1987 Ski Centurion Tru Trac II - New Floor

[Miasman]

Re: 1987 Ski Centurion Tru Trac II - New Floor

Sorry I got a little ahead of myself and posted the pics "Ready for Floor" These are the steps I took to get there...

Now that the floor area was clean and free of dust, I wanted to make sure the water channel area where the stringers meet the boat bottom was water tight to prevent any future water leakage from seeping into my miraculously intact stringers.

I used two component Epoxy resin and 300 weight glass - don't use the cheap lightweight stuff and don't use polyester resin. Epoxy works like a dream and can be primer-ed and painted. It also really sets up with the glass fiber to make a super tough shell.

I cut lengths of the glass fiber about 48" x 8" and then brushed on the Epoxy to the sides of the stringers and the bottom of the boat. I laid out my glass mat to cover equally to the floor and onto the sides of the stringers, then using a natural bristle brush (Plastic bristle brushes might melt from the epoxy) I pressed and brushed the glass mat into the resin. I then brushed/laid on a coat of resin over this until the glass fiber had soaked it up and turned clear from saturation.

*Note: Mix only as much epoxy as you can use in about 15-20 minutes or so if the temp is under 80 degrees. Over 80 degrees it sets up really fast and you only get about 10 -15 minutes work time before it takes off and starts to set.

 

[Miasman]

Re: 1987 Ski Centurion Tru Trac II - New Floor

Now ready for new floor supports!

Floor Supports - Since the old floor supports were completely waterlogged and/or rotted. For the new supports I used 2x8 pressure treated. This was a bit of a process, since I had decided that the outside edges of the floor were going to be higher than original. I used the old supports to get a rough shape pattern for the floor contour then added to my measurements to get the right height. I also decided to extend all of the side to center supports to extend all of the way between the sides of the boat and the stringers.

I then boxed them in to make "cells" to hold my foam. Note the notching of the wall to stringer pieces to allow water to run in the channel next to the stringers.

After they were assembled, I painted them with 2-part marine epoxy primer.

Sorry, but there are no step-by-step pics of this only the finished product. Hopefully, everyone will get the gist of what I did here

 

[Miasman]

Re: 1987 Ski Centurion Tru Trac II - New Floor

For the foam, I used spray foam insulation - the self-expanding kind you can buy in big spray cans at Home Depot. This stuff is of nearly the same composition as commercial self-expanding foam and once hardened it repels water as well. Fill the cells to about 1 1/2" below the top edge. As an alternative, you could use 2" thick Styrofoam and cut it to fit your "cells". Be aware, if it is not warm enough for the spray foam to activiate, the first warm day you have it will expand and do exciting things to your floor (Learned this the hard way on one section, I overloaded the cell and two days later it got hot outside and proceeded to give the floor an interesting contour...)

For flooring, I considered marine plywood, but found an alternative - I don't know if this is available in the US, but here in Sweden we have plywood that is treated with a Masonite-like coating. It is used as flooring for wet applications, bathrooms, etc as well as for concrete forms. This stuff is really bullet proof and can sit exposed in the weather for several years and never bubble or have the plies separate. The layers are held together with waterproof glue so it seemed like a very good alternative to marine-ply primer-ed and coated with glass and resin.

I used what was left of the driver's side floor as a template to make my floor panels. Each side had to be two pieces as the overall length is a bit over 11'. I applied my two-part epoxy primer to all cut edges and any spots that had gouges into the surface layer.

I applied a good bead of silicone along the stringers wherever the new plywood would lay. Then I used 2" stainless steel screws to fasten the floor to the new support frame and to the stringers. I bored pilot holes into the plywood and before each screw was set, I shot a blob of silicone into the pilot hole to seal it once the screw was tightened.

I bonded the new floor/plywood to the sides of the boat using three layers of my 300lb fiberglass and resin strips - 48" x 8". I overlapped the joints of the fiberglass about 8" - 4" in each direction.

After this had had a day to harden, I began painting the floor with resin, and then laying sheets of the 300lb glass into it to seal the floor. I put down two layers of resin/glass to make sure the floor was water tight. The extra slope of the floor that was created by using the edge of the old floor provided great drainage of water to the center floor/bilge area.

 

[Miasman]

Re: 1987 Ski Centurion Tru Trac II - New Floor

After the epoxy/glass coating on the floor had dried, it was time to install the new carpet. I used grey indoor/outdoor carpeting and carpet/tile cement. It took a bit of experimenting to get it right, but I ended up with only two seams. If you work the carpet just before the cement is set up, you can stretch it to fit the contour and corners without too much difficulty.

These pics are of the floor after the carpet was installed, but I will post a few more later of the actual installation in daylight.

I decided to leave out the side storage rails since they just take up walk-way space and we don't need that space anyway. We travel light and anything that needs to be stowed fits under the front sofa or under the bow. This gave us about and extra 6 inches of travel way along the sides of the boat.

 

[Miasman]

Re: 1987 Ski Centurion Tru Trac II - New Floor

Long and short, this project took about 200 hours. I used about 1 1/2 gallons of epoxy, 75 sq meters of glass fiber, 10 large cans of self-expanding spray foam, 2 1/2 4 x 8 sheets of plywood/underlayment and about 40 l/f of 2 x 8. Total cost of the project was just under $1000.

I am happy and I am sure the floor will likely out live me (I am 49 now) as This floor, while not perfect, is 200% better than the original.

