how to accurately measure for sole replacement

[74starcraft']

I'm doing a sole replace on a 14 foot aluminum deep v, my problem is in the bow how do I get the most accurate measurements for cutting the 3/4 ply, I'm going to epoxy the wood and I'm hoping to leave it exposed I don't want to use carpet,I like the look of the epoxied wood as I just did the transom and the motor plate.so I'm looking to get the most accurate cuts I can as it will be seen,is there some kind of protractor or some other tool for finding these angles?and also where the ribs stick out into the floor about 2 feet from the inside of the keel.I have seen some people make templates from cardboard and foam insulation I could do this but I'm really more looking for a measuring tool of some sort.

 

[jbcurt00]

Template out of whatever you have handy.

Dont forget, 99% of epoxy isnt UV stable, so it must be covered, painted or protected from sunlight.

Why 3/4" ply decking in a 14ftr?

Every ounce of weight you add modifying the boat, is an ounce of carrying capacity you lose. In a 14ftr, whats max capacity, 650lbs? After me, a 20hp+/- motor, a can or 2 of fuel, and a fishing buddy, theres not much capacity left.

 

[74starcraft']

I'm using 3/4 ply simply because I'm only doing this once,I don't want to do this again in ten years,also I am a big guy,and I am only setting it up for me and one other passenger,it's only a fishing boat but here's the scenario I looked at New ones they wanted $10,000 almost for what I wanted,so I picked up a diamond in the rough for $300 and I'm putting the money into it,New motor New floor New transom New paint the whole sha bang,when it is done it will be done right and it will last many years and its going to cost me half of what a new one costs and it will be much better than anything on the market today,that is of course my opinion.it will have a top to block out the sun aswell.

 

[gm280]

74starcraft', Not seeing your boat or situation, if there are floor supports then you can easily get by with a lot thinner plywood and still get a very solid floor as well. Once you apply epoxy or even polyester resin and some CSM, that changes a thinner plywood to a heck of a lot stouter material. But you also save the weight as well. Polyester resin and CSM will give you what you want. It is UV resistant better and once the polyester is applied with CSM, it becomes clear and therefore the wood grain still shows through. Just some things to think about. Weight IS very important in such a boat project regardless what your plans are. JMHO!

Oh, and to answer your initial question. If you can't use the old floor as your template, try this. Take a string and stretch in down the center of the boat at floor level that you are going to go back in with. Then about every 6" to 12" segments, measure to the outside of the hull from the center on both sides and either transfer those measurements to the new wood, or write them down on paper for future use. And as you move forward and stop and measure at the intervals, you will have successfully made your pattern. It works perfectly and I have used that myself for my boat project. Hope that helps.

 

[sphelps]

Big piece of cardboard ... Draw a line straight down the center . Put a mark every 6 or 12" down the line . Square those marks across the template .Now pull and tape a string down the center of your boat .. Take a sharpie and mark on the string the same increments that you marked on the center line of your template ... Measure square across from the marks on the string to the side of the hull . Add maybe an 1/8" or 1/4 to that measurement. Transfer those measurements to the square lines on your template . Now your asking " How do I measure square from the string line to the side of the hull ?" ... Well there are a couple ways to do that .. I have been squaring stuff for over 30 years now so i could pretty much eyeball my tape square with the string and be close enough for the template .. If you don't want to guess then you will need a line at the start of your board that is square with your string running down the center of the boat . Hopefully you have already installed a piece of ply from the transom forward so you can just measure from the end of that board .. If not then you can place a temporary board where you are starting the bow piece from square with your string . Screw or tape in place so it does not move around on ya .. Eyeball your tape square with that board and mark your 6 or 12" increments on the side of the hull where the new board will hit .. Take into consideration the height of the deck when you get your marks because that can throw you off quite a bit .. Then measure from your center string line marks to the marks on the side of the hull ... Once every mark is transferred to your template just connect the dots and cut it out .. By adding a bit to your measurements that will allow you to fine tune the template to your hull ...
Hope this helps a little ! Good luck !

 

[TruckDrivingFool]

To add to what GM said - With your centerline in place also mark out a line along the hull sides where the top of the sole will be. Along that line mark every 6" (closer if you want) These marks will help you to stay square to your center line.

IMHO - for the most accurate of measuring keep in mind the closer together (along the centerline) you take your measurements the easier and more accurately you will be able to draw out the hull shape on your template or sole material.

Also make sure you make all your interval marks along the centerline by measuring away from the bow not by measuring from mark to mark as compounding error will creep in and throw you off.

 

[ondarvr]

Your best bet is to go with the same thickness of ply that was in there to start with, going thicker is of little value and won't make it last any longer, it will just cost and weigh more. As others have said, most epoxy isn't UV resistant, it will turn yellow and get ugly quickly when exposed to UV light, so it needs to be protected. You will also want some sort of non skid texture on it, so that will mess up the nice wood look.

 

[74starcraft']

Thank you all for the advice,i have been putting this off cause I was wanting to do it the right way,I took the old floor out it was 1/2 pressure treated with non marine carpet and the cuts were amateur aswell at best.they just filled in the gaps with putty where ever they cut to far away from the hull.I figured I would use the 3/4 ply cause I have a good amount left from using it to do the transom.also have a sheet of birch that I really had no use for.I don't mind switching to half inch it is not a problem I just figured that the 3/4 was the way to go for longevity.as far as the epoxy I have to purchase more anyway so if there is something better to use than I'm thinking I should probly get it.my goal here is to do it right.and only once.

