False floor and ski pole

[GA Paramedic]

I have a 1976 18' ski boat with a false floor in it due to rot of the origional one. I put 3/4" PT plywood and I/O carpet. the 2" drywall screws that I used to secure the floor down didn't seem to grip tight but they are holding everything down so far. The boat had a tripod ski pole when I got it. The quick disconnects are in good shape and are secure on top of the transom. The pole is in great shape and I have a mount for the pole to the floor that is secured with 8 lag screws and one bolt through the pole. Will this be safe to pull a skier or tube or kneeboard if the base of the pole is secured to the false floor? My concern would be the pole would be pulled upwards when pressure is applied and it would pull the false floor out of the bottom of the boat.

 

[dakk1]

Re: False floor and ski pole

I would be concerned about it if I were you. What are your 2" drywall screws attached to underneath the floor? How good that material is would be my main concern. Since as you say they "didn't seem to grip tight". Gonna be a lot of pressure pulling a skier out of the water.<br /><br />Dave

 

[Twidget]

Re: False floor and ski pole

Not to mention dry wall screws are brittle. They will snap off if put under any pressure, that is assuming what they were screwed into holds them.<br /><br />I dont think I would trust it.

 

[Kevin70]

Re: False floor and ski pole

With that much extra weight, I would be amazed if you got the boat itself out of the water, let alone a skier. Any plans to redo the floor the right way? We can talk you through it if you decide to. (of corse if it were me, I'd have to wait until the season was over.)

 

[AC30301998]

Re: False floor and ski pole

Is the Floor fastened any way other then the screws? such as some polyester resien or epoxy with filler Good god why did you use sheet rock screws??? I wouldn't' try pulling a skier or even a tube with just the screws!

 

[GA Paramedic]

Re: False floor and ski pole

Well to be honest, I would love to do the floor the right way. Not sure what that was is, but yes, I would need some guidance. I am currently pulling skiiers via the transome hooks which is working but not like it should. My screws that I am using are galvinized but still not the best. And what they are screwing into, is probably rotten wood at best. The boat was bought for $1.00. I have just got the motor working awesome. Now that I know it isn't a waste of money and time, I wouldn't mind putting some of both in it. Even the false floor was soft when I got it so I pulled it up. It saw a thin layer of fiberglass and then rotton wood in places where the fiberglas had broken through. I was kind of scared to find out what was under all of that so I didn't even look. There seemed to be some supports under it that was holding evetything up. They ran from the front to the back. One on each side of the boat, one in the middle and one on each side between the middle and sides. I only know of those because that is what i had to step on to prevent from falling through. So I put 3 sheets of 3/4" pt plywood down to be able to use it for a while and enjoy my $1.00 worth of boat. Ofcourse I have way more than that in the motor now but it works like a champ. What do I need to do to the floor? How much time are we talking about for total repair? How much money are we talking about to do it right? Is it even fixable? I am worried that since it is usable now, I don't want to screw anything up while trying ti fix it that would cause it to be unusuable. Follow???

 

[sdunt]

Re: False floor and ski pole

As for the rebuild. Get the book Runabout renovation and read it to start. TIme I would say most of the winter, if your life if busy like mine. I did a 14' ski boat and put well into $300 into materials, that 18' will be more because I did not have to replace stringers, and the floor only took one sheet of plywood.

You can also learn alot on Shareaproject. Follow the link in my signature and them start browsing other boat projects.

Good luck on your rebuild. PS. you can also start your own shareaproject for free and we can all watch

 

[GA Paramedic]

Re: False floor and ski pole

right now the floor for lack of better explantion is just lying in the bottom not held by anything other than the drywall screws. I do a bit of repair work and light wood working and drywall screws are like the greatest thing next to zip ties. LIke I said, it works great just to get on the lake to try the motor out. but I am not using the ski pole as of yet. Just the transom hooks. I'll get pics of it in a little bit and let you guys see if it is even worth putting money in or if I need to find another boat to put my motor on.

 

[JasonJ]

Re: False floor and ski pole

I of course am going to recommend tearing it all out and glassing in a new fllor and whatever other structure needs to be replaced. You can do a search on this site and look at the various projects we have undertaken. You also click my link for an idea of what to expect. The floor is part of the structure so you really wnt it to be strong. A rebuild will result in a lighter boat, which equals fuel savings as well better performance, especially if you are skiing. I would say an aftermarket ski/wakeboard tower could be a viable alternative. You still need to fix the floor, but since you really should have a tower anyway if you board, ski and tube, you could go that route first and fix the floor in the winter during the off season.

As it stands, your situation sounds like mine was, except I didn't lay the false floor in my boat, someone else did, and they used nails. The horrors....

 

[GA Paramedic]

Re: False floor and ski pole

Oh I feel for ya Jason. Whoever laid the false floor that I replaced, they used screws as well and on the outside bands, it went all of the way through and penetrated the hull. I fixed many of them but am still relying on a bilge pump occasionally to remove a little but of water. I have put a few pics on the shareaproject.com website. I'll add more tomorrow when I have access to broadband and not dialup. This gives an idea of what I am working with. Be honest. Tell me what you think about what I am starting with and what I have done already. I want to do it right.

 

[JasonJ]

Re: False floor and ski pole

Well, its a project boat. You paid a buck for it, you have probably already got your moneys worth out of it. I guess you would need to decide before you start if this is a boat you will really want to keep around for awhile. I figure you could put a grand in it, and still at least break even selling it. I f you do want to keep it for awhile, I see little choice but to tear it donw and do it right. It will perform so much better, and the peace of mind will be greater.

Then you'll have to research materials and costs and whatnot. It adds up, thats for sure. The one thing I can say is drywall screws are exactly what you do not want to use. The tensile strength is not up to the task, I used stainless screws throughout, much stronger. You can also use galvanized squarehead screws like what are used on decks, they'll work. For the most part you will be using plywood and poly or epoxy resin, cloth and roving for your rebuild. Foam is optional, although I will always recommend it, and you'll want to use good 2 part foam, it is more water resistant.

Anyway, if you read my site, you saw that I went through a decision making process before diving in, and I paid a heck of a lot more than you did. Like I said, you are out a buck. You could strip that sweet Merc off and find another hull for it, but there are no guarantees that the next hull will be any better.

 

[GA Paramedic]

Re: False floor and ski pole

So is it your sugguestion that I go through the same thing that you did on your boat, Jason? Seperating the hull from the top and doing all of that? I kind of feel that if I do that, I will be over my head. just by what I already know, it would be probably safe to say that the stringers in the back part of the boat would be ruined. But then again, the front part may or may not be good. Gosh... this is gonna suck doing this by myself. If I could say that the transom and the front part was still intact and in good shape, would you still go to that extent to repair the boat or just repair what floor that could be removed from cutting the old floor away? I think that I would be inclined to keep the same layout and walkthrough windshield that is intact now. You defintley got me thinking about this whole thing. I defintley have the space to work on it. And will probably have whatever tools I will need since I do some woodworking on the side. What about the paint for the boat? Right now it is really rough and faded. What can be done about that?

 

[GA Paramedic]

Re: False floor and ski pole

I have updated my shareaproject page with many more pics. Here is a link...
http://www.shareaproject.com/projectThumbs.php?p=243 Any sugguesitons will be appricited. Should I go ahead and pull the floor back up one weekend and look under for what I have or just wait till winter and do it all then?

 

[JasonJ]

Re: False floor and ski pole

You could probably get away with waiting until winter if you want to. You would need to continue to pull your skiers by the transom eyes, I don't know that the floor would stay put under the force, but you never know. Once I realized there was a false floor on my boat I was deathly afraid to see what was underneath, but I had to know. I was glad I looked. I also thought my transom was fine, and it was not. It seems daunting but it is not as difficult as it seems.

The biggest obstacle people have on these projects is having a place to do the project. Trying to work out in the elements makes it take way longer than it needs to. If you have a shop, there is no reason you can't pull the boat in and do the work. You can rent or borrow an engine lift and pull the outboard easily. You can strip everything out of the boat including the motor in less than a day. You can seperate the upper deck and get three buddies and lift that sucker off and set it outside. It is not an unobtainable goal in the least.

Once you have it apart, you will see how much easier it is to do the work. Get a 4 inch angle grinder with cutoff wheels, you can have all of the old structure out in a day. Glassing in new structure takes a bit more time, but if you busted butt you could have it done in less than a month working on it on weekends and some weekdays after work. Mine took longer because I was fighting cold temps in a carport, but I actually completed the structure in about a weeks time. Your project will not be as involved, it should go fast. I have seen people come on here with projects like yours and be done after a couple of weeks of hard continuous work.

As far as the finish, use paint as a last resort. The first thing you should try is wetsanding the gelcoat. Get some wetsanding paper from 600 grit up to 1500 grit and try a section. Once you have gone up to 1500, use a buffer and some compound, then wax. You very well may find that you just have oxidation of the gel, and that it is fine. I have done a few boats this way with success.

 

[GA Paramedic]

Re: False floor and ski pole

Ok... it sounds like I should just enjoy it with what it can do until the winter. Yeah! I think the transom is fne too but then again, unless you dig into it, you never know. I have a shop that is essentially a 9 car garage with a wood and gas stove for heat if needed. So space isn't a issue. I have a flywheel puller that I bought to pull the flywheel and I think that is the way that merc sugguest that you pull the motor. It came with a lifting eye that I can hook to a 2 ton lift strapped to a brace on top of the garage. I guess I would have to make a temporary place to set the motor down for ever how long it would take since it can't hang there forever. I pulled the bumper rubber out of the track and found that it is attached by rivets. I assume I would have to drill those out and remove it. What else is there holding the upper deck onto the hull? I do have a angle grinder that is air powered in the shop that should work fine for whatever I need to use it for. This is where I would be lost. What exactly do you pull out of the hull and such.. I guess it would make more sence when I got inside of it. I believe that it was your project that you used plywood on. I can definitely do that. It's just the glassing and mat and resin and all of that I have no idea.