GENERAL CURIOUSITY...Would a boat with a soft or rotten floor have any chance sinking

[Lukelona]

could a boat wirth rotten or soft floor sink somehow? could the boat just fall apart under stess of boating?

just curious...my boats floor flexes a little where the fiberglass has worn off but hopefully not gonna sink lol

 

[Silly Seville]

Re: GENERAL CURIOUSITY...Would a boat with a soft or rotten floor have any chance sin

I suggest you search the forum under the boat restoration threads, and furthermore, search the term "rotten stringers".

Enjoy your education.

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: GENERAL CURIOUSITY...Would a boat with a soft or rotten floor have any chance sin

Fiberglass is remarkably resilient stuff.

For some idiotic reason that I can't remember, I ran a 14 foot hull with no floor or stringers. Above a certain speed, say 8-10 MPH--it definitely did not get on plane-- It developed a large bulge just in front of the transom. This was from water pressure pushing in the bottom.

However, It did not crack, break, or leak, and the hull was in no danger of sinking. I suppose that if I did try to get it to plane it might have broken.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: GENERAL CURIOUSITY...Would a boat with a soft or rotten floor have any chance sin

It absolutely can. In fact I have personally been in a boat that the hull developed an 8' crack a few inched off of the keel and started taking on water fast.
I was out with several friends on two boats (neither was mine) the floor was flexing just like you say when crossing wakes and then all of a sudden the engine was under water and died.... We actually managed to keep it from sinking by towing it into shallow water where it sat on bottom with a few guys balancing it upright... we went and picked up two large bilge pumps and a big battery and managed to pump it out enough to tow it back to the ramp and get it on the trailer.... the engine and drive were sold and the boat junked.

 

[Lukelona]

Re: GENERAL CURIOUSITY...Would a boat with a soft or rotten floor have any chance sin

It absolutely can. In fact I have personally been in a boat that the hull developed an 8' crack a few inched off of the keel and started taking on water fast.

wow you were very lucky you made it to shore! How rotten was this boat?

mine is solid except where the plywood shows from the fiberglass being worn off.
it should strengthen back up after i re-glass the surface right?

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: GENERAL CURIOUSITY...Would a boat with a soft or rotten floor have any chance sin

no the wood is most of the strength.... as for "how rotten"... I have no scale for that... Point at hand... your boat may be in danger of catastrophic failure and only time will tell.... at a minimum I would suggest that you restrict your boat to no wake speed immediately

the floor was probably moving an inch when crossing wakes... I was begging my friend to slow down because I knew there was danger and he said it'll be fine...... less than 5 minutes later it wasn't.... we were moving about 40 mph and I can only imagine the carnage if the hull had busted across the beam and scooped water..... I count myself as VERY lucky and will NEVER again willingly ride in a rotten boat.

 

[Chinewalker]

Re: GENERAL CURIOUSITY...Would a boat with a soft or rotten floor have any chance sin

Generally, boats rot bottom up, so if the floor is rotten, then everything under it is also rotten...

 

[tpenfield]

Re: GENERAL CURIOUSITY...Would a boat with a soft or rotten floor have any chance sin

If you had a hull fracture . . . and . . . the flotation was saturated, then sure the boat could sink. Even with saturated foam, a boat could sink if it became flooded.

If the floor is 'soft' then it is worth looking into . . . that way you will know for sure if you have the types of problems discussed here.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: GENERAL CURIOUSITY...Would a boat with a soft or rotten floor have any chance sin

Despite my suspicious about an early Bayliner (which the OP has in his avatar pic)....I'd still caution against the difference between "soft" and "springy". Your deck may have just separated from the stringer(s) in a spot. (hey, I'm just trying to be positive )

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: GENERAL CURIOUSITY...Would a boat with a soft or rotten floor have any chance sin

well I misread a bit.. if ONLY a spot on the floor flexes when when stepped on, then MAYBE the stringers aren't rotten.... MAYBE.... but if going over waves causes the floor to move then you are in bad shape for sure...

Generally tho the plywood floor won't flex unless it's rotten and the glass is just on top of it to keep it dry tho often the underside is unprotected and will still rot

 

[salty87]

Re: GENERAL CURIOUSITY...Would a boat with a soft or rotten floor have any chance sin

don't overlook that a rotten deck or stringers is often associated with a rotten transom.

