On Wed, 31 Mar 2004 12:58:56 GMT, "Scott Shirley"
wrote:

I have 1996 18; runabout that is starting to show some neglect from a
previous owner who left it uncovered. The flooring in the rear of the boat
and around the ski locker is getting pretty soft. What's the best way to
replace the flooring? Rip out the old carpet and flooring and replace with
marine grade plywood? Will there be a support structure left for me to place
the new plywood on? Is the old flooring tied in to the Hull somehow? Should
I just take the easy way out and lay a new sheet of plywood over the top of
the old flooring?

A sort of damned if you do, damned if you don't situation. In any
case, you will have to remove the floor to see what's underneath it.
That could be problematic - you may find that the stringers are rotten
needing replacement which you probably wouldn't have wanted to know
about. :)

However, the good news is it's not that old, so the stringers may be
in good shape - it might be the plywood on top of the stringers that
is bad and in need of replacement.

Sadly, the only way to determine what the extent of the problem is is
to remove the floor and find out. Can't do anything more than that
unless you know somebody with xray vision. :)

Good luck.

Later,

Tom
S. Woodstock, CT
-----------
"Angling may be said to be so
like the mathematics that it
can never be fully learnt..."

Izaak Walton "The Compleat Angler", 1653