Need Help With Floor!!

[HAPPY GILMORE]

HI GUYS,
Im new here. Hello to everyone. I need some help with my floor.I have a 1991 wellcraft 18ft fish. The floor is solid fiberglass on top with no cracks,etc. underneath it has wood wrapped in heavy fiberglass in good shape. The floor is strong everywhere except in one place in the back corner. Im 6foot 3 or so..around 230 lbs. and when i step on it it flexes a little. The fiberglass is strong and wood from what i can tell looks good. My question is.. is there anything i can do to stiffen that one place. maybe go underneath.it close to the bilge area so i have some access to it..i was thinking maybe fix some supports out of fiberglass and foam,just something to stiffen it a little bit. any ideas ? thanks for help

 

[JB]

Re: Need Help With Floor!!

Howdy, Happy.

Welcome to iboats.

That's a DECK, not a floor. Floors are in buildings, decks are in boats.

There is a good chance that you have the beginnnings of rot. Not a good thing. It is like a cancer. . .if not stopped it just grows and grows, and when you go in there it will be a lot more than you expected.

I think you need to investigate.

Sorry for the negative news.

 

[sbklf]

Re: Need Help With Floor!!

Are deck and sole the same thing?

 

[seafrog]

Re: Need Help With Floor!!

Quote: There is a good chance that you have the beginnnings of rot. Not a good thing. It is like a cancer. . .if not stopped it just grows and grows, and when you go in there it will be a lot more than you expected.

Indeed...been there, done THAT! Better get in there and take care of it. Unfortunately, you'll likely find more than just a little floor rot. Get ready for the proverbial, "can o worms"....

 

[erikgreen]

Re: Need Help With Floor!!

Are deck and sole the same thing?

In a single deck boat, yes. Deck is really analogous to "floor" in a multi-story building. A sole is really the top level horizontal member in a boat, the one that's exposed to weather and water, and that you walk on.

If you can go below decks (IE, there's a sole or deck above you that you can walk on) then the thing you're walking on can be called a deck.

Most people tend to use the terms interchangeably now though.

Erik