 

[Lukelona]

Re: GENERAL CURIOUSITY...Would a boat with a soft or rotten floor have any chance sin

How should I check the transom for rot? Drill before hittng gel coat? Push on lower unit & watch for flex?

I cut out section 13"/16" where it felt soft, it wasnt rotten yet but had a 1x1".support that broke/rotted and ply was just flexing.
Now, there is a stringer running across the floor that has two 3/4in drain holes at deck level.
The stringer has a little area at each hole thats rotted. I will have access to this when putting patch floor piece back in.
Is there any way to use something like "git-rot" (spell) in the stringer?

How could I check the rear stringers.?

 

[ezmobee]

Re: GENERAL CURIOUSITY...Would a boat with a soft or rotten floor have any chance sin

Stand on the motor (when it's down) and bounce on it and look for flex.

 

[26aftcab454]

Re: GENERAL CURIOUSITY...Would a boat with a soft or rotten floor have any chance sin

Luke...Yes it could suddenly sink
use a drill bit and cordless drill and drill a small hole as low and back on the stringers. If it comes out like cardboard, it is rotten.
they will need to be ripped out and properly replaced. if that is the case you may just want to scrap the hull and sell motor ($200. if running condtion) , drives, trailer, and hardware for what you can get for it.
you cant give rotten 1986 14ft Bayliners away.

 

[Lukelona]

Re: GENERAL CURIOUSITY...Would a boat with a soft or rotten floor have any chance sin

"If that is the case you may just want to scrap the hull and sell motor ($200. if running condtion) , drives, trailer, and hardware for what you can get for it.
you cant give rotten 1986 14ft Bayliners away.[/QUOTE]

Like I said, where the two holes are drilled in the stringer water has seeped into it and is started to rot.
So I should just take the loss and junk it asap or could I somehow do a simple patch on floor and run it for a season?
It seems theres still plenty of strength, like I days iys just starting

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: GENERAL CURIOUSITY...Would a boat with a soft or rotten floor have any chance sin

The problem with that question is that the only way to know how far the rot goes is to tear it apart and at that point it's just as much work to put it back as it is to rebuild it right.... as the duke said ... do ya feel lucky?

 

[DirtyOldBoat]

Re: GENERAL CURIOUSITY...Would a boat with a soft or rotten floor have any chance sin

My boat had a tiny soft spot in the floor under the seat. No problem, I'll just cover the hole.




Or not.


The whole f%*#@(#@ thing is rotten. It didn't look that bad from the outside. I also found the previous owner notched out more than half of the stringer to install a ski pole. Great. :facepalm: I was using this boat at high speed, with an overpowered outboard...

 

[ezmobee]

Re: GENERAL CURIOUSITY...Would a boat with a soft or rotten floor have any chance sin

So I should just take the loss and junk it asap or could I somehow do a simple patch on floor and run it for a season?
It seems theres still plenty of strength, like I days iys just starting

It's a small boat with a 50.....I'd run it.

 

[Part-time]

Re: GENERAL CURIOUSITY...Would a boat with a soft or rotten floor have any chance sin

To not drill holes too deep while checking for rot just measure an inch or inch and a half and put tape around the drill bit to know when to stop.
start around the bottom of the transom.
If you hit beaver puke there you should consider a rebuild of the transom at the very least, but I have have never had a boat where one thing didn't lead to another and the first thing I knew I was in for a total rebuild.
I never had the bottom of the hull give out on me due to rot but I can tell you from 1st hand experience that having a transom give out is a very scary thing.

And it was a 25hp johnson that did in the transom.... no need for big power!

 

[Lukelona]

Re: GENERAL CURIOUSITY...Would a boat with a soft or rotten floor have any chance sin



i cut this hole so i could see in there.

NOTE: the two drain hole at floor level. this is the stringer makes the seat appears to be about 12in height with the floor right in the middle of it. rot is forming just under the floor, on th stringer, near these drain holes.

There doent seem to be a lot of structure under the floor on this little boat.
the two stringers i know are in it go across width wise in the hull. they come out of the floor about 6 in and make up the
seat pedistils (spell) wierd design im not very fond of!
i can put a pole under the floor and dont feel any more stringers toward the front of the boat. im thinking there is maybe 2-3 strigers in this whole floor?? does that seem right? again, its a 14 ft boat about 4 ft at widest point of floor.