E trex decking for gunwale repairs?

Has anyone ever used that e trex decking material to replace their gunwales? It’s that plastic ‘fake wood’ that is becoming very common for residential and beyond. I can get a 16 foot length for $40 dollars at lowes which will cover all the material I need for the whole boat. It’s strong yet flexible and much cheaper than Ash. Plus I just moved to Florida and I worry about the humidity. I’ll never have to treat them now.

I know it will never have the aesthetic of wood, but I just want a boat that floats for right now.

Any feedback is appreciated!

I never thought of that
What about the thickness? Can you plane that stuff? That’s realy not a bad idea.

I would be afraid that a narrow strip…
would break easily !



jack L

I agree
I redid gunnels on several canoes with pressure treated 5/4 decking of Southern yellow pine and results are great. It is much cheaper than etrex. have several 16ft sections of E-trex decking and thought about using it but opted out because like JackL said, its possibly easily breakable when in narrow strips. It is a composite of recyled plastic products right? The SYP is very strong. I would be interested to hear how it turns out if you try it.

did you use
The re-dried stuff? It seems like you would have alot of shrinkage with normal off the self stuff.

what about composite moulding?
May be similar material but easier to work with. Regardless, I’d test a skinny piece of whichever for strength before going further.

Dried
I chose the best grained 16ft planks from the premium rack. I must have looked at 100 to chose the best 4 and let them set out on elevated sawhorses for several days in the hot sunny South Carolina weather before I cut them. Then after cutting the strips I set them outside another couple days to totally dry.