hi, i am a new member and also new to having a boat. I found my grady as a craigslist freebie. my boat is a 79 marlin 201, with an OMC 200 engine and an Omc stringer mount outdrive. before i start with the engine rebuild i was cleaning the boat out today and the floor seem rather soft in a couple spots. originally i thought that gradys were full fiberglass hulls but it appears that they are laminated wood and fiberglass. the area to the left of the fuel tank panel is soft and a section behind the control seat. my question is how involved would it be to repair? i havent taken any pics yet or gone exploring. im thinking the first thing to do would be to pull the fuel cover out and see how bad the damage is. any advice would be appreciated. thank you in advance.
hi, new member question about soft floors
- Thread starter bigsexy666
- Start date
Welcome aboard and congrats on your Grady. As far as your project, well, i was in your shoes last year too, i got a 233 Formula next to nothing and went from this
to this
What i am trying to say is that if you think the boat is worth restoring it, go ahead.
Most likely the stringers under the soft spot are shot, also, Gradys are known for rotten transoms, so be prepared.
I hope you don't need to do all this but just in case...........
to this
What i am trying to say is that if you think the boat is worth restoring it, go ahead.
Most likely the stringers under the soft spot are shot, also, Gradys are known for rotten transoms, so be prepared.
I hope you don't need to do all this but just in case...........
Legend
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I had the spongy floors on an 85 Seafarer in 2000.- It was a farily inepensive fix - GW dealer sent them out to a local fiberglass repair shop - the ggrind out the old plywood and glass in new stuff - comes out like brnd new - It was amazing how much lighter the repaired panels were - the old stuff must have been water logged - good luck hopefully you dont have to deal with the transom etc.
Unfortunately, pulling the panel over the gas tank won't give you access to check the condition of the floor on either side as the stringers run all the way to the bottom of the deck. If the deck is soft, it's either delaminated, rotten or both and that repair is much more involved than fixing a soft gas tank hatch. You end up having to at least cut the stop skin off the floor...which can lead to what Nothing Else Matters posted.
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Thats what I was thinking also...until I started looking into everything. I'm knee deep into a full restoration now. GW are great boats and definatly worth restoring but just make sure you have the time and funds if your going to do it the right way.
thanks for the responses guys. i ope its just a soggy floor and not also rotten stringers and transom. if anyone has any pictures of what it may look like or what its supposed to look like.... well, i was going to take the fuel tabk panel off tomorrow and have a look around but if i cant see anything then maybe i should juct cut a hole in the floor? also if i do put new floors in or just a section how do i get it to match the rest of the floor with the traction/grippy surfaceor can i get pre molded fiberglass panels to replicate it? thanks again guys
Stringer core is NOT supposed to look like this...
A transom core IS supposed to look like this...
Basically, since they are both cored with wood, you want the core to look like solid, dry wood and not wet wood, rotten wood, dirt, etc.
Go ahead and pull the tank panel. You'll have to get in there anyway to check/replace the fuel tank, fuel lines, tank comparment subfloor, etc. Pulling the tank out and that will give you access to drill some exploratory holes in the stringers to check them. Use a small bit (like 1/4") and only go in about 1/2" to 3/4" to ensure you don't poke through the glass on the blind side. If the shaving come out looking like dry plywood, you're good. If not, well we can cross that bridge if you come to it. Do the same for the floor. Drill a hole right in the middle of the soft spot. If the shavings come out bad, start sounding the area with the handle of a large screw driver in progressively larger circles around the center point. When you stop getting a dull thud, you have good structure. Use a circular saw or gringer with a cutoff wheel to cut through the fiberglass skin and then you can peel that up to access the core.
Forget about matching the diamond non-skid. I've done it and it a pain in the @ss on a large area. You'll want to sand it all off and go back with an epoxy paint and a non skid additive, or someting like Durabak or Kiwi-grip.
A transom core IS supposed to look like this...
Basically, since they are both cored with wood, you want the core to look like solid, dry wood and not wet wood, rotten wood, dirt, etc.
Go ahead and pull the tank panel. You'll have to get in there anyway to check/replace the fuel tank, fuel lines, tank comparment subfloor, etc. Pulling the tank out and that will give you access to drill some exploratory holes in the stringers to check them. Use a small bit (like 1/4") and only go in about 1/2" to 3/4" to ensure you don't poke through the glass on the blind side. If the shaving come out looking like dry plywood, you're good. If not, well we can cross that bridge if you come to it. Do the same for the floor. Drill a hole right in the middle of the soft spot. If the shavings come out bad, start sounding the area with the handle of a large screw driver in progressively larger circles around the center point. When you stop getting a dull thud, you have good structure. Use a circular saw or gringer with a cutoff wheel to cut through the fiberglass skin and then you can peel that up to access the core.
Forget about matching the diamond non-skid. I've done it and it a pain in the @ss on a large area. You'll want to sand it all off and go back with an epoxy paint and a non skid additive, or someting like Durabak or Kiwi-grip.
cool thanks for the info brian. i think im going to try it tonight. hopefully im just doing some floor repairs, im not sure that i want to attempt stringer repairs if they are needed or transom repairs...
well.... i took the tank panel out and cut an inspection hole in the soft spot. i found that the hull is full of foam and the foam is soaked and full of water. so i guess my question now is, what can i do aside from removing the whole floor and stripping the foam and drying the thing out then starting over with new foam and floors..... any suggestions would be appreciated. i was thinking possibly boring a 1 inch hole in the rear stringer on each side and see if the foam will drain out? is that a good idea or just ridiculous? or what other ideas are out there. thanks again guys.
Well, i am sorry to tell you this, but if the foam was water logged long enough, you will end up seeing this after you remove some of the foam.
