New Guy, old floor...need guidance PLEASE!!

[jake129]

hello all, i have spent some time reading on this forum about floor repair and i decided i would go ahead and repair my floor. I have a 99' Maxum 1800 and the floor around the "live well/anchor locker" has rotted/broken away. I have the carpet up, so now all that is left is alot of glue residue and the top layer of fiberglass from the factory.

i hope these pictures work...if not i will try to edit it...my plan of attack is to cut out a square section of floor roughly 4ft in width and 5ft in length and replace that with good wood...the red lines in this photo represent my cut

<br/>
My concerns are that i dont know where the stringers are, which way they go, or where to cut in order to tie them into a stringer so that the new and old wood meet on a stringer...is this even possible?

also i will be cutting at a 45 degree angle to facilitate matching up better.

Do i just go for with a skilsaw and see what happens?
Also will a regular purpose saw blade cut through the fiberglass?

Some more pics:

also can i remove glue residue with a belt sander?...or will that just melt the glue?...otherwise i will use a cup wire brush on a grinder

any and all help would be greatly appreciated

 

[92excel]

Re: New Guy, old floor...need guidance PLEASE!!

welcome to iboats!!

In your second photo i am pretty sure you are showing the stringer..
its going to be the peice running perpendicular to your deck down to the hull.

Before talking about patch work, it is highly suggested that you drill into your stringers side and check the wood or core of the stringer to see if it too is rotten. If its dry then the hole is sealed up and we talk just about the deck.
its its not then you have more to do then the patch work you are planning.

most deck removals are done with a circular saw with a normal blade set to the deck depth. that way you are only deck and not whats under (stringers, case tanks, etc)

Highly suggest doing the core sample and getting back to us with results!

 

[jake129]

Re: New Guy, old floor...need guidance PLEASE!!

The core samples from the deck look good...doesnt seem like the rot goes very far in...and i am not going to be able to replace the stringers at this time...or ever really because im not planning on keeping this boat very long, it is my first boat and i plan on upgrading in a few years, i had flat strips of metal wedged under the carpet to hold the lid up and it has become unsafe so i just intend on fixing that...i would love to just replace the floor entirely but i do not have the money or the interest in doing that to this boat...

so is that the only stringer on that side?...if so that means i need to tie it in right there instead of further back like i had wanted to...is that correct?...generally how thick are stringers?...

Also what is a good way to tie it into the stringer?...woodglue and deck screws?

 

[92excel]

Re: New Guy, old floor...need guidance PLEASE!!

To guess i would say your boat only has two stringers and seems like you are looking at them on each side of the opening.. stringers from the manufacturer are normally about an inch wide.

To install a deck SS Screws are used. some also use glue.

Are you planning on glassing the new wood? or leaving it raw?

 

[jake129]

Re: New Guy, old floor...need guidance PLEASE!!

ok so essentially the only way for me to accomplish this repair the way i want to is if i can cut about 1/2 inch in along each of the 2 stringers as they will be the only way to support the new piece...correct? i was gonna try my hand at glassing the joints...which leads into my next question...do i need to remove the glass from the old wood where i intend on adding new glass?...or can i glass on top of the existing glass??

and i am going to put carpet back down when it is all done

thanks a lot 92excel for all your help thus far!

 

[92excel]

Re: New Guy, old floor...need guidance PLEASE!!

ok so essentially the only way for me to accomplish this repair the way i want to is if i can cut about 1/2 inch in along each of the 2 stringers as they will be the only way to support the new piece...correct?

For the patch job that you are looking to be thats your best bet..

as for glassing you will need to grind off all the glur residue and get back to glass.. you dont have to remove the glass all the way to the wood but it will need to be roughed up to accept new glass.

you will want to glass both side of the new wood.. and get some resin on the sides of the new wood..a layer of CSM underneath. you will want to span your joint with your new glass on top of the deck to waterproof the joints.
top of a deck will get more abuse so you want CSM then some cloth if you are using poly resin.. or just some cloth if you are using epoxy resin

 

[jake129]

Re: New Guy, old floor...need guidance PLEASE!!

When u say "grind"...do u mean with a grinding disc?...will the wire brush attachment not reach the desired "roughing" that you are talking about?

also can i just resin the underneath side instead of resin and glass...or should i glass that before i install it...seems like overkill...but i want to do it right...atleast as much as i can without ripping up the entire floor.

also is it better to do the joints in 1708 biax?...rather than CSM and cloth...and i need two layers of those...no matter which one i choose correct?

im sorry for the questions but you are a life saver...i think im just second guessing myself...but its nice to hear someone else say it.

 

[92excel]

Re: New Guy, old floor...need guidance PLEASE!!

When i say grind .. i use a 7 inch and a 4 1/2 inch grinder with a flap disc, or a grinding disk..

you definelty want to coat the underside to protect against humidy and possible water damage.. some say resin alone is ok others say resin isnt enough and will crack without the csm.. so i go with csm.. it barly costs anything so why not.

for the joints biax would be great and you can get away with one layer of biax.. if you are going that route you might as well biax the whole thing then it will be solid!

 

[sschefer]

Re: New Guy, old floor...need guidance PLEASE!!

also i will be cutting at a 45 degree angle to facilitate matching up better.

If you haven't already cut, make those a 30deg cut not a 45. It's called scarfing and at 30deg it's much easier to re-fit.

 

[jake129]

Re: New Guy, old floor...need guidance PLEASE!!

When i say grind .. i use a 7 inch and a 4 1/2 inch grinder with a flap disc, or a grinding disk..

you definelty want to coat the underside to protect against humidy and possible water damage.. some say resin alone is ok others say resin isnt enough and will crack without the csm.. so i go with csm.. it barly costs anything so why not.

for the joints biax would be great and you can get away with one layer of biax.. if you are going that route you might as well biax the whole thing then it will be solid!

ok i will probably do that...where is the best place to find cheaper good quality polyester resin and CSM and 1708 biax

If you haven't already cut, make those a 30deg cut not a 45. It's called scarfing and at 30deg it's much easier to re-fit.

i was actually thinking that myself...scarf cut it will be...thank u for the advice

 

[92excel]

Re: New Guy, old floor...need guidance PLEASE!!

i got my supplies at:
http://www.uscomposites.com/