Soft spot in deck URGENT HELP

[RichA32]

I need some help. I?m planning on removing my newer engine and putting it onto a ?Better? boat. The Panga style boat which seems to meet my needs and will suit my 90hp engine has a soft spot just forward of the cc maybe 12?X12?. I suspect there is a capped fuel tank in that area as there is a fill on the starboard side that is sealed. From what I can tell the deck appears to be a layer of fiberglass/foam/fiberglass maybe 6? deep. I have no idea what lies beneath. There are 2 holes in the bench seat (Covered / lid) just aft of the area where the owner accessed the deck to bolt in a T-top. He removed foam and bolted it in that way. There was WATER in holes. I/he doesn?t know whether that was from wash down , rain or whatever. I had a survey done and he found moisture in the soft area and in the hull below on the portside in the same area.
I don?t know what to do. I have read ?Soft spot? posts and from what I can tell I could be opening a can of worms. Could it be a rusted out tank, rain water from the holes he made or soft foam. I was not able to drill core samples and should have insisted?..what to do? It would be a good set up at a good price but it could be a nightmare. Any thoughts?

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Soft spot in deck URGENT HELP

Welcome to iboats.

Do you own this boat yet? Have you questioned the previous owner (waterboarding works wonders )?

It is probably going to require some minor surgery to figure out the answers.... and yes you might be opening a can of worms.

I doubt the tank is rusted out but the foam if any on top of the tank may have been dissolved or deteriorated.

 

[drewpster]

Re: Soft spot in deck URGENT HELP

Another, perhaps remote, possibility is that the tank was removed and the deck was not properly reinforced over the hole left by the tank. Personally, depending on the price, deck issues are not as much a concern to me as transom or structural problems. Are there any fittings in the transom that are easy to remove? (screws and the like) If so you could remove one and see if water runs out.
At very least you know that the soft area is in need of repair. I would take that in to account when deciding to buy or pass it up. Having to fix a soft spot is a relitively small can of worms, a transom and stringers are a whole worm farm.
drewp

 

[Darren Nemeth]

Re: Soft spot in deck URGENT HELP

To completely redo the deck, transom and stringers on my boat cost a little more than $1,000.

 

[Knightgang]

Re: Soft spot in deck URGENT HELP

To completely redo the deck, transom and stringers on my boat cost a little more than $1,000.

What size boat was that? I am trying to plan a budget for a rebuild of my boat next summer and I want to do some reconfiguring of the interior at the same time...

 

[Darren Nemeth]

Re: Soft spot in deck URGENT HELP

The deck in my boat is a little over 12 foot long and 52 inches at its widest.

The boat is a 1969 14 foot Glastron V-145.

I completely rebuilt the deck, stringers and transom.

Transom and stringers were 3/4 inch marine grade fir ply and deck 1/2 exterior grade fir ply.

Check out by blog linked in my signature line for materials, what I did and how I did it.

 

[robert graham]

Re: Soft spot in deck URGENT HELP

Better get a saw and start cutting on that deck soft spot. You got to get into it before you can fix it. If you don't want to get into repairs then get about a 3' by 3' by 1/8" aluminum plate cut and screw down on top of the spot and forget about it, if you can. If it was me, I'd have to fix it. Good Luck!