removing rotted plywood from under fiberglass floor??

[mtduckhunter]

ive got to remove some rotted plywood form under the fiberglass floor. what is the best way to do this?

should i cut two big holes or cut out the whole floor? i thought about just cutting two holes in the front and back about 2 1/2 feet wide by 4 feet long.

whats the best way??

 

[i386]

Re: removing rotted plywood from under fiberglass floor??

You've probably got more rotten wood than you think but the whole deck might not be bad. You can make some probing cuts with a hole saw to get an idea how much deck you need to remove. You can cut the deck out (or small sections) with a circular saw. Use one of the plugs from the hole saw as a gauge to set your circular saw's depth. You want to cut deep enough to get through the plywood but no deeper.

If you have a rotten deck, chances are you have some damage to the stringers too. Once you've gotten our first piece of plywood out you should get a better idea how bad it is.

If you could post some pictures that would help us a lot.

 

[mtduckhunter]

Re: removing rotted plywood from under fiberglass floor??

the stringer runs the lenght of the boat right? if so there is only one in the middle and it seems good because i screwed into it and it was perty solid.

i will post some pics when i get the sections cut out.

 

[i386]

Re: removing rotted plywood from under fiberglass floor??

the stringer runs the lenght of the boat right? if so there is only one in the middle and it seems good because i screwed into it and it was perty solid.

i will post some pics when i get the sections cut out.

That's right. 3 stringers is a pretty common setup. You may have only one. I have none in mine.

 

[tmcalavy]

Re: removing rotted plywood from under fiberglass floor??

Take out enough of the old, rotted deck to inspect the hull underneath from bow to stern. At the very least, you'll probaby want to rip out and replace the entire deck...not a hard job, lots of posts on this forum to guide you, just do a search and spend some time reading.

 

[oops!]

Re: removing rotted plywood from under fiberglass floor??

here bud......

read this

http://www.shareaproject.com/pages/projectTut,p,346,00.html

there is also a book called runabout renovation by jim anderson.....

good little pocket book that covers all the basics

cheers
oops

 

[mtduckhunter]

Re: removing rotted plywood from under fiberglass floor??

after i get the floor cut out and the wood out, im going to use 1/2 inch plywood and cut them to fit and carpet them, then screw them into place.

i will try to post some pics when i get the floor cut out.

 

[oops!]

Re: removing rotted plywood from under fiberglass floor??

youve got to glass the new deck in place......it will also protect the new wood from rotting

 

[mtduckhunter]

Re: removing rotted plywood from under fiberglass floor??

whats the reason for glassing it in other than to keep the wood from rotting?

 

[oops!]

Re: removing rotted plywood from under fiberglass floor??

its structural......an important peice of the puzzle

 

[mtduckhunter]

Re: removing rotted plywood from under fiberglass floor??

but i want to carpet the plywood before i put it in. how would i glass it in with carpet on it?

 

[oops!]

Re: removing rotted plywood from under fiberglass floor??

you cant....

thats like shingeling a roof before you put it on a house.

the sole of the boat...(floor) gives the hull a lot of integrety......it needs to be glassed on to the hull.

use a miinimum 6 inch overlap. that means the floor glass is tabbed and layered to a minimum 6 inch height up the hull wall.

the deck itself needs to be fully covered in fiberglass.....

the underside should be covered with resin as well...2 or three coats

 

[Coors]

Re: removing rotted plywood from under fiberglass floor??

you cant....

thats like shingeling a roof before you put it on a house.

the sole of the boat...(floor) gives the hull a lot of integrety......it needs to be glassed on to the hull.

use a miinimum 6 inch overlap. that means the floor glass is tabbed and layered to a minimum 6 inch height up the hull wall.

the deck itself needs to be fully covered in fiberglass.....

the underside should be covered with resin as well...2 or three coats

Use the glass to protect the deck; carpet glue will stick to it.

 

[Coors]

Re: removing rotted plywood from under fiberglass floor??

but i want to carpet the plywood before i put it in. how would i glass it in with carpet on it?

Glass it, and then carpet-the carpet should be snap-on; decks hate carpet.

 

[Lou C]

Re: removing rotted plywood from under fiberglass floor??

After doing a deck job I would not do carpet, unless I could not get it to look good enough after glassing. I wanted to get rid of carpet when I re-did my boat so I had the 'glass shop do the floor in nonskid gelcoat, and I just kept the carpet on the gunnels. There are other deck coverings materials you can use to, Durabak is one, like a bedliner. Carpet has no place on teh deck of an open boat in my opinion. Carpet + screw holes + water=rot!
Here's how mine came out:

 

[mtduckhunter]

Re: removing rotted plywood from under fiberglass floor??

im building a fishing deck up front and replacing the floor. i just like carpet in a fishing boat because to me it makes it more comfortable and reduces noise.

 

[Coors]

Re: removing rotted plywood from under fiberglass floor??

After doing a deck job I would not do carpet, unless I could not get it to look good enough after glassing. I wanted to get rid of carpet when I re-did my boat so I had the 'glass shop do the floor in nonskid gelcoat, and I just kept the carpet on the gunnels. There are other deck coverings materials you can use to, Durabak is one, like a bedliner. Carpet has no place on teh deck of an open boat in my opinion. Carpet + screw holes + water=rot!
Here's how mine came out:

what is the open area on your deck, in front of the tank? that's almost right behind the cuddy; where there is a bulkhead, not allowing water from the cuddy floor.
Just asking.

 

[Lou C]

Re: removing rotted plywood from under fiberglass floor??

Ski locker Coors, there is a limber hole at the bottom of the front bulkhead for the tank compartment and another at the rear bulkhead just in front of the engine. One problem with these old Horizons is that the anchor locker (yours has a similar anchor locker) drains right thru the ski locker, under the tank into the bilge. No thru hull drain. And the way the original covers were made, the bow cover did not cover the anchor locker. So there was always some water running through there, esp after a heavy rain when I had it on the mooring. So the first thing I did after finishing the whole deck project was to have the bow cover re-done to cover the anchor locker and no more water in the ski locker or under the gas tank. The Sundower Cuddy has a drain for the anchor locker, right?

 

[Coors]

Re: removing rotted plywood from under fiberglass floor??

Yes, anchor has a thru hull. But the limber hole in the cuddy floor drained to the bulkhead in front of the gas tank. Guess what- no hole in that bulkhead to drain thru, under the tank, and out the limber in front of the engine.

Grr, nothing but sodden foam, and rot.

 

[Lou C]

Re: removing rotted plywood from under fiberglass floor??

You're kiddin, they didn't put a hole there? Mine did. Some of their construction technicques were not so great---stringers not glassed all the way up, just raw wood on top, deck stapled to the stringers with about 1000 rusty nasty staples that I pulled out with visegrips, very light layer of glass over the deck, screw holes not sealed, etc. When I re-did it I corrected all of these faults, replaced the foam (I boat in LI Sound no way I'm not having foam, I always keep it covered so it's not gonna get wet much). Mine was built in Arlington Tx at an additional plant they had, not in Cadillac Michigan where most were made. Anyway now it's pretty much how I want it so I'll keep it as long as I can. Still hoarding Cobra parts!