Floor height in rebuild

[mnmattie]

I'm going to put a new floor and stringers in a forester playmate and I was thinking of lowering the floor a couple of inches. I was thinking about how does the factory decide where to put the floor height? Its a Tri Hull so my guess is the floor is already placed at the lowest part of the mold? Just curious

 

[Bomber Goober]

Re: Floor height in rebuild

I don't have much to offer but the expierence with mine but, on my Tri-Hull the floor sits on the hull at the gunwales. The main stringer is roughly 5in tall and the 2 smaller ones are about 2in. Hope this helps.

 

[Friscoboater]

Re: Floor height in rebuild

I am not sure of this, but I think the deck has alot to do with your strength, and should not be altered. Just my thoughts.

 

[Georgesalmon]

Re: Floor height in rebuild

When I was building boats the floor height was decided by a bunch of things. Underfloor storage, built in fuel tank, shape of hull, etc. On some we just wanted the floor as low as possible for safety. It all depended on what the purpose of the boat was. Not often was heigth of stringers a consideration because they could be designed thicker and/or wider to get the strength required. If your going to lower your stringer heigth then maybe you should increase the stringer width to keep the same stiffness. I don't know how much exactly. JMHO

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Floor height in rebuild

As George has stated, Floor height is not something to deal with lightly. The people that engineered and designed your boat had reasons that ALL tie into the over all structural integrity of the boat. Mucking about with the original design, is sometimes not a good idea. I think THIS is one of those times. I'd recommend putting it back the way you found it but...It's your boat...Your decision.

 

[Yacht Dr.]

Re: Floor height in rebuild

I don't have much to offer but the expierence with mine but, on my Tri-Hull the floor sits on the hull at the gunwales. The main stringer is roughly 5in tall and the 2 smaller ones are about 2in. Hope this helps.

I hope you mean Chine .. .. ( Bottom meets the Hull Sides )

It does make some difference on some boats.

I would think that a step down deck would be better then lowering the whole deck placement along the Bottom.

Its hard to tell without Knowing your boat.

Flex can be a pain when its in the wrong places without support.

YD.

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: Floor height in rebuild

I agree w/ the above suggestions against lowering the deck........

BTW: Raising the deck is also often not a good idea..............

Might post some pix of your boat, and a rough sketch of your planned layout & what you've got planned that dictated a lower deck.

Might be other ways to accomplish similar results, and not require a lower deck.........

 

[Bomber Goober]

Re: Floor height in rebuild

I hope you mean Chine .. .. ( Bottom meets the Hull Sides )

correction after a quick Vocab lesson, CHINE

 

[Yacht Dr.]

Re: Floor height in rebuild

correction after a quick Vocab lesson, CHINE

I only ment that because there are sometimes molded decks that kinda go to the gunwhale .. semi ..

It could have been part of the structure .. I didnt know but I guessed ..

Peace ..

YD.

 

[Bomber Goober]

Re: Floor height in rebuild

No worries , always glad to get some knowledge in the little space I have for it

 

[mnmattie]

Re: Floor height in rebuild

Ill see if I can dig up some pics. I have a Glastron V156 and a Forester 144 Playmate. Both will need floors. The playmate sits a lot higher in the water in relation to where the floor is in the boat. It would be more of a safety issue to me. But it just might be how the boat is built. And I'm not too worried about altering the floor if proper bracing/engineering is required. I've seen some boats where the only floor was a balsa floor-Atlas and some Hydrostream boats. But to each their own.