hey yall. i have a 1648 with latitudinal stringers (parallel to transom). i had a big piece of .5" plywood in there but i found it to be real heavy and slow me down when loaded up with guys and deeks.

i was wondering if there are any sort of lighter plastics or something (not marine plywood) that i could use. dont really care if i have to by them in smaller panels, but id like to save as much weight as possible. i was told in the past on this forum that the proper gauge aluminum would weigh about as much as the plywood or else i would do so. any suggestions are appreciated.

if you didnt want to use such heavy aluminum you could use riggid foam under the aluminum so the floor didnt flex when you walked on it.

when i originally got this rig it was an old bass setup and had foam panels and spray under all the decking. it was really soaked through with water and some parts were rotting.

im reading about marine grade stuff right now, and see that these closed cell foams are all mildew and rot "proof". does closed cell also mean that they are resistant to absorbing water over the years? more specifically since this will be in a jon boat and will be directly exposed to water significantly more than what i assume the manufacturers consider a typical application.

thanks.