What kind of experience does anyone have with putting a floor in a jon boat. The boat currently has a metal floor in it with foam under it. We were planning on putting a wood floor over the metal and then carpeting the wood. I know the marine grade plywood would be best but I have been told that some good pressure treated plywood will last a few years and is much cheaper. (Honestly we are only looking to get 2 or 3 years out of this boat and on somewhat of a budget) Also what thickness plywood would be best? Weight is somewhat a concern.

Another option we have been considering is a rubber floor over the metal. I got the idea from the Ducks Unlimited website. I found a few places we can get a roll of 3/8 inch or 1/2 inch rubber in the length and width we need.9Basically the studd found on a weight room floor) My concern there is that is would be hotter that heck for fishing in the summer months. To combat that I dont know if we could get a carpet to stick to the rubber. The advantage is that it would last alot longer, contour to the bottom of the boat, and be a little lighter.

I am having a hard time deciding what would be best for my circumstances. Give me some thoughts.

Personally, I would go with the rubber. Just for the weight issue if nothing else. I'm not sure about you guys, but once we put a blind, 120 decoys a couple of propane tank, 4 guys, a dog, and every other imaginable gadget in there it adds up. It slow you down and you ride lower in the water. Plus I'm pretty sure it will last longer and be cheaper like you said.
Not sure how much you want to spend but we have had portions of our boat Line-X and it has worked out well.

Im guessing that your goal is to carpet your boat while not adding a tremendos amout of weight. They sell a plastic, cardboard-like, sheeting at lowes. It looks exaclty like cardboard but is made out of plastic. This may work as a base for your carpet. You should be able to glue your carpet to this or you could wrap it around the edges and staple it. I havent had much experience with this stuff so Im not sure if it would work. One you get it down you could always pop rivet it or use heavy duty velcrow to keep it from flying up.

we are going to put rubber mats in the bottom of our boat
I've seen it done in someone elses boat and it seemed to work pretty good
I think if u find the rubber mats they use in the kitchens of restaurants they should work
we had carpeting in our old boat and it is hard to keep clean and if u use it for fishing the hooks get caught in it

This stuff here would be about ideal but if would also cost twice as much.

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp?id=0040420018634a&type=product&cmCat=SEARCH&returnPage=search-results1.jsp&QueryText=boat+mat&N=4887&Ntk=Products&Ntx=mode+matchall&Nty=1&Ntt=boat+mat&noImage=0

Lay plastic down and cut it where you want it. That is your template. Is it a flat bottom? If you need supports, just put a few piles of mud down, lay the wood floor in pull it right back out. Measure the height of the mud and cut 4x4 spacers down remove the mud from the boat. Then mark the spot on the plywood where the mud spot is. Clean it off and attach the spacers...

Not sure if that helps, but thought I'd throw it out there.

Lay plastic down and cut it where you want it. That is your template. Is it a flat bottom? If you need supports, just put a few piles of mud down, lay the wood floor in pull it right back out. Measure the height of the mud and cut 4x4 spacers down remove the mud from the boat. Then mark the spot on the plywood where the mud spot is. Clean it off and attach the spacers...

Not sure if that helps, but thought I'd throw it out there.

Creative none the less....!

I had foam blocks between the floor braces and treated/painted plywood screwed down in a 18' lowe. Also mixed sand in the paint for anti-slipping. Used it as a duck boat for many years. Just make sure to create a drain near the rear of the deck.

Whats wrong with the metal flooring in the boat now? I have put down aluminum in a few boats in the past and never had any trouble with it if its painted with sand mixed in or rhino lined. The more you put in the heavier it will be. Also u never have to replace an all metal floor. You might also try old road signs they are pretty easy to get ahold of and they are cheap too.

The metal floor in it now has a few tears in it causing sharp metal to be exposed. I am not crazy about the idea of metal on the feet. A rubber floor will be more foot friendly. Lighter than wood and will not rot any time soon. Thanks for everyones input, I'll post some pix when it is done.

Let us know how it turns out. Lowes has the rubber mats.

get the floor TIG welded shut(the tears) grind the welds smooth and glue some carpet down, i just bought 72 Sq ft of marine carpet for 37 bucks. covered my 16 foot V bottom. or if you can weld try using a MIG, i have used the MIG welder alot and its not too hard to weld body panels

Grind the sharp edges and glue carpet to what you have now.Plywood is to heavy and will need replaced at some point. When I put a floor in a boat I use 2" blue foam between the ribs and pop rivet 24" aluminum coil stock to the ribs and cover with carpet. #1 cheeper than plywood #2 its light #3 will NEVER have to be replaced

Full they make some stuff call hydro-turf that glues to the metal decking. A buddy of mine has some on his boat and I'm really impressed with it.

Here is the finished product

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z243/coachhaynes77/P3080007.jpg

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z243/coachhaynes77/P3080008.jpg

Nice job! Nice for drainage and mud!

thats the same stuff we used in our boat it works great. when it gets to dirty you just pull it out and hose it off.