Floor Problems

[The GregSter]

Hey everyone, I got a question about my boat, as you all know, I just bought my boat ('70 18' Mate) Anyway, the guy who had it before me went into restoring the boat, but quit after he got a new boat and lost interest. He went as far as getting the 'flat' part of the floor off, and the 1x4 center board that runs the whole way of the boat (not sure if this is true, but its what he told me, and it does look like a 1x4 was there, soo. Well, now all that is left is the V shaped area inside the boat, but when you look at it, and feel around on it, you can find several weak spots, on first thought we were just going to lay new fiberglass along the whole inside, but I am wondering if these weak areas are more than meets the eye. I was wondering if anyone knows the construction layout of the floors and everything in my boat, like how the floor was layered, just to know if there might be anything under the glass that I may need to deal with. I am not positive about the strength of the outer hull, it is sitting on wooden blocks right now untill I can find a trailer for cheap.

Thanks in adv. for the help

 

[175checkmate]

May not be to bad, the older mates where built like tanks. Get a few pictures of the damaged area. I just got doing what you are going to have to do.

 

[badhabit78]

Are you saying that the floor is out but you can still feel mush in the hull?

 

[1009]

I need to replace the floor in my 73 Jetmate.I just got my motor (Olds 455) running like a raped date and I want to start on the interior.Do you think I can replace the floor in a weekend or should I wait until off season? Are there any other problems that I could encounter? Also, could I use expansion foam under the floor for insulation or is there something else?Any body have an idea for new seats?

 

[wickedrister]

1009 I think you will need longer than one weekend to do this job. If you can find some help things will go smoother. You may have the better part of a weekend in the removal of the old floor,flotation foam and prep work for the new. You may run into stringer problems or a soft spot in the hull. Plan on extra time for dealing with unexpected promlems. I did not reinstall my foam under my floor. I made it so no water could be trapped. The sound of the water under the hull is really loud now with no sound deadening insulation but no big deal. Take your time build it to last. Good luck and please send pics as you go. You will get plenty of tips when everyone can see what you are doing. Check out my project on Play to win. It is listed as Wickedrister's winter project

 

[aqua]

The soft spots you are feeling is rotten balsa core. To fix it right, you should cut the inner skin of the floor off. Start this at the transom, and you will see the edge at the sides of the boat where it stops, then cut 48" from the transom(the sheets come in 48" lengths). If you find you core is good at this point, it is just a matter of replacing the core using porper methods. An excellent reference guide would be West Marine Epoxy- guide to fiberglass repair. This booklet shows the proper technics, even if you substitute the epoxy for vinylester resin.