Do most old boats needs new floors?

Do most old boats needs new floors?

  • My floors need to be replaced.

    Votes: 260 61.5%
  • My floors have been replaced

    Votes: 80 18.9%
  • My floors are Rock solid. I dont need no stinking Floors :D

    Votes: 83 19.6%

  • Total voters
    423
Joined
Sep 5, 2007
Messages
1,790
Re: Do most old boats needs new floors?

My 60 crestliner falcon is all metal . Age does not hurt it. I saw what can happin to an older glass boat if it splits open.......Im afraid of them
 

Ezrider_92356

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jul 14, 2007
Messages
426
Re: Do most old boats needs new floors?

i dont need no stinkin floors...lol becouse my boat is all alluminum
 

turfman

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Sep 28, 2007
Messages
169
Re: Do most old boats needs new floors?

My boatdoesn't seem to need a new deck but since I'm restoring the gunwales and recoating the deck I might as well put a new deck in it while I'm at it.

turfman
 

mikey.himself

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Sep 11, 2007
Messages
130
Re: Do most old boats needs new floors?

The moisture gets trapped in foams, and carpets, and it can't dry out. and the boat manufacturers just half-*** their stuff. Oh, hey, why in gods name do they use wood in boats anyway? NEVER understood that.
 

sunaj

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Jul 25, 2007
Messages
109
Re: Do most old boats needs new floors?

Speaking of wood floors I have a long term project 19' cuddy cabin that I started perfecting (eheh...) my boat remodeling skills on years ago ( I said long term), everything wood had a lot of rot and I had to yank it all and I rebuilt the floors with plywood, though I did seal the wood on all sides, wondering how long these floors will last after I get her in the water, seeing that I didn't use marine plywood. If I have to redo these, oh the pain....
 

oops!

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Oct 18, 2007
Messages
12,932
Re: Do most old boats needs new floors?

Most boat floors are nothing but 3/8" plywood, many manufacturers do nothing to protect the under side of the wood, and worse yet, most carpet the top side which holds water and contributes to the rotted wood. The best floors are gelcoated and totally sealed with no carpet, they can be hosed down and washed up easily. Those are normally found in boats intended for fishing.
Most fish and ski, and cuddy cabin boats are carpeted. If the floor is rotted or soft, chances are it's been stored outdoors and it's been wet, the floor is rarely the only problem, the lower supports, stringers, and wood in the transom can also be rotted if the boat was not kept dry. Most boats are also foam filled, that foam gets wet and holds moisture, which in turn adds the the rot problem down below. Your best bet is to do a very thorough inspection on any boat you intend to buy, and then decide whether or not it's worth the work to repair it if it does need work. If you have to pay a marina to do the work, its going to be expensive. If you are not up to doing the work yourself, it's most likely not worth it for you to buy one that needs that sort of work.

Many newer boats are built wood free, using all aluminum and composites that do not rot. Those also hold their value much better.

thanks for typing all that.....:D


this post is totally true
 

stevewolverton

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Mar 30, 2008
Messages
262
Re: Do most old boats needs new floors?

My new floor is about to go in this weekend... yeah me...

Good luck with your floor. It's not the most enjoyable job, but I can think of worse things to do with my free time.

Personally, I don't mind replacing my floor every 45 years or so. ;)
 

slasmith1

Lieutenant Junior Grade
Joined
Dec 2, 2008
Messages
1,028
Re: Do most old boats needs new floors?

Here is my big question the people ho say there floors are rock solid is why?
Was your boats kept dry, is the floor you have something other than wood.

gel coated composite self bailing, hose it and go. but it would be a deck or a sole no floors in my boat.
 

mphy98

Lieutenant
Joined
Oct 20, 2008
Messages
1,422
Re: Do most old boats needs new floors?

i got lucky, got the boat free from an older guy (older than me) he was 82 and he kept it in great shape. had the marina give me a complete survey as it is going to spend the rest of its life in canada with just some upgraded electronics. they gave me a complete thumbs up. they knew the boat and it had 50hrs max. always covered and always nose up. so not all old boats are rotted. it depends upon how it has been kept up. this guy was the original owner. nice guy brought me the hummingbird 120 fishfinder that he had for it. must be an older one, so i stuffed 200.00 in his pocket, he refused it, said it was just good that his boat got a good home and would be kept up the way he would. nice old guy.
 

tmcalavy

Rear Admiral
Joined
Aug 29, 2001
Messages
4,005
Re: Do most old boats needs new floors?

