Soft Spots on floor

[Tazman282]

I have a 21ft. 1974 Hallmark Center Console with some soft spots, I have had it covered since I was the owner which has been roughly 10 years. However with these soft spots I would venture to guess the floor is rotted and the foam may be saturated. I don't have the time to replace the floor and probably stringers so my real question is this.

What kind of safety issues are involved with a weak stringer/floor system? I used to live in Florida and did a lot of offshore fishing but now live in Charlotte, NC with limited time on the Lake. Just want to know your thoughts. Thanks.

David

 

[salty87]

Re: Soft Spots on floor

with an ob, you need to be concerned with the transom too. if there's moisture, it will find its way to the wood.

it could last years like that or start coming apart the next time you hit a big wake. there's no way to tell from here. are you taking on water? the particular cause of your hull getting saturated could affect its sturdiness too.

 

[AZSenza]

Re: Soft Spots on floor

WELL....In MY opinion, any thing I put MY family in HAS to be structurally sound, I compare a boat to the airplanes I work on (Drives my wife NUTS) I just sold my last boat because in my opinion (again) it needed to many repairs to srtingers to be cost effective and safe. I bought a new one!
: ) NO WOOD

 

[Coors]

Re: Soft Spots on floor

You'll never know until you open it up.

 

[Solittle]

Re: Soft Spots on floor

The rather obvious safty issue is that the hull will crack while you are under way, the boat will sink and the families of all of the occupants will be planning funerals.

 

[JB]

Re: Soft Spots on floor

deck

 

[erikgreen]

Re: Soft Spots on floor

Okay, all that said, I think we can all agree that we recommend you don't just let it go and hope for the best. Make sure you carry your PFDs, wear them if possible, and try not to take the boat out in rough weather. Be aware what you're risking, which is death by drowning.

There are a few ways to check your transom, which is the number one most critical thing for an outboard boat. If your hull starts to leak your floatation should keep you from drowning long enough for someone to help. If the transom lets go you may be whacked in the back of the head with a running outboard shortly before the entire lake rushes in at once.

Check the mounting of your outboard... you're looking at the places where the big clamps grab the transom. Look for small cracks around the attachment points, check to see if the clamps dent or push in the surface of the wood/fiberglass. Look for any cracks leaking water, or with a drainage stain dropping down from them. Try pushing down on the outboard with one leg while you watch the transom mounting... it should not flex at all. Finally you can do the knock test... use a piece of metal or a small hammer to tap the transom in several places all over... good wood sounds sort of ringing, and wet wood makes a thud. The trick is to listen right after the initial sound made by your tap. If you really want to be sure, take a 1/8 drill bit and drill test holes from the inside of the boat in places near the bottom of the transom, around the motor mounting, and anywhere you think water may have been pooled. If you get anything but clean white shavings, it's wet. Plug the holes after with epoxy or marine-tex.

If your transom is wet, mushy, or flexes, don't use the boat at all. If it seems ok, you could use the boat on calm, warm days when everyone has their PFD, and you don't mind swimming unexpectedly.

Remember what you're risking... a boat isn't like a junker car. The car breaks down you're walking, the boat breaks down you're swimming. Most people can walk farther than they can swim.

Erik

 

[tmh]

Re: Soft Spots on floor

Depends on where you boat. A fairly busy lake and you won't be stranded if your boat breaks down. Off by yourself and you'd better be able to trust your boat.

"Some soft spots" doesn't tell us a lot. If most of the floor is sound, then you may not have a destroyed stringer system (yet) and the transom may be OK. As was said, Transom no good boat is no good and should be fixed or scrapped. You can go for years before the stringers rot to the point of "dangerous", but how can you know how far along you are without looking?

Can't say I've ever heard of a boat falling apart, and there are lots of old boats out there! But won't it ruin the fun knowing you're operating a maybe even only slightly unsafe boat? Heck, you can buy a structurally sound old boat like that for $800 or whatever.

 

[thurps]

Re: Soft Spots on floor

Use a 5" hole saw in the worst soft spot and dig down to the hull. If it's dry inside, the deck plywood is probably fatigued. Fill the hole with construction foam sealer and patch the deck plug back in. Use it until someone falls through, then repair the decking.

 

[Tazman282]

Re: Soft Spots on floor

Thanks for all the reply's, I just had the tilt and trim repaired about 4 months ago and called the company that did the job. They remembered the boat quite well and told me that they personally thought that the stringer system was still good because they looked when the floor had some soft spots. They did say that the floor's wood has been saturated then dried out over the years a whole lot and that is why the floor is soft.

They also said that the transom is about 70% but with this type of boat and year of manufacturing it was quite common and he said it isn't the most important thing to focus on right now but would probably consider replacing if I planned on keeping it longer than 5 years. He said that it is actually in great shape for its year and stated if I felt like doing anything he would recommend replacing the floor with a new composite rather than marine plywood and maybe some of the stringer system as necessary. Then over time get someone to replace transom. He seemed to know what he was talking about but this company focuses on newer bass boats so I am not sure his experience with this type of procedure. I will look into it and also try to find a replacement hull. Always open minded.