Floor Rot problem

[olmpilot]

Well, now that it's winter time it's time to fix all the "little" things on the boat. Well, this isn't little and is much bigger than I thought. See the pictures here http://www.rawdesigns.com/personal/winterconstruction.htm <br /><br />I'm wondering if anyone has seen something like this before. Is it worth trying to fix and does it look like I will have to replace the entire floor? I'm not sure if it goes into the cuddy cabin or not, but everything seems solid in there. <br /><br />From those experienced in having tackled these types of jobs, would it be better to have a pro do the work or to try it myself. Also, any ideas what might cause the odd pattern of damage? The dry areas near the stern seem very solid. Thanks!

 

[olmpilot]

Re: Floor Rot problem

Also, what are the weather requirements for glassing if I go through this? Being that I'm here in "rain country - aka Wa State" it's bound to be damp for the next several months. The boat is stored outside under a carport and not enclosed. I have a cover for it in addition to the carport, but it still let's in alot of moisture and it is cold (30's-40's during the nights). Should I wait to do any or all of this until spring? Will it hurt it to have the wood and other stuff exposed to the limited moisture if I do the "destruction" during this time of year and do the restoration and glassing in the spring if necessary?

 

[Boomyal]

Re: Floor Rot problem

Considering that you are under cover, the only drawback to our humidity and temperatures are that any wet wood will not dry out. Once you expose any wet wood, I would use a space heater, under the boat cover (with adequate ventilation), for as long as it takes to dry everything out. <br /><br />I exposed my wet wood early this summer and it had plenty of time to dry naturally. As far as Epoxy Resin goes, apply it, cover the boat and keep the space heater on. If it is extra cold, I'd run two heaters on two different circuits. You will need to keep the resin over 70 deg for a half a day for it to cure.<br /><br />Ps. I would not let anything get any wetter, once you tear it apart. Tarp off the ends and sides of your carport if necessary.

 

[jimmythekid]

Re: Floor Rot problem

start rippin you want to get all the rotted wood out and let the rest dry very good and dry my project started out as 1 wet and rotted cushion over the top of the engine and if you look at my pics you will see what i ended up doing, takes along time, and lots of cash just to get as far as i am now, one word of advice, use a tyvek suit and respirator when tearing the old stuff out took three days to stop itching when i did mine. Good luck and post alot of pics if you can

 

[JasonJ]

Re: Floor Rot problem

I was faced with the same issue, and I ended up waiting. I did all demolition/prep work when it was cold, and waited until the day time temps were at least in the 60's. I still had to do the tarp/heater trick. The one good thing about cooler temps is you get a little more time to get things positioned and rolled out before the resin kicks. As far as having a pro do it, you would end up spending more than what you paid for the boat for work you could have done yourself with the help of this website. Good luck...

 

[olmpilot]

Re: Floor Rot problem

Thanks, I have posted more pictures http://www.rawdesigns.com/personal/winterconstruction.htm as I started tearing things apart. So far, so good and things really look like they are in excellent shape other than the plywood floor. <br /><br />If I get to a point where the stern wood isn't rotted, could it be okay to only replace half of the flooring?

 

[swimmin' for shore]

Re: Floor Rot problem

Hi OLM. I was looking over your pictures. I'm no expert, but it seems to me that if the fiberglass job on your floor was so shoddy in some areas, it would make more sense to me to just replace the whole floor. I think most would agree with me that we're generally doing a better job on these rebuilds than the original jobs from the mfg. If you do that floor right, and you can get as much help as I have been to do it, you'll have a floor that will last as long as you. Seems like that would beat having to tear out another section 2 or 3 or even 5 years from now. Just the way I would do it. Good luck.

 

[JasonJ]

Re: Floor Rot problem

If you can ensure everything is sealed well, then replacing only the rotted parts can work. I would tend to agree that replacing the entire floor would be optimal, however. That way you can ensure that the floor is sealed properly. Otherwise, as has been stated, you could end up replacing the area you didn't replace down the road. Good luck...

 

[Dryrot]

Re: Floor Rot problem

I am a wooden boat builder in Ontario and am very familiar with your problems. I agee with those stating 'just repair that which is damaged'. Why spend money replacing sound materials. You must ensure wherever your new wood meets old a well glued and screwed former be installed. Cold wet weather is prevalent here also. I would suggest you use only epoxy resins as opposed to vinyl resins for several reasons.<br /><br />1. even thougth epoxy resins do give off vapors they are less harmful than vinyl resins.<br /><br />2. costs are higher for epoxy resins. 2 to 5 times higher depending on where u buy. I buy all my resins from US Composites out of Florida. They sell wholesale to anyone and eliminate the middle man. I have used all makes and find the medium resin works best from USC at temperatures above 60 degrees. When temperatures fall between 40 and 60 degrees I use fast set types. You don't need to hurry applying this stuff because of the low temp. u are working in. The material that u are glassing must be dry and humidity should be below 50%. This resin will set overnight. The fast setting resin will have more"wax" to sand off before finishing.<br /><br />3. vinyl resins are very flammable compared to epoxies. You can drop a match into epoxies without flames Don't try this with vinyls. Vinyls have set boats on fire with electric space heaters during the curing process.<br /><br />You will find on certain warm days u will be able to glass and cure before the next cold spell. Good luck.

 

[olmpilot]

Re: Floor Rot problem

Swimmin.. I think I figured out what happened. I don't think it was the fiberglass job that caused the problem. At first I couldn't understand the pattern of the damage. But then after reading more posts and examining the pattern it came to me. I think it was from the seat mounting that caused it. I don't think they sealed the screws and that is how the water entered the wood since it was centered around the two sets of seats.<br /><br />There is a cross beam about 3/4 of the way to the stern over the fuel tank. I think I will stop there, and leave the stern and seats as they are (I really don't want to find any more surprises at this time!!!)... but more exploration and reading will tell what I end up doing. <br /><br />Thanks for the info on the resins Dryrot!