Re: Sevylor HF 280 Fish Hunter and Sevylor Trolling Motor Problem
Copper - it soudns like your floor more or less "rests" on top of the floor, as opposed to some that seem to be slightly "wedged" between the floor and the sidewall.....accurate?
So do you inflate your floor chamber AND sidewall first, then lay the wood floor in? Or do you do the floor chamber, wood floor, then sidewall? Sorry for all the questions...once I get an understanding of the best way to lay the finished floor in place, I can work backwards to come up with how I want to take my measurements.
I may be able to help you significantly. There is a thread on here, started by Devil_Inside, on January 9 2012 that you should easily be able to find searching just the 2 words: Template Sevylor. In there, with a number of others, I detail my efforts to make a floor. Because there seemed to be a need, I also photographed my 2 floor board pieces and showed widths, every 4 inches from bow to stern. You can see what the final product looks like to get an idea of whether this is where you'd like to head.
My 2 boards are not attached at all and sit in front of and behind the middle pair of eyelets. Also, I did not put any foam around the outer edge. I may end up regretting this, but so far there seems no need. I'm not sure but don't think the factory ones have anything other than rounded wood edges. Feedback from others indicates the boat measurements aren't identical from boat to boat, so you may want to make your floor 0.5"-1.0" wider everywhere, roughly sand the edges and try installing it. If the fit needs adjusting, you can always take some off and then do a final rounding of the edges.
Measurements taken when the boat is deflated will be too big because when inflated, the floor rises to leave a drainage channel around the edges. The inflated inner chamber covers most of this space so unless the wood floor edges can bend down, they will never reach that outer edge of the inflated floor.
My boards fit snugly just under the bottom curve of the inner chamber. My seats then get attached to the floor boards and it is only this snugness that keeps the boards, seats and me, in the boat, so it is quite tight. I think it fits your 'wedged' explaination above. I fully inflate the inner chamber (#1), then the floor (#2), and then the 2 bottom stabelizing tubes, as they advise. I then carefully wedge in the floor boards. It is inflation of the outer chamber that really puts pressure on the inner chamber and makes the floor fit solidly in place.
Have a look at that thread and if you have any other questions, don't hesitate. I could also post new photos if some other angle might help. The only changes I've made since those were taken is to 1. finish a board on the back that I use to spread out my tackle, powerbait, pliers, etc. so they can be readily reached and to 2. put a rubber floor mat over the space where the 2 boards meet.
