Boat searching: Lesson #1

[mike64]

Re: Boat searching: Lesson #1

I know exactly what you guys mean. When you guys talk about soft floor...is it the wood thats soft or some type of fiberglass? I am a new boater, and just bought a boat....luckily I didnt find any soft spots in the floor when I stepped in and walked around on mine....I still have lots of cleaning to do on my new to me boat....I did notice that they look much better online though.

Welcome...the floor, deck or sole of the boat, whatever you want to call it, is usually made of wood thinly covered in fiberglass. Fiberglass, being a combination of glass fibers and plastic resin, is waterproof. The soft spots are caused by rot in the wood when it's exposed to water because the glass layer got compromised. Many older glass boats use wood as a support structure in the deck, stringers and transom but didn't do a real good job of waterproofing the wood with fiberglass. If those boats are not well taken care of, rot will get into the wood and make you sad if you buy it without inspecting it well :-(

Unless you like a project ;-)

 

[Jayb123]

Re: Boat searching: Lesson #1

The sole is the lowest horizontal surface in an open cockpit boat, jay. Other horizontal surfaces may be called decks.

O and TY JB

 

[Miner49er]

Re: Boat searching: Lesson #1

Is there a boat broker near your home. I went thru the craigslist/ebay thing for months. Than I found a boat broker on line. I reasearched the broker & found them to be dependable. Explained what I was looking for & what price range I was looking to purchase.
They did the leg work, I got the boat I wanted & even saved myself a few thousand on the deal.

 

[ultra_1968]

Re: Boat searching: Lesson #1

I have learned a lot in a short time:

Boats always look much..much better on the computer than in person. Ive seen some dogs already.

The same can be said for women and my 8 years of online dating. ;-)