21 foot Center Console floor replacement

[Tazman282]

I started this project last week and am still in the process of gutting it out. The foam was saturated and the floor was beyond rotted. Pretty sad actually. I am looking for ideas of how to replace this floor. I have very limited knowledge on replacing a floor, boat reconstruction, fiberglass, the works but have read, read and read even more on this site. Thank you for all the information.

Here are some of the pictures of the process so far.

First Question. Should I cut out the floor all the way to the side wall and then rebuild from there or put the new wood floor under the existing side walls and fiberglass in?

Second Question. The front portion as you can see in the picture is higher than the rest of the boat. Is it necessary to have this extra foam of can I make it all one level?

Third Question. This boat has a relatively good transom but it does show some wear and a crack that is visible. How hard is it to replace the transom and would this be a good time to do this? If I did replace the transom how hard would it be to add a mounting bracket so that it sits off the transom?

I am looking to have this boat ready as soon as possible as the summer is practically here. Any info that can be provided would be great. Thank you.

David

 

[Tazman282]

Re: 21 foot Center Console floor replacement

Here are some more.

This is a 1974 Halmark hull.

Also here is a picture of the console. The big hole on the right side was where the instruments were and when I pulled them all out and took out the wood that is what I had left. What would be your recommendation to fix this or cover. I plan on replacing with all brand new controls, gauges etc.

Also, all the water in the boat is from rain the night I started this (more beer while shaking head than work) project.

David

 

[erikgreen]

Re: 21 foot Center Console floor replacement

First Question. Should I cut out the floor all the way to the side wall and then rebuild from there or put the new wood floor under the existing side walls and fiberglass in?

You'll get a better structure if you remove the glass all the way to the edges of the hull. You'll also have less trouble fitting the new deck in.

Second Question. The front portion as you can see in the picture is higher than the rest of the boat. Is it necessary to have this extra foam or can I make it all one level?

It's probably necessary for floatation per the original design, but it's not legally necessary for a boat that size. Your call on whether to put back any foam at all, actually.

Third Question. This boat has a relatively good transom but it does show some wear and a crack that is visible. How hard is it to replace the transom and would this be a good time to do this? If I did replace the transom how hard would it be to add a mounting bracket so that it sits off the transom?

This is the perfect time to do it, and it's a moderately unpleasant job. If it's showing cracks, I'd do it now definitely. You'd have to tear the deck back up later if there's a problem with it. Like most of boat repairs it's time consuming though, not actually difficult.

I think the mounting bracket is a separate, after-the-repair question, but it's not too hard. I think some people here have made their own too.

I am looking to have this boat ready as soon as possible as the summer is practically here. Any info that can be provided would be great. Thank you.

David

Good luck... given the size you're probably looking at a couple hundred hours of work, but if you do it right you'll have a very solid boat that will last longer than you'll care to own it.

Erik

 

[oops!]

Re: 21 foot Center Console floor replacement

thats a fantastic looking boat....go for it...

 

[Marcq]

Re: 21 foot Center Console floor replacement

I like the name of boat TimeOut In your case it suit the boat well
Marc..

 

[Tazman282]

Re: 21 foot Center Console floor replacement

Well I have started taking out the front part and glad that I am, it was saturated as well. I also drove it around a bit to get some of that water out that was sitting in it and it lost about 2000 lbs in weight. Don't think that foam would have kept me a float anyway. HAHA.

Just wondering if there was some website or formula to use to figure out the water displacement necessary to maintain proper elevation in water if that makes sense. Just trying to figure out how much foam if any I need based on the water displacement of the boat. If I do plan on making it all one height for the floor what do I use to fill in the access area in the bow area on the walls. Do I just put up thin treated plywood and fiberglass it into place?

I will look for some pictures/threads in regards to replacing the transom but, when adding the extended mounting plate I am guessing this would change the way the boat planes. How would I combat this without the extra expense of a jack plate or would it just be fine without anything?

David

 

[i386]

Re: 21 foot Center Console floor replacement

If you choose to use foam, just calculate the volume of the cavities that the old foam resided in. Then replace it with 2 part USCG approved urethane floation foam. Most places online that sell your fiberglass supplies will have it. It'll say how much volume each size foam kit yields.

There's lots of arguments for and against foam here so do your research and decide for yourself.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: 21 foot Center Console floor replacement

they are in this. http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=191283

typing at same time.