Caveat emptor...buyer beware. Nose up, plug out or covered (inside or out) may require little refitting. Nose down, under a tree, no cover...asking for troubles. Gauge the seller and you'll get a good idea of what you may be buying...was it kept/maintained as a toy or a tool? Toys are mostly neglected after awhile, until they become disposable junk/trash. A person who keeps/maintains it as a tool probably won't be selling a disposable wreck. Most of the "I found an old boat, should I buy?" threads on the board involve at least a new floor...maybe we need a poll on forum polls.
 

F14CRAZY

Ensign
Joined
Aug 12, 2008
Messages
945
Re: Do most old boats needs new floors?

I'm hoping that my stringer job, which I'll be doing an excellent job on, will last long enough so that when it needs to be done again I'll ditch it and buy a new/ish aluminum boat
 

redfury

Commander
Joined
Jul 16, 2006
Messages
2,657
Re: Do most old boats needs new floors?

I fell in love with a basket case, nose down, on the ground by a ditch, and I paid too much for it. Meh, what did I know. That was 4 or 5 years ago, I can't remember. I'm still picking away at fixing it. Floors shot, stringers shot, transom wasn't completely shot, but ripped it out anyway. Why not as long as I'm redoing everything else, right?

For every rotten boat out there, there is a new boat owner waiting to buy it for cheap ( though not as cheap as he would think in the end ).
 

sffilm1

Cadet
Joined
Jun 18, 2008
Messages
29
Re: Do most old boats needs new floors?

I am also dealing with floor issues, I have another thread opened. "72' Larson 186 BR Restoration"....anyway, since new boats have stringers made of things such as aluminum, as someone stated earlier, is there anyway to use something like this to replace old stringers??
 

KeyWestBoater

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Feb 22, 2008
Messages
235
Re: Do most old boats needs new floors?

I have a Key West CC. No Wood. Plus it's parked in the garage. The best of both worlds!

:D:D:D
 

Mark_VTfisherman

Lieutenant
Joined
Nov 29, 2008
Messages
1,489
Re: Do most old boats needs new floors?

...why in gods name do they use wood in boats anyway? NEVER understood that...Because wood has superior strength/resilience, in certain types of loading, even over steel. Think of any other material you can deflect (bend) as much as wood and have it come back to its original shape and still retain its compression strength. There aren't many and are very expensive.

Wood is also esthetically pleasing in certain applications :) When I rebuild my new project this spring or summer, I plan to use spar varnished 8" wide Black Cherry for the gunwale decks. I don't care if it's not rot-proof; it's pretty and will last well enough if I keep it covered. I am not motoring to the Bahamas ;) I love cherry against a nice white hull- my current swim ladder has oak stringers and cherry steps, spar varnished. Looks great against my white hull! Sun gives cherry such a nice dark glow.

Anyway: my 1972 MFG has a molded fiberglass floor (deck) and will never rot. However, I built dry lockers in both sides of the boat midships out of 3/8" AC, painted them with oil-based deck enamel, and using the hull and floor as bottom and rear bulkhead glued them in place with 5200. That was 1996- 3 repaints over the years and they are still good! And still waterproof.

But I have always kept it tarped when not in use.
 

Bard1

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Nov 25, 2008
Messages
247
Re: Do most old boats needs new floors?

Yeah I need to do that myself. I have a 14' 1964 starcraft that the other owner had installed 5/8 planking. I also have soft spots. I bet it's around 200extra pounds. I would like to use 1/2 " Marine plywood to replace it.
Good luck with yours.
 

Starppy

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
Mar 23, 2009
Messages
84
Re: Do most old boats needs new floors?

Most will eventually. My Starcraft is in need of new flooring after 40 years. It's not a big deal. For all it's faults wood is still probably the best material to use. it may rot, but it's light, flexible, structurally viable and inexpensive to repair comapred to other options.

Good marine plywood can get wet repeatedly, but it has to be able to dry completely. When it is wet constantly over long periods of time is when it will rot quickly. Coating it with epoxy isn't the answer either. Eventually the epoxy will crack allowing moisture in, but it can never get out. After that it will rot at an accelorated pace.

Old timer I knew used to rinse his bilge with 2 gallons of bleach every year. He'd put in the plug, pour in the bleach and fill the rest with a garden hose and then let it stand overnight. He swore it killed the bacteria, fungus and mildew that caused the rot. His old Steury never had a problem, but then again he stored it in his garage when not used and cared for the the thing like it was his child.

There is no "good" single answer. Keep it dry and clean. If you have to refloor, use quality materials. You can use treated wood in fiberglass boats which should help, but never in aluminum.
 
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