How to replace a boat deck - making a template to install, measure and cut the new deck

Your stringers are in, now you have to somehow find a way to cut your plywood to match perfectly with the sides of your oddly angles and very curvy hull. You can try cardboard, but that is flimsy and cuts are difficult to keep accurate. A great alternative is pink insulating foam. You can buy it in the same thickness as your plywood for perfect match deck template. Here's the how to and how not to of making a deck template.. Bonus: what to do is you mess it up!

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• boat
• deck
• template
• measure
• foam
• sheet
• DIY
• howto
• instructions

[drewmitch44]

you were showing more mistakes that you made than you were showing the right things. It should me like "how not to make a template" I like the method that you used. I tried cardboard and waisted a LOT LOT of time trying to get it right! I ended up doing something really similar to what you did. If I would have seen this vid before I did mine I would most likely have used your method. Thanks.

[LowkeeLT]

I totally agree! Then again, how many times have you watched a video and then thought, yeah, but what if you mess up.. what then? No worries.. plenty of mess up examples in here :)

[Fiberglasser03]

I would put some floor joists in. Looks like you have a decent sized span between stringer to stringer. Also, if you cut your plywood and have a little gap, (less then a half inch) it won't hurt anything. Just fill the gap with cav-o-sil right before you lay a piece of glass in.

[dirtTdude]

i use door skin stock from home depot, cut it in strips on the table saw then cut & trim to fit around the outside dimensions and use a hot glue gun to glue the pieces together, i love the foam idea for complicated sections because you could lay the project in place, secure and trim with a bread knife and you can even cut in multi dimensional angles like the bow / stem area. i love the fit you got in the transom area, try the door skin stock method once, you'll like it.

[KillaBeMe1]

lol wth.. youtube these days.. so all in all u did nothing right?