Plywood floor replacement

[Peter9Do]

Hello all, I have picked up my first boat last weekend and for as much as I just wanted to dig right in I decided it would be in my best intentions to look around and learn as much as I can before taking a hammer to this thing! lol! Anyways, I'm going to start my project by gutting the inside. I'm going to replace the carpeting and without even taking the carpeting off I think it would be a good idea for me to replace the plywood as well. I was hopping I could get some details on how you guys might have gone about this. So, far this is what I have.

-You want to try to keep the old carpet in the best condition as possible to use it as a template for the new plywood as carpeting.
- As for taking out the wood, I'm not too sure on how to go about this without causing to much damage, I was going to see if any parts were rotted out completely and just start there, see what's under and either take out the hammer or just take a saw to it. I just don't want to damage the fiberglass under the plywood.

I plan to start breaking down everything this weekend coming up as long as I have a good background in understanding what I will be doing.

Questions I have as of now are:
-What's the best way to remove the wood flooring?
-What would you say the best adhesive is for putting the new rug onto the new ply?
- Is there anything I need to be looking out for, as I tear this floor out? Anything I need to be careful around, anything I shouldn't do, any little tricks that you wish you would have known for your first time that you think might be helpful for me to know.
-If anyone knows of any other posts, videos or any further information on where I can see or read about this process it would be excellent and a GREAT help.

The boat is a 1978 MFG Gypsy 15. The entire body of the boat is in GREAT condition, there are a couple of spots where someone banged the anchor into it but other that that there's not even any water stains on it. I'm just trying to do a little updating on the interior and put some electronics in it as well to spice it up and put my little twist on it. I have included some pictures of the interior so you can see what I'm working with. I have not had a chance to get all the leaves out as of yet, but have removed all the garbage items in there. Well, if you have any questions please ask away, I will check this post as often as I can for your replies. Thank you in advanced for any help you are willing to give.

 

[a1964rn]

Re: Plywood floor replacement

Welcome to iboats!
Why are you wanting to replace the plywood? Are there soft spots? If there are no soft spots, then I wouldn't. The plywood floorin should be fiberglassed in. In other words, there should be no plywood showing. It SHOULD be completely covered in fiberglass. If you have any soft spots, you should check the stringers for rot as well. If you DO decide to replace the plywood, be prepared to do extensive repairs. Go to some of the posts where people are rebuilding boats, and look through them and at the pics. You'll see what I'm talking about.
Good luck either way.

 

[Peter9Do]

Re: Plywood floor replacement

Welcome to iboats!
Why are you wanting to replace the plywood? Are there soft spots? If there are no soft spots, then I wouldn't. The plywood floorin should be fiberglassed in. In other words, there should be no plywood showing. It SHOULD be completely covered in fiberglass. If you have any soft spots, you should check the stringers for rot as well. If you DO decide to replace the plywood, be prepared to do extensive repairs. Go to some of the posts where people are rebuilding boats, and look through them and at the pics. You'll see what I'm talking about.
Good luck either way.

Well, what worries me is that the last owner has taken the boat out not once but twice without the plug in it, so I'm shooting for the worst case scenario. I will have to check a little more thoroughly for soft spots though, and get back to you on that one. I olny have weekends to work on this so if I was going to rip up the plywood, I was going to start it this weekend. Instead I will check for soft spots (tomorrow) and will just plan on taking out all the seating, molding and the carpet this weekend.

What kind of damage can be caused by driving the boat around without the plug (other than taking on water, what does/can it harm)? I'm sorry if I sound so ignorant about these things, but I'm just as new to boats as I am to this forum. Before this I have owned kayaks for the last five years and enjoy kayak fishing. Seeing that I live in Buffalo again, I would like to hit larger bodies of water and I think this nice little tri-haul will do the trick. Anyways, I have looked into some of the other posts, however I should have specified what the best practices are when it comes to this procedure. Thanks for your reply and thank you for the welcome!

 

[a1964rn]

Re: Plywood floor replacement

Here's a couple of links to restores of your model of boat. It'll give you an idea of how it's put together.
http://forums.iboats.com/boat-restoration-building-hull-repair/1978-mfg-gypsy-rebuild-557457.html
http://forums.iboats.com/boat-resto...15-tri-hull-restore-advice-needed-263121.html

 

[eaglejim]

Re: Plywood floor replacement

When I bought my "77" sportcraft tri-hull 4 years ago I did not know until took the carpet out that there was a soft spot it was a crack in the fiberglass I made it work but now here I am rebuilding floor and transom which I knew that was going to happen since we got stuck in a rainstorm and pulled up to a boathouse and I didn't realize that the roof line didn't extend out enough and all that water from the roof wound up in my boat,the people here are great and have a lot on knowledge.I am a little ahead of you so it will give you an idea the fun you are going to have.

 

[tallcanadian]

Re: Plywood floor replacement

Hey 1964, that boat looks really familiar..lol. Nice boat Peter9. Same colour interior as mine. Identical. The outside the same too? Very nice.

 

[Peter9Do]

Re: Plywood floor replacement

Thanks SO much for all the replies! I'm going to have to wait for my lunch break to start looking at all the links you guys provided me with. I'm sure I'll shoot more questions at you guys though in time for my much anticipated weekend of disaster. I really can't wait to sit in my garage while it's under 40F degrees out (I'm actaully looking forward to this)! I'll post again soon! Thanks again!!!!