 

[TruckDrivingFool]

Save that birch ply for a shop cabinet project as it's most likely not put together with glue for exterior use.

As Ondarvr said thickness won't translate into longevity how you seal it will. :thumb:

 

[ondarvr]

You can get UV resistant surf board epoxy, it will hold up better, but some type of nonskid product would protect normal epoxy, and would need to be done anyhow. There are simple low cost non skid options, or soft types that cost a little more, they all work. Birch ply isn't happy around water, it's just not made for that environment.

There are a couple options to look at when re-doing a small aluminum boat, you can go all out with the do it once so it will last forever line of thought, or do it simple and affordably, and then if it every needs to be done again you aren't ripping out a bunch of pricy stuff and going through all that work again.

To make it last forever you need to get all the details right, one simple unsealed screw hole or crack will allow water to reach the wood and then it's no better than a cheap job. Or you can use all man made products that don't rot, this works well but can be cost prohibitive.

The other option is to get an OK grade of plywood, cut it to fit, paint it with porch paint and non skid, then don't secure it place very well, make it so it can be removed easily. This way the ply can be stored indoors during the winter or offseason, plus for a hundred bucks and half of a Saturday it can be replaced if and when it needs to be.

 

[74starcraft']

Ok,again I thank you all for the advice,I have put some thought into it and I think I'm going to stick with the 3/4.the reason being when the 1/2 in was in there I could feel it giving under my feet,also I'm concerned about the 1/2 in wanting too bow from either the process of sealing it or the sun.as I am not going to be securing it down with nails or screws for the purpose of pulling it out in the off season but also because the screws or nails will give water an access point.the 3/4 is only a 20 pound difference,I think the heavy feel of it will be more beneficial to me than the 40 pound differance in the whole boat.I'm not worried about going fast I just want to get where I'm going and get back dosnt matter to me how fast I get there.I do need some help with the sealing tho.I am not using epoxy.

 

[GA_Boater]

You're going to leave the deck loose? What boat are you working on?

 

[74starcraft']

It's a 14 foot deep v aluminum ,yes I'm not going to secure it to the hull,I think the weight of the ply and the size of the sheets being 3 they shouldn't be a problem.if I come into a problem which would probly only be wind on the road I can run a brace from the bottom of the seat supports.

 

[ondarvr]

Unless the slight flex in the 1/2" bothers you, it is of no other concern, there's a difference between flex and failure. I assume it didn't fail in the many years it's been there since new. 40 lbs in a small aluminum boat is a significant weight difference.

Not securing the floor worries some people, but it's not much of a concern, there are many non intrusive ways to make sure it doesn't go anywhere.

 

[74starcraft']

I'm afraid it may bow,the floor that I took out you could tell that it bowed because they nailed some aluminum sheeting over the seams to keep it down.I want to keep a natural wood finish look to it so I can't hide it if it does decide to bow.as far as the weight I have lightened it up significantly with a smaller outboard,losing the battery,all the water soaked foam that was in the bottom and the side console that some one decided to make out of diamond plate.very heavy stuff,so the extra 40 pounds I'm adding to the floor should not be too bad.

 

[ondarvr]

the weight should be fine if you're taking out that much stuff.

I'm not sure how you're going to keep that natural wood look, as mentioned before, epoxy and UV don't like each other (actually UV likes epoxy a great deal, its a one sided relationship), plus you need some kind of non skid finish, just adding the non skid finish to clear epoxy will compromise the look significantly.

 

[sphelps]

How about just using a good quality deck stain ... If it starts to wear down just give it a bit of sanding and another coat of stain ...
Or use Woody's old timers recipe .. Keep the boat covered when not in use and it should last plenty long ...

 

[74starcraft']

I'm not very informed when it comes to epoxy,and polyester resin,and fiberglass products,so I just did a little research last night,I guess you guy's are right I can use the polyester resin with the csm cloth and get a clear uv and waterproof look,so I can use 1/2 ply ,and for the non skid I'm thinking of just doing some 1/4 in strapping of some sort at 12 inch intervals and secure them with csm or something aswell,I don't know I will have to think about it.I have the picture in my head if I can only bring it to life.I think it would look pretty great.

 

[ondarvr]

I think what you will find, is that there is no real good way to get a fishing boat floor to have a clear coating of some type so you can see the wood grain and still have it function well for fishing. Polyester laminating resin isn't clear, it adds color, using glass will add more color, for a non skid surface to work well the entire surface should be covered with it, or if not fully covered, then only small spaces between the sections of non skid.

Even if you do get a nice clear coating (maybe UV resistant epoxy with a 4 or 6oz cloth) it will start looking worse right away, dirty sandy shoes, tackle boxes, bait, anchors, UV, fuel, etc, will all scratch, stain and discolor the surface starting on the first trip, so you won't be seeing the wood grain for long. It's not that I don't thinks its a good look, only that no one has really succeeded in making it work, lots of other areas on boats are done the way you want, but floors aren't one of them.

 

[pro-crastinator]

No Title

Just a couple of thoughts -
Flotation under the floor - you really could use it, which makes it necessary to secure the floor to the boat.
The wood look - I went with a slate colored floor and got the wood look from the seats.

My boat below is a 14 ft - 1965 starcraft Marlin
The plank seats are 2x12's with ends resawn to fit mounting brackets.
Notice the floor - its 5/8 ply with "wings" screwed and epoxied - to solve two problems - rear of boat floor needed to be wider than 48 inches and center stringer was 1/2 inch higher that the corresponding mounting points on the right and left side of the boat.