Soft Floor - Easy Fix? or too much trouble.

First time post: Be gentle.
1 year away from possible new or nearly new boat. Currently I have an old 22' center console bay boat with a fiberglass over plywood floor that is cracking and has soft spots. This boat doesn't have much if any value. But it does have a good hull and runs great. Boat floor is fiberglass & front and rear decks are carpeted over fiberglass. Structurally the floor is in bad shape, soft spots, bad cracks, etc. The stringers still feel pretty strong.

Here's my thoughts:
1. Do nothing and hope i don't step through this year.
2. Can I install new plywood directly over the whole floor? Should this be screwed, glued or both?
3. What would you do at the seams?
4. Paint or carpet new floor?

I'd prefer not to put a lot of time & money into a boat that will probably be given away (less motor & electronics)

Re: Soft Floor - Easy Fix? or too much trouble.

Given that you are just biding time, I would say all you need to do is re-sheet it with 3/8" Exterior ply and throw down some cheap Home Depot I/O carpet or Linoleum. If the soft spots are really bad it might feel a little springy but you won't fall through.

Anyone else reading this post, this is not the proper way to permanently fix a deck. This is just a patch to get by for a season. That was what was asked for.

Re: Soft Floor - Easy Fix? or too much trouble.

If the floor is really that bad, I can't believe the stringers are in as good a shape as you believe. I'd suggest a little more investigation to the stringers, before you decide to just throw another layer of ply on the top for a quick fix.

Re: Soft Floor - Easy Fix? or too much trouble.

If you have soft spots, it's probably fiberglass over plywood. The soft spots are dry rot, and it will spread into stringers or any other wood it touches if it has not already. This should help you decide how far you want to go.

Re: Soft Floor - Easy Fix? or too much trouble.

Good idea, just cover with PT Plywood or even just exterior grade and lay down carpet. that will get you through the summer.

Re: Soft Floor - Easy Fix? or too much trouble.

Thanks guys,
The stringers may be getting in bad shape - But I can tell where they are when walking (I weigh close to 300 lbs). The consenses is to use Pressure Treated verses the marine quality?

If I go with carpet over the plywood that answers my question on the seams.

Lodgepole - It is fiberglass over rotting plywood.

As asked before should I screw it down , glue it or both?

Thanks for all the quick responses - And your future help. Sites like these give alot of us weekend tinkerer's a start in the right direction.

Re: Soft Floor - Easy Fix? or too much trouble.

just screw it down. but save yourself a little trouble, and check the transom!! if its nasty, i wouldnt chance a whole season. like mentioned before, if the deck is rotted then the rest is probably there or close. rot is like cancer it starts small before you know it, its everywhere.

Re: Soft Floor - Easy Fix? or too much trouble.

I laid 1/2" 5 ply exterior plywood over the rotted deck of my 72 SeaSwirl, it lasted for 4-5 years and was still solid when I got rid of the boat. I used a 1/4" notched trowel and outdoor vinyl mastic to bed the plywood and it was solid, you could jump on it like a wild monkey and it wouldn't give,,, BUT...

That being said, it was a total HACK job and something I wouldn't do anymore. most all the people on Iboats say, if the deck is rotted and cracked the foam is soaked and the stringers rotted. To do a proper job you need to remove the old deck, inspect the stringers and foam, and replace the bad parts. Right before I got rid of my SeaSwirl I cut out a 4x4 section of the deck to inspect the foam and stringers, foam totally soaked and stringers were rotting. I wasn't going to put the required work into restoring that old boat so it went to the land fill.

If you lay ply over the rotted structure underneath it will increase the rot process and all that soaked foam will weigh down the boat. 7#/gallon can add up real quick and amount to several hundred # of extra dead weight in the boat. 22' boat, double deck material, water logged foam and stringers,,, extra 500#???

Re: Soft Floor - Easy Fix? or too much trouble.


to me the type of repair you are thinking about is a wast of time and money, you say the hull is in fair nick so why not build the boat you need rather than try and buy the perfect set up, if the new boat will be used for the same things as the old, I say rebuild to your own specks, I know the blokes here will talk you through it.
Paul

Re: Soft Floor - Easy Fix? or too much trouble.

Get the person you're going to give it to to help fix it right.

Re: Soft Floor - Easy Fix? or too much trouble.

IF the hull is going to the scrap yard....this is the answer.......(pending transom check)

sschefer said:

Given that you are just biding time, I would say all you need to do is re-sheet it with 3/8" Exterior ply and throw down some cheap Home Depot I/O carpet or Linoleum.

Anyone else reading this post, this is not the proper way to permanently fix a deck. This is just a patch to get by for a season. That was what was asked for.

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colemast said:

The consenses is to use Pressure Treated verses the marine quality?

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forget it....you are wasting your money.....regular ext grade ply..

65Mech said:

check the transom!! if its nasty, i wouldnt chance a whole season.

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really check the transom....if its weak...the boat is unsafe....i would not use it....if its good....do the ply wood fix.

jonesg said:

Get the person you're going to give it to to help fix it right.

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this is a great idea.


the above method WILL totally rot the deck inside one season. if you are going to scrap the hull or give the boat away as a project boat...then yes...its ok to do the plywood patch.....
if you are going to sell the boat as a working hull......do not do the patch.....the boat will be unsafe inside of a year..