Jared 00:08 Same as considering using Starboard as the deck for my casting platform, half inch thickness is that enough to support 210 pounds?
Matt 00:16 Well, it all comes down to how it's supported, right? I mean, if you have 12 inch centers, that's probably fine half inch would do, great. But if you have 18, or 24 inch centers, you're probably going to feel it flex a lot under your feet. You know, in that point, I'd recommend going up to three quarter.
Jared 00:31 And centers, or are you know, some type of a string or some type of component.
Matt 00:35 Some type of support right, like for a casting platform, in some cases, you'll have the frame that goes around and then you'll have a crossbar that goes or maybe a couple crossbar as that go all the way from one side of the frame to the other. Right now the other style that you'll see are tabs, they're just little mounting tabs that stick off where the entire underside of the you know, it's supported all the way around the perimeter. But the underside, the center section.
Jared 00:55 Just like little tiny tabs that hang hanging off the side of the actual metal.
Andrew 00:57 And I would say that style half inch would probably not be sufficient to get too much flex in the middle. Right? Not that it would break necessarily. We’ve said it many times. It's like how do you define support? Do you find support as feeling right or not breaking? But I don't think it would feel right with the tab system.
Jared 01:13 And if it flexes enough it could pull off those tabs. Right? You think
Andrew 01:15 You would fasten through it, you would think yeah, you know so through yet it shouldn't I don't think that would be so much of an issue. Have you sold many of those for customers?
Matt 01:23 We’ve done a few of them. The other consideration that comes into play as a lot of times those tabs or those supports are a certain distance down from the top of the rail. So that might dictate your thickness for you.
Andrew 01:33 Right? You want to get up above the extrusion.
Matt 01:35 Or at least its parallel to it.
Andrew 01:36 Yeah, flat, right.
Jared 01: 37 What about throwing a stiffener on the bottom, I know we do that sometimes on fillet tables, deck hatches, would that work in the same way, since it's not closing into a frame?
Matt 01:45 That’s definitely an option. And based on the size that would have a bearing on the thickness that I would recommend. We don't do any deck hatches here at Boat Outfitters that are less than three quarter inch thick. Okay,
Andrew 01:56 So that's a really good idea that you could put a u-channel if you had a tab style you want to do Starboard. Yeah, one of the other options, of course, is you could do Coosa board, but that's a little whole other zone challenges, right? Because it has to be finished and painted and…
Matt 02:09 But still a great option for someone who has the capability to do that.
Andrew 02:13 Right. Right. Right. So the majority that OEM casting platforms are fiberglass.
Matt 02:19 A lot of them are.
Andrew 02:20 This is probably someone who the fiberglass broke and is looking to replace it with something.
Matt 02:25 So a lot of older platforms were that kind of frame style structure that had like a quote like a plywood core piece of fiberglass or something and that coring goes bad just kind of like on a fish box lid or anything like that on your older boats. That's the customer we're talking to when we're talking about replacing these with a piece of Starboard.
Andrew 02:44 Got you. It’s probably anti-skid right. If you're going to do it, you might as well.
Matt 02:48 Definitely as long as the thickness allows for it. Yeah, we can we carry it in half and three quarter.
Andrew 02:53 Awesome. Sounds good.