Sorry to all you guys that followed the bible while redoing your floor, but my methods are based on 70% intellect and lots of research, about 20% MacGyver and 10% Captain Morgan....

I hope my experience helps someone in someway...

 

[Miasman]

Re: 1987 Ski Centurion Tru Trac II - New Floor

hey - here are a few pics of the safety bar on my trailer

 

[joeld]

Re: 1987 Ski Centurion Tru Trac II - New Floor

Great job and great post, thank you,
Joel

 

[RichyRich001]

Re: 1987 Ski Centurion Tru Trac II - New Floor

getting ready to look at a 91 Tru Trac III that does have a soft spot by the back seats. Great job on yours. I am taking notes.

 

[mwe-maxxowner]

Re: 1987 Ski Centurion Tru Trac II - New Floor

I'm looking at about 40 sq feet of foam to do my boat. I don't see how on earth you got away with ten cans!

 

[jigngrub]

Re: 1987 Ski Centurion Tru Trac II - New Floor

... and this would be a great thread on how NOT to replace the deck on ANY fiberglass boat.

Additional deck framing is wet pressure treated lumber

The additional deck framing is NOT glassed into the hull to bond/tie them in.

Canned foam is not as closed cell as the marine grade and has to be painted to be waterproofed.

 

[Miasman]

Re: 1987 Ski Centurion Tru Trac II - New Floor

Appreciate the comments, but I think that if you took the time to read a bit more carefully and look closer at the photos, you would see that not only is the deck framing is pressure treated, as an extra measure to ensure it's longevity, it was coated with marine epoxy.You would also see that the deck framing was not glassed into the hull and is free floating under the floor. It was the flooring that was glassed in as it was originally from the factory.

Sometimes you have to go with the materials that are available, but the foam used is the same grade as marine grade foam as the requirements for materials in Sweden are much higher than you would find in something purchased at your local Home Depot.

I wholly agree that it is always best to be sure your materials meet the requirements of the job.

Please note that the point of the forum is to offer advice and share experiences. If you have a recommended list of required materials or how the job could be done in a better way, please feel free to offer that advice to the forum members instead only posting negative commentary.

Meanwhile, my boat floats and after two seasons with the boat in the water from May until September, I don't have water under my decks at the end of the season so I am happy with the results of the job.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: 1987 Ski Centurion Tru Trac II - New Floor

, you would see that not only is the deck framing is pressure treated, as an extra measure to ensure it's longevity, it was coated with marine epoxy.

This is bad, never coat new pressure treated lumber with anything until it has fully dried. The lumber is wet with the pressure treating solution and any coatings won't bond and will peel off in short order. The wet wood prevents the coating from penetrating the wood and bonding. This includes the fiberglass resin and cloth/mat you should've used.

.You would also see that the deck framing was not glassed into the hull and is free floating under the floor.

This is bad too, the vibrations from your engine and wake/chop on the water will turn the free floating lumber under your deck into a hammer beating on the inside of your hull... nut just a hammer, but a beating vibrating jack hammer. The additional framing should have been bonded and glassed to the hull.

Sometimes you have to go with the materials that are available, but the foam used is the same grade as marine grade foam as the requirements for materials in Sweden are much higher than you would find in something purchased at your local Home Depot.

Your foam may be suitable, I'm unfamiliar with the specs on Swedish canned foam.


You have a very nice boat and it looks great... but you should've done more research before working on it.


This forum is a great place with a wealth of information for anyone that wants to work on/restore a boat, but they should read, study, and ask questions they may be unsure about before starting a project.

The only reason I pointed out the mistakes you made was to keep others from making the same mistakes. I apologize if I offended you.

 

[Miasman]

Re: 1987 Ski Centurion Tru Trac II - New Floor

The pressure treated lumber aged for 8 months before use, I neglected to point out your very important observation regarding the use of newly treated lumber. Excellent point! The floor joists from the factory were originally free floating and not anchored or glassed in as the injected foam held them in place. When I replaced them I followed the guideline of making the new joists as they were installed in the boat originally. There was a good deal of research that went into the project before it started - about a month and a half was spent combing the net for information on how others had done their floors. A great deal of info was gathered from this site too.

I appreciate your comments and now that we have chatted a bit, I can assure you no offense taken! Thanks very much for your input and comments. Happy boating and good fishing!

 

[jigngrub]

Re: 1987 Ski Centurion Tru Trac II - New Floor

The pressure treated lumber aged for 8 months before use, I neglected to point out your very important observation regarding the use of newly treated lumber. Excellent point! The floor joists from the factory were originally free floating and not anchored or glassed in as the injected foam held them in place. When I replaced them I followed the guideline of making the new joists as they were installed in the boat originally. There was a good deal of research that went into the project before it started - about a month and a half was spent combing the net for information on how others had done their floors. A great deal of info was gathered from this site too.

I appreciate your comments and now that we have chatted a bit, I can assure you no offense taken! Thanks very much for your input and comments. Happy boating and good fishing!

... and that's what happens when you deprive your readers of valuable "need to know" information.

I'm curious as to how you installed your expanding foam?

 

[mwe-maxxowner]

Re: 1987 Ski Centurion Tru Trac II - New Floor

... and that's what happens when you deprive your readers of valuable "need to know" information.

I'm curious as to how you installed your expanding foam?

Me too. I don't wanna spend 300$ on foam :/.