Cracks on floor & hull pics what sealant?

regjen

Cadet
Joined
Aug 4, 2007
Messages
23
All, sun is in the forecast this weekend and I'm working on my boat. I have a few small cracks (anywhere from 4 inches to a foot long - very thin in width) on the floor and I wanted to know the best sealant/filler to use (and any other tips) for repair. Also bottom paint is chipping away (dry storage) should I be concerned? I tried to attach pics but the file was too large (for just one) and I'm not that computer savvy. Thanks in advance. Reg

ps - if there is another way of attaching pics let me know.
 

tashasdaddy

Honorary Moderator Emeritus
Joined
Nov 11, 2005
Messages
51,019
Re: Cracks on floor & hull pics what sealant?

you use photobucket.com then post here.
 

Sailor77.7

Seaman
Joined
Aug 7, 2007
Messages
50
Re: Cracks on floor & hull pics what sealant?

All, sun is in the forecast this weekend and I'm working on my boat. I have a few small cracks (anywhere from 4 inches to a foot long - very thin in width) on the floor and I wanted to know the best sealant/filler to use (and any other tips) for repair. Also bottom paint is chipping away (dry storage) should I be concerned? I tried to attach pics but the file was too large (for just one) and I'm not that computer savvy. Thanks in advance. Reg

ps - if there is another way of attaching pics let me know.

regjen,

If you have some small cracks in your floor, then I would be concerned about the condition of what is under it. I have attached a couple of pics of mine for your own comparison. tashasdaddy has helped me a bit. He has a great deal of knowledge and knows what is what. Let me know if this helps.

Vr,

sailor77.7

P.S. here is the URL for my project. http://www.shareaproject.com/pages/projectTut,p,391,00.html
 

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regjen

Cadet
Joined
Aug 4, 2007
Messages
23
Re: Cracks on floor & hull pics what sealant?

Hopefully the attachments will be available for review. Thanks Tashadaddy.

Reg
 

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tashasdaddy

Honorary Moderator Emeritus
Joined
Nov 11, 2005
Messages
51,019
Re: Cracks on floor & hull pics what sealant?

18 year old boat i would be concerned whats causing the floor to crack, i suspect rot. iit's going to need to be reglassed. whats there has turned loose the wood floor. cut a test hole and see what you have. the bottom paint sand and recoat, unless you find a problem when sanding.
 

JMRuth72

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Aug 27, 2007
Messages
125
Re: Cracks on floor & hull pics what sealant?

Regjen,

I may be new to boats as well, but I can tell you after helping sailor77.7 pull the floor out of his boat that there is good cause for concern. Almost all of the plywood was waterlogged and some was just plain rotten. About 2/3 of the floatation foam was soaked and there was about 4"-6" of standing water in a spot that didn't have any foam. The drainage on this boat was terrible (read that non-existant under the floor) and we are going to fix it. We took great care when pulling the floor to prevent damaging the hull or stringers underneath the floor. Atleast one of the transverse (crossbrace) stringers will have to be replaced. We have not had time to clean all the dirt and gunk out of the bottom so that we can fully inspect all of the stringers yet. With all that being said it is not hard work to pull the floor, it is however time consuming and tedious. Start with a little test hole where the cracks are and go from there. Keep cutting until you run into hard dry wood and foam. Take your time and be careful you should be fine. I would strongly advise against using a saws-all or jig saw as you can't control the depth of the cut very well. I would use a circular saw with the blade set to about 1/2' spinning a blade meant for fiberglass or tile. The fiberglass near the gunwales was very thick, but very thin in the middle of the floor. We used air powered cut-off wheels and it worked pretty good. If you do find that you have water underneath leave the holes open and let it dry out. Could take a while, keep the boat covered with a tarp and be patient. That is all the advice I can give at the moment. Let us know what you find when you start to cutting. Good luck and be safe.
 
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