Bumble Bee partial floor repair

[Skeetbum]

I have an 88 model 178 and discovered the floor was soft under the 3rd or middle seat base. I have some boat building and fiberglass experience but things change so much I wanted to try to find some advice from folks more up to date before I dig(literally) into this. My guess is to remove the carpet ad identify the problem, which I believe to be localized to the area around the seat base and not much more. Had the transom replaced and some of the gel coat tightened up a couple of years back by a pro and while it was apart he and I tapped around the whole boat and could find nothing wrong, so this is a surprise to me. When I replace this I will not be re-installing the base that caused the problem in the first place. After ID, cut the problem out leaving the edges a 45* angle, leaaving a ledge to support the fix. Treat all exposed wood with resin and let cure, I'm not sure if it is necessary to add cloth under the floor and then install the wood, maybe in a thinned bondo like material to eliminate any voids, or to just dope up the edges of the wood and glass over it with increasing patch sizes. I sure don't want to fool with this again.. The boat is in great shape for it's age as it was a garage queen when I bought it in '09 with original carpet and interior and no oxidation on the gel coat. It will serve me well for years to come as long as I can afford to feed the 150 mariner on the back. Thanks in advance for the response, Y'all have always stepped up to the plate when I needed you most........Tim

 

[Skeetbum]

Re: Bumble Bee partial floor repair

Input please, am I on the right track?

 

[GT1000000]

Re: Bumble Bee partial floor repair

Hi Tim...

First of all, welcome to the Iboats dry dock...
Secondly, you mentioned that you and the guy who helped fix the boat the first time around "tapped" and didn't find anything wrong...sadly that won't tell you the whole story...you really need to do some core sampling of the lowest and farthest back areas of the boat that contain wood...drill into those areas with a 3/8" bit...if the shavings come out light and dry, you are good to go...if they come out dark and wet...you have issues...
If the deck is soft, the first thing you need to do is remove it and continue your inspection process on the stringers and bulkheads and transom...if all is good, then you can simply replace the deck with a marine grade, exterior grade, Arauco, or underlayment type plywood with a layer of CSM and resin on the underside and the same, but twice on top after tabbing it in along the edges and to itself with some 1708...
Pictures will help those of us to see what you see and be able to help you out better...
Good Luck and have fun!
GT1M

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Bumble Bee partial floor repair

Yep pics really will help us to help you. How long have you owned the boat? If it was a Garage Queen It's hard to imagine how a significant soft spot could have developed. Those are usually caused by a boat that is left uncovered out in the elements. As GT says, I think she warrants more intensive exploration.

 

[Skeetbum]

Re: Bumble Bee partial floor repair

I have owned the boat since May of '09 and can guarantee the transom and kneeboards and the rear area are solid. I went to the shop and saw it when disassembled and at that time the transom was already out of the boat. I drive for a living and will get pics of the problem when I get home. The giveaway was the 6 screws holding the seat base down were not holding and I couldn't use that seat. When I get home I'll remove the base and reach up in the hole as best I can and begin the investigation. process. I believe this to be between the stringers so cross your fingers for me. Lest I forget my manners, thanks for the welcome. Complete floor replacement would be a major repair that I couldn't undertake and finish with my schedule so I'm looking into a partial repair at this time. I guess time will tell. Thanks for the response, will post again when I have more info.

 

[Skeetbum]

Re: Bumble Bee partial floor repair

Here's a few pics of The Other Woman" In different states of repair.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Bumble Bee partial floor repair

Not raggin on you just trying to understand. The transom and portions of the rear of the boat were replaced in 09' when the top cap was removed? At the time of purchase the softspot that is now the source of the problem did not exist? What has occured in the past 4 years to cause this? I suspect that there may have been more rot occuring than the previous repair discovered and it is now starting to show itself. I'm not certain but if you have kept her dry and covered the past 4 years there's no reason this should have occured. When you open her up it will be more than obvious. We'll be here to help you no matter what you find. I used to drive too, so I understand how "Time" is a precious commodity

 

[Skeetbum]

Re: Bumble Bee partial floor repair

When the other repair was done, the seat was being used and she was stored outside under a cover, albeit a cheap one. She's been in my garage for 2 yrs now and infrequently wet. This is the first I have known of this problem and as you can see I try my best to keep her straight. When the transom was done, the way the floor is there was no reason to remove the carpet which might have clued me in to what was in my future. In the one pic you can see the rear of the floor area that drops into the live well behind. I did my best to get the pics as big as I could but this is what I got. Everything else wouldn't load. Live well and several boxes would have to be ground apart to separate the hulls and that alone would keep me from the dis-assembly process. Hard to smile right now.

 

[Skeetbum]

Re: Bumble Bee partial floor repair

Finally got home to investigate further and I'm kind of embarrassed to say what I'm about to. Took a good sized plastic hammer and my 270lbs and went hunting for a soft spot. I thumped and banged and took some large swings trying to find something, I must have looked like a dancing bear trying to get my foot to make something flex. Nada, nuttin, zip!. Only thing I could find was the screw holes were soft enough to let the screws strip. Took off the base and felt underneath, again, nothing. Wood was dry and unable to squeeze or flake. Foam underneath area is barely moist and expected after the rain I got caught in last week. Put it back together as best as the floor will allow and going to use it as is til it gives me further trouble, just don't get to fish 3 people at the same time in their own seats. Thanks for the responses, I'll try not to waste anyone's time in the future......Tim

 

[jigngrub]

Re: Bumble Bee partial floor repair

Feeling the top of the foam can be misleading, core sample the foam for a accurate moisture content.

Whacking and stepping on a deck supported by foam tells you nothing, cut a chunk out and look at the bottom of it.

Screws through a fiberglassed deck are a post -dated death sentance for fiberglass boats.