But don't think is hard to get her back to life. All you need is a little know how, lots of patience, some $'s and some free time. You will not finish the boat right away, it will take time and time and time, the trick is don't give up. If you get sick and tired of it, take a break, take a long break if you have to, then go back fresh. Good luck and i hope you are in a better situation than i was, but i kinda new what i got and i was ready for it.
But don't think is hard to get her back to life. All you need is a little know how, lots of patience, some $'s and some free time. You will not finish the boat right away, it will take time and time and time, the trick is don't give up. If you get sick and tired of it, take a break, take a long break if you have to, then go back fresh. Good luck and i hope you are in a better situation than i was, but i kinda new what i got and i was ready for it.
bigsexy666 said:
Cut the entire floor out leaving a lip of 3" or 4" around the perimeter so you have something to glass the new floor. Sorry but that is the only way.
Dig the foam out with a shovel and then you can make an assessment of where you want to go. But as stated, your chances of finding rotten stringers/bulkheads/transom are pretty darn high.
This is why "free" boats are often the most expensive...
gw204 said:bigsexy666 said:
Cut the entire floor out leaving a lip of 3" or 4" around the perimeter so you have something to glass the new floor. Sorry but that is the only way.
Great topic, as I redid the transom on mine(from the outside) this spring, and next spring need to redo the floors/stringers.
Brian, regarding you comment, do I need to support(underneath) the joint of where the new floors meets the old floor(the 3" lip)? Or simply grind a bevel into both the old and new and fill ?
Kevin
yellolab said:gw204 said:bigsexy666 said:
Cut the entire floor out leaving a lip of 3" or 4" around the perimeter so you have something to glass the new floor. Sorry but that is the only way.
Great topic, as I redid the transom on mine(from the outside) this spring, and next spring need to redo the floors/stringers.
Brian, regarding you comment, do I need to support(underneath) the joint of where the new floors meets the old floor(the 3" lip)? Or simply grind a bevel into both the old and new and fill ?
Kevin
Yes, you have to glue support under the lip.
ok cool, that was going to be one of my questions. i cut a section of floor out tonight and scooped out some foam. 1. how do i attach the flooring around the edges? do i try to scoop or dig out around the edges and slide the new wood in? 2. what thickness plywood is reccomended and do i laminate the bottom with fiberglass? the original stuff im cutting out is laminated on both sides with fiberglass. 3. where do i get the foam to fill the cavity with? is it special foam or can i use any expanding foam? 4. the stringers so far appear to be encased in fiberglass? do i cut them open to check for rot or maybe they arent rotten because they are encased?? well hopefully. lol. one last question.... do i screw the new decking boards to the stringers or glue them in with something like liquid nails? again, thank you guys for your help.
For foam you can use this: http://boatbuildercentral.com/products.php?cat=56
To attach the wood under the floor you have to make a "glue". You can make your own glue by getting some epoxy resin and mix it with wood flour to a ketchup consistency. Dig some foam around and mount it under the existing floor and then clamp it together, don't squeeze too much so you don't squeeze out the glue. The plywood you going to use for the support you do not have to laminate with glass under it, just apply 2-3 coats of epoxy resin or when the wood is "shiny" when dry is ready to go. You can use 1/2" plywood but make sure is marine grade.
To attach the wood under the floor you have to make a "glue". You can make your own glue by getting some epoxy resin and mix it with wood flour to a ketchup consistency. Dig some foam around and mount it under the existing floor and then clamp it together, don't squeeze too much so you don't squeeze out the glue. The plywood you going to use for the support you do not have to laminate with glass under it, just apply 2-3 coats of epoxy resin or when the wood is "shiny" when dry is ready to go. You can use 1/2" plywood but make sure is marine grade.
thanks for the advice, so i should use the piece that i glue around the edge as a mounting flange for the new flooring. thatnks for the link for the foam. what do you guys suggest as replacement floor covering when the new wood is down? carpet, lminate with fiberglass or get some of the marine vynil flooring?
12 oz glass on top of the new plywood is fine. Then fair, prime and paint. Much better looking would be the imitation teak flooring but high $'s. Carpet is something you DON'T want to use, you will be looking for trouble again.
With what you found originally, i think you need to dig deeper.....lets see some pics of what you found when you cut open the floor....also, before using any epoxy, every area you are going to glue to must be ground smooth/sanded with 80 grit...usually using a disk grinder....otherwise, nothing will stick.....also, don't throw out the old floor.....the old floor is made up of an outside glass skin with non-skid molded gel coat, a plywood core, and an inner skin, mostly made up of chopped strand matt.....you need to cut the inner skin off and peel it away....hog out the wet ply with a chisel, then grind the remaining skin nice and smooth from the inside to bed in a new core.....once the new ply core is epoxied back in, you will glass the other side to finish it....now you can replace it right back in the original cut marks and only need to cosmetically fix the cut line.....no vinyl flooring or carpet...just the original factory surface......
need pics....
need pics....
Richie, sorry to derail, how do you deal with that cut line? It seems like always i have that problem.
NOTHING ELSE MATTERS said:
That depends I guess on where the cut line is......I made cuts on my rebuild that will be hidden for the most part behind trim work.....So when I go to finish it, I will fair the line and try and paint match the gelcoat color as best as I can, and then cover it with trim.....for areas around the deck and sole, I cut close or on the smooth part, not the non-skid part, so I will try and paint between the edges of the smooth areas...ie, always go to a break or shadow line to hide a difference in shade/color.......but after looking at my deck last weekend and seeing how beat up it is, I may opt for buying the Flexmold and doing it all over again....it is really beat up and the cut line with shiney new paint will bring attention to the very aged non skid. I have a long ways to go before that happens though...I'll probably have 4 other options by then.... :hmm