Floor Replacement vs. Overlay

[TKE381]

I have a small fiberglass fishing boat with a very weak floor (especially under the front seat). I did not want to invest the time to remove the old floor and want to opt to overlay the floor with marine board and carpet. My instinct says this is a bad idea destined for problems in years to come. Anyone out there have luck with an overlay?

 

[DJ]

Re: Floor Replacement vs. Overlay

You relly beed to check the condition of the strigers, which are under the floor board.<br /><br />Putting an overlay over rotten stringers will do nothing to preserve the structural integrity of the hull.

 

[JasonJ]

Re: Floor Replacement vs. Overlay

Click my link and see what a boat with an overlayed floor looks like. Can you get away with it? Yeah, but it is not optimal, and can be dangerous. You are left with three choices: Total rebuild, overlay, or get another hull. Of the three, I recommend not doing overlay, and I do recommend finding another hull unless you don't mind suffering through mind numbing work. The upside to doing a total rebuild is that you can rebuild the boat into an optimal layout. It all depends on what you want out of it. If you plan on getting rid of it soon, maybe a rebuild isn't the best thing, but if you think you would keep the boat for many years to come, And you really like the hull design, then the rebuild is worth it. Good luck....

 

[TKE381]

Re: Floor Replacement vs. Overlay

OK, I'm jealous. You live in paradise. Nice work. Beautiful lake.

 

[jimmythekid]

Re: Floor Replacement vs. Overlay

isn't he lucky? somehow I think luck must come with alot of hard work. the upside to your dilema is that you have found our little spot on the internet to get help with your project, its not that "hard" to do, just alot of elbow grease. the hardest part is getting the old stuff out and figuring out how to stretch the budget to get funds to fix er up, at least in my case. Anyway take yer time do it right, and in the end you will be glad you did. I too thought about just "overlaying", but now after what I have been thru, there is no way I would ever have felt good about being on the water in a boat that i KNEW had strutural problems. Now I can relax and enjoy the boat knowing its built stronger than most new boats out there. Thats what boating is about. good luck

 

[petrolhead]

Re: Floor Replacement vs. Overlay

You may find, as I did, that replacement is easier and quicker than repair, and the end result should be better and last longer. You'll also have the satisfaction of knowing you did a good job, and it should be a good selling point if you part with the boat in future.

 

[gord 495]

Re: Floor Replacement vs. Overlay

Originally posted by Tom McC:<br /> I have a small fiberglass fishing boat with a very weak floor (especially under the front seat). I did not want to invest the time to remove the old floor and want to opt to overlay the floor with marine board and carpet. My instinct says this is a bad idea destined for problems in years to come. Anyone out there have luck with an overlay?

 

[gord 495]

Re: Floor Replacement vs. Overlay

going through this same problem right now with my boat, rotten wwod in your flooring.on my boat there is foam under the flooring and this holds the water which rotts out the floor. best bet get in there and repair..who knows what else is going on down there