 

[tallcanadian]

Re: Plywood floor replacement

Thanks SO much for all the replies! I'm going to have to wait for my lunch break to start looking at all the links you guys provided me with. I'm sure I'll shoot more questions at you guys though in time for my much anticipated weekend of disaster. I really can't wait to sit in my garage while it's under 40F degrees out (I'm actaully looking forward to this)! I'll post again soon! Thanks again!!!!

Check out Fiberglassics and go to the library. You will find lots of stuff on MFG boats. Thanks for the pics. Our boats are twins.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: Plywood floor replacement

You're doing the right thing, and what everybody should do when buying an older boat... unfortunately, they don't.

By lifting the decking you'll be able to inspect your foam and stringers for waterlogging and rot. You should also core sample your transom down low to check for rot too.

If everything is fine below deck and with your transom you can rest assured that your boat is safe and seaworthy... instead of worrying what evils lie below. If something needs repair, you'll be there and ready to do it.

If you need any technical advise the good folks here are always ready to help in that department.

To cut out your decking, you can try to do it with the cap on... but it'll be much easier if you remove the cap.

Use a circular (Skill) saw with the blade set just deep enough to penetrate the bottom of the decking (probably 5/8" deep). Use a Sawsall to cut the corners the circular couldn't reach, but pay close attention to the depth of your blade so as not to penetrate the hull. Remove the decking with a flat bar.

 

[Peter9Do]

Re: Plywood floor replacement

Okay, so this morning I was able to run outside while my son took a short nap to check if I could find any soft spots in the floor. Honestly, everything felt excellent. There was no play when you bang on it nothing felt like you were sinking in. and no obvious signs of rot. I remind myself that there is a layer of fiberglass on the top that adds to the structural support and maybe that's in good condition and the wood under it in rotted out. I can't tell you how bad I would like to just pull back that carpet now to take a peek. However my son is not permitting me at this point to do so. Again, I checked the transom and it looks to be in excellent condition. No visible signs of rot or cracks. Which is putting me at ease somewhat. Well, at this point I guess the only thing I can do is wait until Saturday afternoon when I start removing the carpet to see the true condition. I feel so uneasy about this for some reason... Now I have been speaking to TallCanadian for a couple of days (which I should add he is AWESOME!) and knowing that him along with this forum is here to answer any questions I may have throughout this journey makes me feel a lot better. Again, I can't thank you guys enough for the help!

By the way, what's the best adhesive to use for the carpeting when I go to put new carpet on? I know I'm a little a head of myself, I was just wondering though.

Thank you,
Peter

 

[a1964rn]

Re: Plywood floor replacement

Hey 1964, that boat looks really familiar..lol. Nice boat Peter9. Same colour interior as mine. Identical. The outside the same too? Very nice.

Yeah TC, I thought Peter9 would be able to see how his boat was put together by lookin' at yours. I had to do some exploring to see how mine was put together.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: Plywood floor replacement

The best carpet adhesive is a solvent based contact cement like Weldwood Contact Cement, it is much more water resistant than the indoor/outdoor latex based carpet adhesives.

When working with any carpet adhesive keep in mind they have a temperature range for application and generally won't work or bond well below 65*F. This will be in the directions on the tub or can.

There's some more stuff to ensuring a good carpet installation, but I'll wait until you get to that stage.

 

[Peter9Do]

Re: Plywood floor replacement

The best carpet adhesive is a solvent based contact cement like Weldwood Contact Cement, it is much more water resistant than the indoor/outdoor latex based carpet adhesives.

When working with any carpet adhesive keep in mind they have a temperature range for application and generally won't work or bond well below 65*F. This will be in the directions on the tub or can.

There's some more stuff to ensuring a good carpet installation, but I'll wait until you get to that stage.

Thanks for the info! I guess I will be installing the carpet come spring. I live in Buffalo, New York so our winters are mighty cold! Hell it's in the mid to low 30's right now. What is the cure time on this product, if you know off the top of your head? If not I'll look it up in the AM. I need to get some sleep, it's going to be an early morning with the kid (7:30am) rolls around fast... so off to bed I go!

 

[Peter9Do]

Re: Plywood floor replacement

Okay, so I know this is not the carpet but I got to work on this boat this weekend, I pulled back a very small section of carpet, but I have to remove the rest of the panels. My brother in law staoped by today to let me borrow his pressure washer so I was side tracked cleaning the outside of the boat today (that looked like a dull POS). So, after hitting it with the pressure washer, I stopped by my friends body shop and picked up some 3M buffing compound and one of his buffers and went to work! I was buffing for almost 4 hours, but I got that paint looking like new! Nice and shinny, I took a couple of pictures to share. I also got all the seats and everything out, along with most of the molding. I realized how much my arms were hurting from buffing so long so I decided to call it a day a little earlier than I would have liked to. Also, I have all winter to work on this I don't want to do everything in one weekend. Well needless to say after the first wash, buff and some tearing down, she is really starting to clean up. I can't wait to see what she will look like when she's done!

 

[tallcanadian]

Re: Plywood floor replacement

Wow, what a difference. That looks very nice and clean. Imagine what a little elbow grease does.