Floor won't come loose

[bonro001]

Hello all,

First, thanks to all the posters, reading all of this gave me the confidence to get started on my floor replacement. I have a 209 bow rider, caravelle, and we have started.

2 questions:

We have a nice piece of the floor up, but it will not come loose of the side, on the fiberglass it appears. No idea what is holding it down, and not sure how to get it to come loose. (not wanting to damage the outer shell). (Attaching a picture)

2nd, we nicked the gas tank. (Yeah, I know, we have it sealed with duct tape. It's a pretty small slice on the top, is there a way to seal this back up with some sort of resin or am I looking at a new tank?

Thanks!

 

[pckeen]

Re: Floor won't come loose

You can see stringers running along the floor underneath the decking. There are likely fasteners underneath that carpet. I would rip/cut the carpet up, and see if you can get the fasteners out.

 

[NYBo]

Re: Floor won't come loose

Welcome to iboats!:welcome:

The sole is going to be tabbed to the hull at the edges, and bonded with resin to the stringers. You are going to have to use a grinder. Very carefully.

 

[bonro001]

Re: Floor won't come loose

Probably should be more clear, we can bend that piece of wood all the way up to the side of the boat, it pivots as if it's glued in, which might be the answer.

Our next attempt will be to hold up the board and use a vibrating saw to cut the connection between the wood and the fiberglass. (We don't think there is wood under the edge, the fiberglass of the hull pops in a bit there and is very, very solid.

 

[bonro001]

Re: Floor won't come loose

Welcome to iboats!:welcome:

The sole is going to be tabbed to the hull at the edges, and bonded with resin to the stringers. You are going to have to use a grinder. Very carefully.

What is tabbed? You mean with staples into the fiberglass?

And, thanks to all for the advice on this!

 

[NYBo]

Re: Floor won't come loose

Tabbed means there is resin-soaked fiberglass mat or cloth connecting the two pieces.You carefully cut as close to the hull as possible, then grind off the remaining fiberglass even with the hull.

 

[bonro001]

Re: Floor won't come loose

Tabbed means there is resin-soaked fiberglass mat or cloth connecting the two pieces.You carefully cut as close to the hull as possible, then grind off the remaining fiberglass even with the hull.

That makes sense, thank you. Will give it a shot in the AM and let you know how it goes.

Rob

 

[GT1000000]

Re: Floor won't come loose

Hello "bonro001"...welcome to the Iboats Dry Dock...
The 'nick' in the gas tank...is it aluminum or plastic?
Neither one is recommended to be repaired by the DIY'er...
The plastic ones are usually not repairable...
Aluminum tanks can be welded by a Professional Only!
Steel tanks can also be welded, by a Pro, also, but are not that common anymore...
NYBo is 100% correct...the "tabbing" is what you need to cut...
Another method you can use is to set a circular saw to just barely cut through the deck thickness a couple of inches away from the hull, then sneak up on the rest of it using a grinder or an oscillating tool...

Couple of questions...
What year is this Caravelle?
What is the reason you are replacing the deck?
I ask because, if, there were soft spots on the deck and the boat is more than a few years old, you may have to go further than just the deck...Hopefully, not, but when you get the rest of the deck up, you should do some core samples of the underlying structure to be sure...

Best of luck,
GT1M