Deck Project

Well, I removed the rear floor section to change a pump. I discovered a waterlogged floor section So, since it had to fixed, I might as well do it right. I removed the soaked wood. replaced it with foam and fiberglass. I added a stringer for additional support. I removed the main floor to tiger hair the hinge end. I did not want to insert new screws into an area that I could not see. So I removed it to be safe. I beefed up the area under the hinge area with marine plywood along the hinge area. Flush hinges were inset. the round hatch was filled, and rubber gasket was installed to stop some of the water. the area works great for dirty storage. Dale, 2002 265 express.

Fishtales. thank you. I sprayed the gel coat. I still had to cut and polish it. But only on the top edge. The below deck is good enough. It came out really pretty after it was cleaned. the dirty looking edges were polishing compound. Duplicating the diamond patter where the hatch was, was tough. Took 3 tries. I used undercoat first, and I could not get it to pull up with tearing. So, a full tube of Silicone squirted and mashed on to the surface make the best mold. Then I put in on the new gel coat in the wrong direction, second attempt. So, I sanded it down and redid it.

I have little feet on the boat sometimes. often bare. I a piano hinge but it was going to have to stick up slightly for the hatch to go all the way down to the deck. which is important in this case. It is a deep locker. I can barely reach the bottom, so I wanted to be able to lean on the open door. These are those double pin type hinges that allow the door to come all the way to the deck and go forward slightly when closed to allow for a rubber gasket. A piano hinge would likely allow more water to pass. I spayed water on the hatch for 30 sec and very little water entered the locker. For now, but the rubber is new.

Keep in mind. I'm an old insurance agent. I'm going to need knee replacements, and back surgery after I finish this d@*m boat. that was "not" a light bulb replacement post. It was looked at 14 times and no likes. plus it took me 2 or 3 hundred hours to do that post. I lost the photos 3 times. :welcome

SmokyMtnGrady said:

Wow....i am a little slow at times, so did you essentially make the panel from scratch? That is pretty darn cool. So my next question is how old is the original?

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Hey Bob. Its the original panel. I just gutted the wood from inside, replaced it with fiberglass, and closed in the 6' round hatch. then gel coated the bottom and part of the top section.

DennisG01 said:

Thanks for taking the time to post this, Dale. I'm doing some similar things right now with replacing the entire floor and adding a new floor access hatch/panel. The boat was originally a stern drive and I need to cover that area where the engine woudl of been. But I want to make this as waterproof as possible - either that, or design a drainage system and run it to a new thru-hull. Seeing what you did will help me along the way.

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Yes, I agree with limiting the water access. that's partly why I pulled up the main floor. I did not want to screw into the wood core if possible. I 'm really pleased with the rubber gasket so far, but I'm looking for anther type of strip that will go on the top edge of the panel to help stop some of the water entering the trough that was made. one of the most time consuming parts was duplicated the diamond pattern. I wish I had spent the 56 bucks on a piece of mold material already made. Dale

drbatts said:

Nice work. I saw a similar project another member did on his boat. I think about doing the same thing on my boat every time i have to open that section of floor to get at a pump. I still don't know why Grady didn't put a hinged door over this section in any of their boats of this vintage. I also like the idea of the second floor piece down below. Even if you can store small stuff down there would be great. it was wasted space anyway.

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drbatts. thank you. its a fairly large area there, even with shelf intalled. It holds 3 bumpers, fishing net, etc, with alot of room left over. next time i'm on the boat i'll take an updated pic. dale

That's the main floor section. The green stuff is a long strand fiberglass material that holds a screw well. Tiger hair etc. I was worried about the Hinge area not having enough strength, so I took the floor up and beefed-up that area. So far so good. We fished with the boat last weekend, and we used the area repeatedly. it's really a nice space. Dale.