Tired of carpet, can I glass the floor?

[KD4UPL]

My '97 Larson has a plywood floor with permanently installed carpet over top. I can feel soft spots starting to form in the plywood underneath. I've never liked having to be really careful to keep the floor dry, vacuum the carpet, etc. The next boat I get I want to have a fiberglass floor with removable carpet.
Thinking about the boat I have now, the plywood probably will need to be replaced soon. How hard/ feasible is it to go back with a fiberglass floor instead of carpet after replacing the plywood? Any ideas what this would cost if I had it professionally done? Who would do it? I'm located well inland, there are no marinas withing 100 miles of me.
Really, I think it's time to just trade the boat and cure my two-foot-itis but until then I'm thinking of how to make this one better.

 

[roscoe]

Often, by the time the floor gets soft, the water has already done damage to the strings and transom.
Check carefully before moving forward.

In many areas of the country, you will not find anyone willing to do this job -- that actually knows what they are doing.
You are looking a several thousand $$ at a minimum.

 

[jbcurt00]

I'd bet your Larson has/had a fiberglass deck originally. How long have you owned it?

 

[JASinIL2006]

My '97Larson had a carpeted plywood floor... The stringers and bulkheads are engineered out of fiberglass and foam, and the transom core was fiberglass coated plywood. When I restored the boat, I put in a fiberglass encapsulaed plywood floor. I covered mine with Durabak; I wish I had gelcoated it and the either installed snap-in carpet or a product like Seadek or HydroTurf. What model do you have? Where are the soft spots?

 

[Chris1956]

It is very likely that the boat has a plywood deck, covered in fiberglass cloth and resin. They can and do wear down, allowing water to infiltrate the plywood. If the damage is minor, you can grind out the soft spots and fill in with cloth and resin. If the damage is widespread, the entire deck may need to be replaced.

If you want to get rid of the carpet, you will want to make the deck look acceptable. The easiest way is to fix any damage as described, sand the surface smooth and paint with a marine enamel or better yet, a marine polyurethane. Alternatively, you can cover with vinyl sheeting or seadeck or other product.

 

[Sharp Shooter]

Replace the wood and seal it. Add new carpet and you're done. I agree with inspecting everywhere else as others have stated.

 

[KD4UPL]

Thanks for all the advice so far. Keep it coming.
I've owned the boat since 2005. The original owner I bought it from went to great lengths to tell me everything that had ever been done to the boat and he never mentioned the floor being fixed or changed so I'm sure it's original.
The boat is a 206sei. The soft spots are where the driver's feet rest when seated and at the rear center in front of the rear bench. That one is probably in what looks to be a separate piece of flooring that is over the fuel tank.
I guess what I need to do is pull up the carpet and have a look. That should make a nice winter project.
I'm sure it would be easiest to just fix it and put carpet back but I'm definitely going to look into some of these other coatings that have been mentioned.

 

[JASinIL2006]

Mine is a 186 sei and it most certainly didn't have glass on eithe side of the decking. (Not sure if it was treated with anything at all... Looked like plywood with carpet glue on one side.) Assuning our boats were constructed similarly, you should be able to feel around for the seams of the panel that covers your fuel tank, in front of the rear bench seat. That panel should be held down with screws. That panel would be pretty easy to replace. The spot that sounds worrisome to me is the one near the driver's seat. Does your ski locker drain completely dry or is it often damp and/or wet?

 

[KD4UPL]

That's another thing I don't like. The darn ski locker is lined with carpet so it's always damp. It won't totally dry because the drain hole to the rear of the compartment is higher than the floor. So yes, it's always we in there. That has probably not helped the situation.

 

[JASinIL2006]

That's how mine was, too. That carpet int ski locker was nasty!