNW and we wear boots!





Nope! No panties to wad up on this guy unless you count the ones wadded up next to the bed.

[kmorin]

Jetty, my first line.... in the post you're dumping on......was to allow those of the warmer climes to ignore my comments!
Maybe I should just say- "IF you live south of Latitude 47 or some other equatorial region..... THEN don't read this?"

We all just live with what's dealt us by the latitude: isn't it your own local 'folk singer'
[That would be Jiminey Buffett or as he's called in AK bars; Mr. James 'Bu-Fay'] that talks about "Changes in Latitude and Changes in Attitude"?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXffpGSj ... re=related

Remember my friend it's "North to the Future" or as we say here.... "The farther North you go - The Sooner it Gets".

The OP wanted to consider decking, so with various conditions I considered it. Your attitude (must be) is based on your latitude and mine (must be) is based on my latitude.

We fish in the weather we're dealt and you fish in the bath water you fish in..... we need forts to keep from dying as the water is only four degrees above freezing in the summer and you don't need oil skins because 'why wear a rain coat in the shower'? We need to keep dry from head to toe or we'll end up in dire straits but the ladies in your area can walk around in those tiny little whisps of cloth over their lovely selves.

It's latitude. UP is not as warm as the MIDDLE.

I think a ticket up to fish the Gulf of AK is in order- we could call it the Jettywolf Perspective Fund?

If welder will host such a fund; I'll pony up a Cnote, hopefully others will too(?) and we'll get you on a Halibut Charter out of Homer- say, south of the Barrens, an hour's run; then we'll see if 'forts' and 'boots' are in order?

Maybe you can spend time in the Sound of Prince William ( a pond really) but we need to give you some help getting an idea of what the North Pacific is like on a given day so you can 'have a little perspective'?

I'm not of course expecting you to make deck hand trip out of Dutch or something, I'm only suggesting the Gulf in July on a charter boat.

I think that would be informative enough.

Cheers,
Kevin Morin

[JETTYWOLF]

I know you were jus answering a question. But the "boots" thing struck me as funny.

As I said, I just get the feeling of loneliness and of quite the minority most of the time. That's all...

And as far as alloy boats. I feel like I'm a "trail blazer" here. And showing all these dixie cup guys what's on the other side of the fence, fishing out my alloy. Because alloy has a bad rap around my parts. People think you've relocated from the Northern Latitudes, and brought your boat with ya. And alloy doesn't belong here (for some strange reason) While numerous commercially used Government boats are 100% alloy. Hummm???

Every once in awhile it's good to vent. Need to keep ya'll in line.

Still wondering why Gundog changed his deck, guess it wood originally. Glad to read he went and git rid of it, if so.

[West Lake Willows]

Jettywolf,

I don't believe Gundog,s changing his deck. Fisherman added a post asking how Gundogs deck was holding up, looks like he had a Navy nonskid material on it.
Scott

[JETTYWOLF]

Yeah...couldn't figure out what was asked. Gundogs boat is new, that's why I was wonderin'.

[dawgaholic]

All and particularly KMorin, what is your opinion on this style of decking treatment used by builders like AMF?

http://www.amfboats.co.nz/cs/prodView.asp?idproduct=63

Regardless, what are the pros and cons of using those mats designed for the task vs. the taping? And one poster here wet sanded his deck with good results, another consideration perhaps?

I consider this more of a pure safety issue as JayP. said, fresh blood on top of dried blood mixed with fish slime and bait drippings gets a might ice skatishy slick.