Plywood under the floor?

[97fordrunner]

Hi all, so I decided to open the proverbial can of worms on my '73 19' Larson trip hull. I pulled the fuel tank so I could pull up the floor and see what kind of shape the stringers were in, however to my surprise the floor wasn't just screwed down it was also glued which I found curious, after I got it pulled up there was plywood under the floor!! Is that normal? Sadly it probably can't be considered plywood any more due to its water content. Oddly enough the top floor is in good shape as is the carpet and could easily be reused.
Is this something some one tried hiding or is this how they were built

 

[Woodonglass]

The PO did an "OVERLAY" instead of Pulling up the Rotten floor. Your 43 year old boat probably needs to have the stringers and transom looked at too! If the Old Floor is that bad, more than likely your stringers and Transom need some attention.

 

[97fordrunner]

Yeah, I knew the transom was bad in spots and assumed stringers to. Dang boat is probably twice as heavy with all this saturated wood

 

[Pusher]

Dang boat is probably twice as heavy with all this saturated wood

I bet the closed cell foam underneath is completely water-logged too. Mine was and weighed a lot. I wouldn't break into the can until you're boating season is done.... but that's just my style.

 

[97fordrunner]

Yeah I told my wife we might take a really easy cruise of the lakes another time or two but I wanna get the jump on it while it's still warm so I can have it done no problem by spring

 

[DeepBlue2010]

I wouldn't take it out at all if I were you. You were given the knowledge of the boat status for a reason. From now on, you just simply can't say I did not know.

I would sign off for the season and start the rebuild ASAP but this is just me. Your boat, your life, your call

 

[97fordrunner]

Yeah I know it, I'm working on an alternative boat to use this fall so I can hammer on this on my week odd I have coming up

 

[mickyryan]

what deep blue said once you know it takes all of the fun out of it , kinda like when you bought that brand new compressor and figured you would ease into tellin her about it, and they emailed her the damn home depot receipt she calls and says we need to talk when you get home... and the whole trip home you are like ugh cause you know ... sorry that was my story carry on you get the point I think

 

[Pusher]

If it's a safety issue that's another thing, but heck, we used to have a sailboat that was made out of Styrofoam. No, no fiberglass, no wood..... just Styrofoam.

I'm kindda stubborn but maybe someone can convince me why the danger is so imminent based on the info given.

 

[spoilsofwar]

How much horsepower did the motor on your styrofoam sailboat with rotten transom have? How many waves was it slamming into?

 

[jbcurt00]

Read several 1000 topics about boats w rotten decks, transoms and stringers Pusher.

IMO its more about what the OP doesnt know, then what he does at this point. How bad are the stringers, exactly how much of the transom is soft, exactly why did the PO deckover the factory deck and how long ago?

No way anyone, expert boat re-builder, OP, us online or anyone else to KNOW when its going to fail. We just know it will, following 1000s of rebuilds and working on boats tells us it will. There is plenty of photographic evidence to support that it will.

What day, time or trip do you want to pick as THE big day the transom tears off? Anyday? Who do you want to put at risk?

Even if its just you solo in the boat when it goes, 1st responders get put at risk, as does the salvage dive team that has to recover you or the boat.

 

[DeepBlue2010]

what deep blue said once you know it takes all of the fun out of it , kinda like when you bought that brand new compressor and figured you would ease into tellin her about it, and they emailed her the damn home depot receipt she calls and says we need to talk when you get home... and the whole trip home you are like ugh cause you know ... sorry that was my story carry on you get the point I think

Man! This sounds 100% hypothetical, 200% made up story just to make the point. ROFLMAO

 

[DeepBlue2010]

If it's a safety issue that's another thing, but heck, we used to have a sailboat that was made out of Styrofoam. No, no fiberglass, no wood..... just Styrofoam.

I'm kindda stubborn but maybe someone can convince me why the danger is so imminent based on the info given.

As in the saying "to each his own", we can say to each boat what it was designed for. I have no idea what was the design of your SF boat looks like and how the designer, engineer or naval architect (if any) accounted for supporting and counter acting all the different forces acting on a vessel while underway.

For the specific boat we are discussing, the structural elements that were supposed to support this boat are obviously gone which makes the boat structurally unstable. It is just as simple as that.

 

[Pusher]

Yeah, I knew the transom was bad in spots and assumed stringers to. Dang boat is probably twice as heavy with all this saturated wood

We don't even know if this boat has stringers let alone if they're rotten do we? I'm not arguing for or against him going out but I'd probably be fine with a couple more trips if I kept it at trolling speed. That is just me though.

I tried finding pics of the SF sail boat but couldn't find anything like it. This is as close as I could get.
It didn't seem to care much for the rowing motion when we got caught on an outgoing tide. I'm pretty sure the entire marina was watching us too.

 

[Pusher]

How much horsepower did the motor on your styrofoam sailboat with rotten transom have? How many waves was it slamming into?

This sailboat was one of those sailboats that sailed instead of motored and it's transom was made of styrofoam as was the rest of the boat. We did take it out in the bay going about 20 mph with 1-2 foot chop, so whatever force that equates to. I remember it as a 10-12 foot boat and there were three of us in it at one point.... teenagers that is.

 

[jbcurt00]

Actually, we do know it has stringers, its a 73 Larson, not a new or exotic constructed boat, its a

As many as you can
As fast as you can

Constructed boat, that is likely best described as: haphazardly constructed, like most 60s thru 80s boats.

Risk you and your own if you so choose, but, IMO its reckless to suggest others to do so.

 

[Pusher]

Okay. I don't know Larson's. From what I can tell mine doesn't have stringers. Guess it must be an odd-ball.

You have your answer 97fordrunner. It's not safe...

 

[mickyryan]

Man! This sounds 100% hypothetical, 200% made up story just to make the point. ROFLMAO

I has receipt to prove it will post on my topic I survived when I explained all the things it could do for her

 

[97fordrunner]

Wow I sure missed a lot of action here I guess, anyways I am working on getting a build thread, motors out and outdrive off

 

[lckstckn2smknbrls]

Pictures, pictures and more pictures.
Please.