Floorboard Material / Installation

[S Lathrop]

I have been thinking about applying a layer of helicopter tape to the floor boards where they contact the tubing of the fuselage. I think this will help a lot with noise and protect the finish on the tubing from damage due to the panels abrading the painted surface. The tape would be in addition to the sound damping foam that I would use. I am using 032 aluminum floor boards where feet or cargo can be located. Under the front seats I am using .025.

[AlabamaSlammer]

I have an 18.5' canoe made of Kevlar/resin. The entire canoe with seats and aluminum add-ons weighs only 48#

The Kevlar is tough, so thin you can almost see thru it,. I've thought of using something similar on my Patrol. And my canoe it is really quiet

Not a bad thought. I built a 20' cedar strip canoe that's fiberglassed over and then has some reinforcing patches on the bottom.

It's taken a bunch of beatings, including my brother losing it off the roof of his truck at 55mph, and nothing worse than some abrasions which were easy enough to fix.

[Wyo Johnson]

For those that wanted to add some "no slip" to their aluminum floorboards, there is a product called Loncoin that is used for all kinds of purposes, including aircraft (Boeings, King Airs, Bonanzas).

If you've been on an airliner lately you've walked on it and probably didn't even know it...it is also called "coin mat".

The stuff comes in various sizes, colors and thicknesses. For example the stuff used for general aviation is 2mm/.0787" thick PVC and .7 lb/sq' and comes in 12 colors. A little heavy but if you needed the baggage bay with a little more durability or easier to keep clean...might be an option. Tough stuff and if you shop around you can find it for under $5 a square foot. The make thinner/lighter stuff...

Wyo Johnson
1423B

[Jim Douglass]

Just a thought on floorbds: If you overlap the edges of the various sheets of floorbds, remember to make the sheet above the landing gear struts easily removable so you can access the top bolts on the landing gear struts. I can access those bolts from below but it requires removing a multitude of machine screws.

Jim Douglass

[whee]

I haven’t been planning to put anything over our aluminum floorboards. Battson has mentioned several times that carpet is nice because it traps dirt and helps keep it out of the belly. That sound like a good idea. I looked at that coin mat stuff a while back and really like how it looks but it isn’t going to trap dirt. We put a lip on our floor boards to keep stuff from getting into the belly and I think it will work.

Saturday I was installing the rear seatbelts and dropped a wrench which dented the floor board😡 Guess I’ll be installing carpet now...

[nichzimmerman]

Has anyone done weight and performance comparisons on various carpet options that can be ordered online? I don't know the first thing about that stuff including sources.

[Mark Goldberg]

I have used a marine vinyl product that Jared recommended. That manufacturer appears to have gone out of business but I bet there is something else similar out there. Very light. Glues down with contact cement. Cleans up easily. Mark

[jaredyates]

I have used a marine vinyl product that Jared recommended. That manufacturer appears to have gone out of business but I bet there is something else similar out there. Very light. Glues down with contact cement. Cleans up easily. Mark

That has been some great stuff, called Deco Dot and sold by Nautolex. It has held up very well and is much lighter and thinner than the coin mat type of product. I don't know of anyone still selling it, but asking a marine upholstery place would be a good start.

[interstate al]

I also used the Deco Dot material after looking at Marks LSA. I found surplus material at a fabric supplier and purchased all of one color that he had. Sold partial to a Patrol builder and plan on lining my tool box drawers with the remnants. At the time I purchased it the supplier had one or two other colors in stock but that was over two years ago. If interested might be worth a call, the price was very good as it was discontinued product. https://www.yourautotrim.com/

[spinningwrench]

I just finished cutting 1/4" Baltic Birch for the floorboards underneath the seats of my Patrol and by the rudder pedals. I continued to use aluminum in the baggage compartment. The weight penalty in my Patrol was 3.2 lbs vs using aluminum throughout. I will easily make that up by making custom stringers out of wood vs the aluminum ones that come with the kit which are a bit heavy. My thoughts on the floor when I sat in a Patrol and flew it at Oshkosh was that I didn't like the oil canning from the floorboards. When you look at a Cessna floor installation there are considerably more stiffeners to overcome that issue. I just finished varnishing the Baltic Birch and it looks really handsome. Wood will also do a lot to dampen noise and vibration.

[svyolo]

If I was going to use aluminum I think I would put a bead every 4-6 inches to stiffen it. There are some light poplar and Okoume plywoods that would weigh about the same as the .032 aluminum. I have used lots of Okoume before. I would use 4mm where you step, 3 mm where you don't. Okoume is usually sold as a marine plywood.

[spinningwrench]

1/4” Baltic is actually 6 mm thick the 4 Okume would weigh less but be sure you get true Marine Grade as the Big Box version is typically a Chinese knockoff, not voidless and with much thinner face veneers.

[zkelley2]

For everyone using aluminum, what are you putting on for corrosion protection that will also take the abuse of feet/stuff slid on it all the time?

[jaredyates]

For everyone using aluminum, what are you putting on for corrosion protection that will also take the abuse of feet/stuff slid on it all the time?

The area forward of the front seats is bare in my case, and the sliding feet seem to keep things pretty well polished.

[Wyo Johnson]

The "Dot" mat is extremely durable and will protect the aluminum from dents, etc. I've seen people drop tools and it not damage the honeycomb floorboards underneath...which are fragile on a good day!