boat floor replacement questions?

[Denning12591]

On a 17 foot bass boat how many sheets of marine plywood do you think I'd need to redo the main floor? Also what is the minimum thickness I can use? 1/4? Or could I go smaller? Or do I need to go bigger? I am trying to get all the supplies to need to redo my floor and have never done this before. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

 

[NYBo]

Re: boat floor replacement questions?

Measure what's there. I went for 1/2" birch plywood, with some areas doubled. One 4' x 8' sheet was enough for what I needed to replace, but you're going to have to break out the tape measure.

 

[shrew]

Re: boat floor replacement questions?

How many sq. ft. is the main floor? A sheet of plywood is 4 x 8 ft.. You're going to get flex in the floor with 1/4 inch. You're going to need to go thicker.

 

[QC]

Re: boat floor replacement questions?

Moved this to the Restoration section. Lot of deck (floor) replacement happening over here . . . Good luck!

 

[rickryder]

Re: boat floor replacement questions?

Hi Denning Welcome to the Dry Dock!

Your deck will need to be a min of 1/2" exterior grade plywood and covered in fiberglass. Please post pictures of what your working on and what boat you have.
We will be happy to guide you along on your rebuild.

Take some time and read a bunch of the restoration threads .... links are in the signature line of peoples replies. Lots of helpful people here on iboats

Since your sole is being removed you'll have to look at the floatation foam for water saturation and the condition of your stringers and transom to be sure none of that is rotted also.

Looking forward to your rebuild.

Rick

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: boat floor replacement questions?

Hi Denning Welcome to the Dry Dock!

Your deck will need to be a min of 1/2" exterior grade plywood and covered in fiberglass. Please post pictures of what your working on and what boat you have.
We will be happy to guide you along on your rebuild.

Take some time and read a bunch of the restoration threads .... links are in the signature line of peoples replies. Lots of helpful people here on iboats

Since your sole is being removed you'll have to look at the floatation foam for water saturation and the condition of your stringers and transom to be sure none of that is rotted also.

Looking forward to your rebuild.

Rick

This is all truen^^^^, Especially the part about inspecting the stringers and the Transom. If the deck is in need of replacement there's a very good chance the stringers and transom will need replacing as well. Check the first link in my signature below for some drawings of how to fabricate everything. Like RR said, Pics really help us to See what you see and that makes it a lot easier to guide you to the proper solution.

 

[Denning12591]

Re: boat floor replacement questions?

Thanks guys. I will measure the floor tomorrow and try to get some pics. I have looked through some of these threads and I've laid under the boat and tried pushing in on the Hull and there wasn't much flex. As for floatation foam I don't know if this boat has any. I can tell the floor has been replaced before. And when I replace the floor does it have to be covered in fiberglass? I was going to get a marine grade then cover it with a water sealer as well. Was hoping the only fiberglassing I had to do was if I needed more than one sheet. This is a older boat its a 77 hydrasport. 77 or 79 I can't remember lol. There is a couple soft spots in the floor and around the sides it dips down as well. And on the front deck its soft around where the seat is bolted in the floor. Is the floatation foam a neccesisty? I fished it all last yea the transom seems solid. The motor didn't seem to flex at all and there doesn't look to be any rot there. I think someone tried to redo the floor and did a bad job at it. The carpet hardly seemed like marine grade and it was done terrible.

 

[ondarvr]

Re: boat floor replacement questions?

Thanks guys. I will measure the floor tomorrow and try to get some pics. I have looked through some of these threads and I've laid under the boat and tried pushing in on the Hull and there wasn't much flex. As for floatation foam I don't know if this boat has any. I can tell the floor has been replaced before. And when I replace the floor does it have to be covered in fiberglass? I was going to get a marine grade then cover it with a water sealer as well. Was hoping the only fiberglassing I had to do was if I needed more than one sheet. This is a older boat its a 77 hydrasport. 77 or 79 I can't remember lol. There is a couple soft spots in the floor and around the sides it dips down as well. And on the front deck its soft around where the seat is bolted in the floor. Is the floatation foam a neccesisty? I fished it all last yea the transom seems solid. The motor didn't seem to flex at all and there doesn't look to be any rot there. I think someone tried to redo the floor and did a bad job at it. The carpet hardly seemed like marine grade and it was done terrible.

Keep reading other threads, all of these questions will answered quickly and it will give you a very good idea of what to expect. AFter that you will have questions more specific to your actual project. Everyone here will be more than happy to answer questions and help in any way possible.

 

[mxcobra]

Re: boat floor replacement questions?

