On 6/15/2004 12:16 PM, Chris wrote:

Good day,

In regards to my project boat (75 sunray 15'5) I'm wondering what others
think about wooden floors, and when to change them. From what I understand
the floors of all these boats are built with marine plywood thus they can
take a beating being wet.

Actually, it's the rare runabout that was built with any marine ply,
since the good stuff costs big bucks, and the cheap stuff would last
through the warranty period. Most manufacturers made (and still make) do
with standard exterior grade plywood.

Though rot is first noticed around topside screws, the wood in the floor
is usually completely exposed to the sloshing bilge, and so it's
probably only a matter of time before the entire floor goes.

Now that I've covered the boat I'm letting it dry
up good, and will be ripping the carpet in a little bit. The reason I'm
curious about the floor is that when I pulled out the back seats, some of
the screws essentially came right out of the floor as I suppose enough water
was around them.

While it is possible to cut out the bad spots and replace them with good
wood, it is *almost* as difficult as replacing the entire floor. Not
worth the trouble, IMO; Might as well do the entire floor once and do it
right.

The original floor in my Glastron lasted 30 years, and since I replaced
it with resin-encapsulated marine ply, it'll probably last twice as long
this time.

Going forward I either dry up all the wood, clean, and
paint it then re-carpet, or I look at changing the wood floor (which I do
not prefer to do). I can stand on the floor with my my weight (over
200lbs) and as expected the floor may give a bit in places where there is no
extra support underneath but plywood typically has some flex right.

Good (non-rotten) half-inch plywood with a layer of fiberglass over it
shouldn't be flexing much. Heck, even the old rotten floor would support
me standing (I'm also 200+) with hardly any flex, but once I put a knee
down hard, it punched clean through.

In any
case there's no gaping holes or worn out areas in it, just some screw holes
that appear to be a little weaker around them.

Any ideas?

I'm afraid it's time for a new floor, but that usually isn't as tough as
it sounds, especially with an older, smaller runabout.

"Runabout Renovation" by Jim Anderson (ISBN: 0071580085) was recommended
to me by the Classic Glastron Owners Association, and I suggest you pick
up a copy for yourself.


--
~/Garth - 1966 Glastron V-142 Skiflite: "Blue-Boat"
"There is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing
as simply messing about in boats."
-Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows