If I used Meranti, sealed with epoxy, and drilled / filled / re-drilled all the fasteners, I'm guessing it would have cost another $300 and taken twice as long. Never seen anyone do it that way, other than one guy who built his entire pontoon out of wood & epoxy. The holes had to be drilled in-place, but I could have drilled them, removed the ply, over-drilled, filled, and re-drilled back through using the AL as a template.sitandfish wrote: You could likely get more life out out of the deck if you used the methods developed by BateauDotCom but, as you said, "It's a third boat". Kind of like a 7th beer. Quality is not as important.
BBC actually recommends this CCA-treated wood for pontoons, and the manufacturers who use it typically offer 10yr to lifetime warranties on the decks with it.