Rob,

The carpet won't go straight to the aluminum. The Non-Skid stuff a mentioned is bascially a rubber/latex roll-on surface for metal. The rubber carpet backing is supposed to be glues to that. The Non-Skid and the carpet are basically sound reduction for the aluminum. That's like the only benefit of wood, it's quiter than metal. As for supports on the deck, there aren't going to be any. That's why I wanted to use 3/8-1/2" aluminum. We use the boat for trout fishing in the Sierras too, so the deck has to be able to come off for certain trips or occasions. But I know that nobody over 200 lbs. is likely to stand on the deck and you can't have 2 people at once on the deck either. That would tilt the boat forward and not to mention it would be really cramped! Thanks for the adivce and interest, was apprecaited.