Replace section of floor?

Jon1229

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
May 30, 2018
Messages
130
hey everyone,

i was wondering if it is okay to replace only a section of my floor. It’s an 18 foot bow rider with a wood floor. Last year I noticed a slightly soft spot. This winter I started to pull up the floor and I was able to pull out only the piece of wood with the soft spot. The stringers under it still look healthy and the rest of the floor is solid. My plan was to do the entire floor, but can I just replace the section? The rest of the floor has a fiberglass layer on it, would I need to remove that Fiberglass and reglass the entire deck? Can I fiberglass the new piece and then go over the entire deck to make it smooth all one piece? I want to finish it with duradek so I am looking for everyone’s opinions. Thanks!
 

Mechanicalmike08

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Aug 29, 2018
Messages
308
As you will see there are many many threads that start with the same question and the end result is what you thought looked ok really isn't. If you got one soft spot the rot has most likely spread. The fiberglass usually hides the other rot.

If you are 100% sure the rest isn't rot, yes you can replace the piece. You can use polyester resin and glass or epoxy. Ideally you want both sides covered in resin and glass for the water proofing. You will need to support the new piece or it will fail later.

I would strongly recommend doing some test drills in the floor, stringer and transom.

just look at my thread the 95 Larson.
 

Brien S

Seaman
Joined
Nov 30, 2018
Messages
68
I second what mike said. You would be surprised at what is lurking under the glass. If your going to do just that section for now i would add some cleats to the stringers. Predrill holes and fill them with pl or 5200 to prevent any water from getting into the stringers .
 

dezmond

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jul 21, 2010
Messages
760
Yep. What they said. My floor was good and solid so I thought. Found a small soft spot and started to test things out. If you look at my thread you will see what I mean.

Your call though.
 

Scott Danforth

Grumpy Vintage Moderator still playing with boats
Staff member
Joined
Jul 23, 2011
Messages
47,297
The last thing to rot after the transom, stringers and bulkheads is the floor

There has only been one boat out of about a million restorations that was only the floor
 

Jon1229

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
May 30, 2018
Messages
130
Thanks for all the help, I’m not opposed to doing the entire floor so I’ll probably go ahread with it
 

Scott Danforth

Grumpy Vintage Moderator still playing with boats
Staff member
Joined
Jul 23, 2011
Messages
47,297
what we are trying to say, is your floor is the least of your problems. you have stringer/bulkhead/transom work to do prior to the floor.
 

Redtruck12

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jan 25, 2018
Messages
344
.“The entire floor”
probably thinking a couple hours and a few hundred bucks.
might be time for a reality check!
mince you get the soft stuff up you will almost definitely find it’s only the tip of the iceberg
rottem/soft wood is caused by water UNDER the deck long term!
How did it get in? Leak? Poor maintenance? Either way it got wet where it should NOT get wet.
most common would be a transom leak of some type (holes drilled and not adequately sealed, skimpy glassing by manufacturer, cracks, improperly drained or improperly stored)
transom starts to get soft- leaks some more, water sits and eventually gets into stringers, once the stringers start to get soft the moisture weeps into the decking.
im sure almost everyone who has been there will agree- the decking is the last thing to rott.
so be prepared
sure
its fine to hope for the best...
BUT realize and be prepared for the worst.
you could be into a couple hundred hours and a thousand in material (or more)
in the end , done right with use of the very experienced members advise on this forum you will have an awesome, safe, fun boat
 

JASinIL2006

Vice Admiral
Joined
Feb 10, 2012
Messages
5,524
If the problem is only the deck, youwill be anuncommonly lucky guy. Don’t count on it...

I don’t recall seeing anyone use Duradek before...have you seen it used on a boat?
 

Chris51280

Master Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jan 24, 2018
Messages
897
My deck was solid. The bulkhead behind the ski locker was "dirt" and held up by thin glass. the stringers next to the ski locker and tank area were soaked and the glass and carpet did a good job covering the rot. If you knock on it, it feels solid. If you can punch a hole in it with a screwdriver then its a goner.
 

chevymaher

Commander
Joined
Mar 29, 2017
Messages
2,914
My deck was solid. The bulkhead behind the ski locker was "dirt" and held up by thin glass. the stringers next to the ski locker and tank area were soaked and the glass and carpet did a good job covering the rot. If you knock on it, it feels solid. If you can punch a hole in it with a screwdriver then its a goner.

LOL your boat was like mine. I had a solid floor matter of fact it did not want to come out at all. Stuck a screwdriver from the skii locker into the foam under the deck. And the saga of mulch was on. Deeper you dug the more roses you could plant.
 

Jon1229

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
May 30, 2018
Messages
130
Yeah, when I said I was replacing the entire floor I meant the physical floor part and the structural parts under neath. The floor only got soft right around the ski locker but like everyone said, it’s probably worse than just that. As soon as I finish the clutch on my MG I’m going to pull out the rest of the floor and see what it looks like underneath. With the transom, is there an easy way to tell if it need to be replaced or if it’s still structurally sound?
 

Mechanicalmike08

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Aug 29, 2018
Messages
308
Test drilling, use a small bit and drill near the bottom. If its clean dry wood it might be ok. If there wet dark chips it needs work. If the test holes are good fill them with 5200.

take up the floor and check the foam underneath, if the foam is wet you will probably be looking at everything needing replacment
 

chevymaher

Commander
Joined
Mar 29, 2017
Messages
2,914
Yeah, when I said I was replacing the entire floor I meant the physical floor part and the structural parts under neath. The floor only got soft right around the ski locker but like everyone said, it’s probably worse than just that. As soon as I finish the clutch on my MG I’m going to pull out the rest of the floor and see what it looks like underneath. With the transom, is there an easy way to tell if it need to be replaced or if it’s still structurally sound?

Honestly Transom is one of the easier things to do. Once you came this far just do it. Place to test is under the outdrive hole above the drain hole off to one side.

On mine I had both my outer stringers were solid and good/dry. I replaced them also. Just start over with a new boat.

Once it is done and you did all the work. You will keep it dry. And once that battle starts you understand why no boats do not have rot. It is alot of work keeping them dry. Dew in the boat is a major sourse of water. I use a electric heater on dewy mornings. Only takes a half hour and it is dry in there.

It is worth it. No wondering or worry you know it is a safe good boat. Congrats.
 

Jon1229

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
May 30, 2018
Messages
130
Thanks for all the help guys, looking forward to/not really looking forward to this project. We’ll see how it goes.
 

kcassells

Fleet Admiral
Joined
Oct 16, 2012
Messages
8,575
Does kinda blow but once you dig into it you will see the value of doing it right. All here to support you. By the middle of all this dust you will have a Mr. Spark, Voyage Of the Enterprise relationship with your boat. A mind meld thingy.
o-162797134-570.jpg
 

Jon1229

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
May 30, 2018
Messages
130
Does kinda blow but once you dig into it you will see the value of doing it right. All here to support you. By the middle of all this dust you will have a Mr. Spark, Voyage Of the Enterprise relationship with your boat. A mind meld thingy.
o-162797134-570.jpg

Lol, love it. It’s not a boat that I plan on keeping more than a few years anyway, it’s more of a boat to learn everything on until I upgrade. So I’m going to take it as a learning experience and do the best I can.
 

Jon1229

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
May 30, 2018
Messages
130
And someone earlier mentioned my idea of using duradek on the floor. I was only thinking this because I fish on the boat and when guts and blood gets on the deck I want it to be relatively easy to clean. Im open to other ideas. It had carpet before but I don’t want to go back to that.
 

Chris51280

Master Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jan 24, 2018
Messages
897
We have all been there
 

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