Unless you are rich stay away from marine grade-its not waterproof
to waterproof your new deck you must use fiberglass
I used exteiror grade ply from loues.
Good luck bro!

 

[Denning12591]

Re: boat floor replacement questions?

Far from rich lol. And is there a better fiberglass to use than a epoxy resin. Mixing that with the hardener will take forever.

 

[rickryder]

Re: boat floor replacement questions?

Poly resin..... We mix it with a drill and a paint mixer paddle attachment. There are plenty of ways to replace your deck.... then there is the correct and safe way..... we choose safe and long lasting

Before we get ahead of ourselves.....let see whats up with your boat

 

[Denning12591]

Re: boat floor replacement questions?

Can you upload photos via mobile device? Android to be specific?

 

[rickryder]

Re: boat floor replacement questions?

No my son just tried on his android tablet it wouldnt let him upload you would have to upload via url (imageshack or photobucket for example)

 

[HSXV6307]

Re: boat floor replacement questions?

Hey Denning, take good pictures. I was given a 77 Hydrasport Kevlar and I need to crack it also, same reason soft spots on floor. But, first I am working on getting the motor running.

Juan

 

[Pontoon24]

Re: boat floor replacement questions?

There are many ways to replace your sole. Without knowing your boat and how it was originally it's impossible to say if you can use 1/4" or not.

I'm working on a boat right now that had 1/4" plywood in the original "floor" I've eliminated the plywood altogether and am building it up with high density foam and 2 layers of fiberglass.



The yellow in the floor is 2 part high density foam, forward of that is the original HD foam. The foam tapers from 2 1/2" deep at the center stringer to nothing 8" from the sides and has a total of only 3 or 4 cubic ft of foam. The length of the boat is 13' 6"
The foam is covered with thick fiberglass matting and polyester resin.
In the rear you see 1 section with the second layer of roven woving glass and poly resin.

How deep is your boat from top to bottom of the center stringer? How wide? Did it have foam in the floor? What size motor and what kind of use will this boat get?

 

[Denning12591]

Re: boat floor replacement questions?

My boat is a 77 hydra sport with Kevlar. The motor is a 1980 Johnson 70 HP. I use this boat to fish lake Malone and to sometimes just ride around. I swim off of it also. So it may get a little water in it occasionally. I have some pictures but I need to figure out how to upload them now. I don't have access to a desktop CPU right now. But so far I have the rub rail off and the metal strip. Mine is a shoebox fit. The top Hull fits over the bottom. Looks to of had a ton of silicone in there as well. I have a few more screws to take out of the inside. I can see where it Has been cut before in front of the transom. I have to unhooking the outboard and push the wires back into the Hull and unhook everything for the instrument panel. I plan on rewiring this but still thinking of a way to label it all while I unhook it. I read to use a putty knife and lightly tap it all along where it splits to cut through the silicone. Then I plan on getting the outdoor plywood and putting the old floor on top of it and cutting it the same. Then once I get the floor ready I am going to wrap new carpet around it and probably staple it on the back. Just going to try to re run all wires I can. I see a lot of where it looks like they ran out and the wire is spliced 2 oor 3 times. This is my plan. I don't think this boat has any floatation foam in it. It has a storage and I can see the front of the boat under and no foam in sight. I used it all last year and never sank lol. But I'm going to hook the trailer to my truck and Jack the back of the trailer and boat and all up and lower the motor straight up n down to get it out of the way. The transom seems to be in good shape. I have a small screw hole on the right side hull iI will put fiberglass on the iinside as well. This is my plan at least. Hopefully it will all go well.

 

[mxcobra]

Re: boat floor replacement questions?

Far from rich lol. And is there a better fiberglass to use than a epoxy resin. Mixing that with the hardener will take forever.

If you are worried about how long it will take to mix the resin-then walk give up now
I will have almost a year in my resto. before I can hit the water if your deck is soft 99 percent of them have to be full gut outs....
by the way price out poly then epoxy it willl make it clear wich resin to use you will need a min. of 5 gallons just for the water proofing.

 

[Denning12591]

Re: boat floor replacement questions?

How long do you think treated wood with 3-5 coats of water sealant will last? And I'm hoping I don't need to re gut. I pushed on the bottom and it didn't move

 

[oops!]

Re: boat floor replacement questions?

not long.....

you wont know till you get in there and rip the deck out.....

here is a link on how to replace the deck.

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=522237

 

[Denning12591]

Re: boat floor replacement questions?

Alright y'all I am almost ready to split the Hull. 2 more wires I have to figure out how to unhook. I wanna upload these pics but can't from Mobil. Could I email these to someone and you post them? In going to have to run all new wires. They were all rusted and corroded and many just broke.