Floor in boat, has a couple rises in it, is this normal? **PICS ADDED***

1997 glasstron, 19.5......decent boat, just wanted to remodel it a little. So, i remove the interior, needed to reupholster a few panels, and seats..no biggy. Well, at this point, i said to myself, might as well just go for the full remod. So, I start to take out the carpet...pita....i remove the carpet, inspect the floor. It is slightly damp due to having the cover torn off of and letting it set in the weather. Floor doesn't seem rotted, not sure really how to check, doesn't flex except above the gas tank, which i removed that piece anyways.

Now, the deck, in the center of the back portion of the boat (behind the seats), the right and left side BOTH have a slight rise in them, bumps if you will. Not sure if that's normal? Now, in the the very back of the boat, the engine compartment there is also a big rise on one side, and not on the other? Ill post pics...shortly...

Any insight would be great...thanks in advance..

Kris.

Re: Floor in boat, has a couple rises in it, is this normal?

Re: Floor in boat, has a couple rises in it, is this normal?

Does the plywood deck have a layer of fiberglass over it or is it just bare plywood, moisture may have buckled the wood creating the high spots what happens if you bounce your weight down on the high spot?

Re: Floor in boat, has a couple rises in it, is this normal?

Re: Floor in boat, has a couple rises in it, is this normal?

a70eliminator said:

Does the plywood deck have a layer of fiberglass over it or is it just bare plywood, moisture may have buckled the wood creating the high spots what happens if you bounce your weight down on the high spot?

Click to expand...

It has a sprayed like hardener over it, not really fiberglass. The hardener is cracked, i took a lot of pictures to further understand everything.


This is a picture of the the two areas in question. Were the gloves are placed is were it's "bubbled" like. Also, the outer inner ends are all foam.




Another shot.





This what i mean by.."leveled by foam"...the ends are filled with foam to "level" off the surface.




This a picture of the backside..(Starboard side) of the boat, The floor is raised here. Shown by the glove.




This shows almost at ground level of the same area..(rear engine, starboard side). I attempted to simulate the rise in the floor with a crows foot.

Re: Floor in boat, has a couple rises in it, is this normal?

Re: Floor in boat, has a couple rises in it, is this normal?

This a close up. It seems as tho, the manufacture drilled some holes to fill the inside under the wood with foam. I poked out the hole, yes, its very damp under there, and the wood is slightly black.



This shows the gas compartment, the edge. It's a little worn out..if you will.



Here is another one of those holes filled with foam by the gas compartment



Over all shot of the gas compartment.




So, im not sure what to do at this point. The boat doesn't seem to have any sort of wood in the center, just fiberglassed beams filled with foam. The only wood i have noticed is the floor.

Thanks

Re: Floor in boat, has a couple rises in it, is this normal?

Re: Floor in boat, has a couple rises in it, is this normal?

That floor needs replacing my friend. Although you have it most of the way there just by having everything removed. Might as well go all the way by replacing the deck now rather than when you foot starts sinking into the floor.

The final say is yours, though, and only you can decide whether you feel it is worth it or not. If you only plan on putting one more season on the boat, limping by is okay, but seeing as you look as though you are replacing the carpet, the floor is probably your next move.

Re: Floor in boat, has a couple rises in it, is this normal?

Re: Floor in boat, has a couple rises in it, is this normal?

lowkee said:

That floor needs replacing my friend. Although you have it most of the way there just by having everything removed. Might as well go all the way by replacing the deck now rather than when you foot starts sinking into the floor.

The final say is yours, though, and only you can decide whether you feel it is worth it or not. If you only plan on putting one more season on the boat, limping by is okay, but seeing as you look as though you are replacing the carpet, the floor is probably your next move.

Click to expand...

yup, your right, id rather not of gone the extra mile but i might as well. However, the foam is right up to the bottom of the floor? Im not sure what to do once i have the wood from the floor removed. So i need to also remove all the foam, re-drill re stuff? Or just shave down the foam once i remove the wood?

Also, when i go to replace the floor, i can't quite get all the way to the front due to the front open bow clinching down pretty hard. Im really not feeling removing the entire top end of the haul...any tips/tricks???

Should i use pressure treated wood as well? Im not sure i want to seal the top of it, due to me wanting the boat to breath.

Re: Floor in boat, has a couple rises in it, is this normal?

Re: Floor in boat, has a couple rises in it, is this normal?

I'm sure someone will jump in with some advice as to possibly avoiding removing the top. As for the foam, judging from my own and others' experiences you will likely find it is sopping wet (and it never dries out), so you will have to remove it all anyhow.

Preasure treated or not is up for debate. I am working on my own project and still haven't decided. You'll find the people here very helpful, they can talk you through doing the new deck quite easily. And welcome to the forum!

Re: Floor in boat, has a couple rises in it, is this normal?

Re: Floor in boat, has a couple rises in it, is this normal?

lowkee said:

I'm sure someone will jump in with some advice as to possibly avoiding removing the top. As for the foam, judging from my own and others' experiences you will likely find it is sopping wet (and it never dries out), so you will have to remove it all anyhow.

Pressure treated or not is up for debate. I am working on my own project and still haven't decided. You'll find the people here very helpful, they can talk you through doing the new deck quite easily. And welcome to the forum!

Click to expand...

This forum has been a great help thus far, thank you for the welcome. Im more of a car guy, and rarely get into the boat restors. Ive read way's to replace floors, yet, i haven't seen a way for it to apply to mine. I read any replacement's with the foam. Ill search around, and hopefully ill get more responses with people that have already done this.

Re: Floor in boat, has a couple rises in it, is this normal? **PICS ADDED***

Looks like a big project my friend. If your foam is wet then most likely the stringers have rot. If your stringers have rot then there is good chance your transom will too. If that's the case then you're looking at a complete restore. Not removing the cap might be possible, but will require some engineering. Do some core samples & that'll give you true picture of her shape.

At this point you gotta ask yourself what you're willing to put into it. Not just money, but your time as well. Assuming it needs a deck, stringer, & transom rebuild you should be able to put it together for under a grand, pending your choice of materials. However, that's if you have the capabilities to remove the engine/outdrive. If not,then add another grand plus for someone to remove/reinstall it.

The good news is that if you decide to go all out she'll be better than new. There are a lot of good threads here, but Oops' hull extension provides a wealth of information.

Re: Floor in boat, has a couple rises in it, is this normal? **PICS ADDED***

JaSla74 said:

Looks like a big project my friend. If your foam is wet then most likely the stringers have rot. If your stringers have rot then there is good chance your transom will too. If that's the case then you're looking at a complete restore. Not removing the cap might be possible, but will require some engineering. Do some core samples & that'll give you true picture of her shape.

At this point you gotta ask yourself what you're willing to put into it. Not just money, but your time as well. Assuming it needs a deck, stringer, & transom rebuild you should be able to put it together for under a grand, pending your choice of materials. However, that's if you have the capabilities to remove the engine/outdrive. If not,then add another grand plus for someone to remove/reinstall it.

The good news is that if you decide to go all out she'll be better than new. There are a lot of good threads here, but Oops' hull extension provides a wealth of information.

Click to expand...

Im really hopping the transom doesn't need replacement. I think i opened up a big project, im not sure how to check the transom tho, i will. However the center of the boat is bad it seems.

Im reading threads now...