Soft spot in deck

Hi everyone,
Been a while since I've been on here. I have a 16 ft. Bay Skiff built in about 1991. It has been sitting outside with no cover and little use use for the last few years. I finally got around to cleaning the leaves and such out of it and noticed there is a "soft spot" in the deck in front of the center center console. Doesn't really feel like a hole, and there are no cracks, just like the plywood and the fiberglass overlay have separated. The rest of the deck seems okay except for needing a fresh finish of gel coat put on it.

Should I really worry about this?

Re: Soft spot in deck

It won't get any better...

Re: Soft spot in deck

The insidious question is what is going on underneith? Spot delamination is not that huge a deal on a deck depending on the type of construction and what is the function of the covering. I had a '62 Formula with a soft spot, I cut the glass out with a hacksaw blade held with visegrips and found all kinds of heiniousness and replaced the deck. A 92 Angler that I had had a delaminated spot in the stern and the warrenty fix was shoot resin into the void, press it out and patch the drill holes. (Both boats have long since been sold). If you are going spend the $$ and effort to regelcoat the deck, investigate the spot so you only have to gel coat once. Maybe a good winter project?

Dave

Re: Soft spot in deck

I had a soft spot in the middle of the deck of the boat i bought and the guy said it would only take about 8 hours of repair work. HA HA HA! I just replaced the whole thing stringers and all, took out about 250 to 300 pounds of watersoaked foam. I have a boat now. One that I will hold onto for awhile. At first I was just going to fish with it for a couple of years til i found something better. Now with many hours more than just a patch repair. I have a boat I will hang on to for quite a bit longer. If it is a boat you want to keep for years then fix it to where you will feel comfortable in it, safe in it. Good luck in what ever you do with it.