Removing flooring from Zodiac Futura Mark III

[0976claxton]

Hi guys - I'm trying to get the flooring removed from my futura mkIII and I'm having a hell of a time getting the wood section out. is there a technique to doing this? it's wedged in there pretty tight. crowbar? crowsfoot?

 

[Sea Rider]

Re: Removing flooring from Zodiac Futura Mark III

Is the wood section the one located at bow, then comes the rest which are all aluminum floorboards ? Does this model have wooden side joiners ?

 

[0976claxton]

Re: Removing flooring from Zodiac Futura Mark III

Is the wood section the one located at bow, then comes the rest which are all aluminum floorboards ? Does this model have wooden side joiners ?

this is the one with two wood panels in the front and aluminum flooring in the back. sorry i should've indicated HD. i have the boat off the trailer right now and i'm reinitiating my wrestle with the floor. i'm guessing that the entire boat must be deflated, not just the front tubes. i know that the front wood floor panels are supposed to pop up and then disjoint from the aluminum floor (i think). should i be prying on anything? should i be lubing it up? or, should i just talk sweet to the boat?

 

[Sea Rider]

Re: Removing flooring from Zodiac Futura Mark III

Deflate sib at least 3/4 of it's total pressure on all chambers, lift second alum pannel from transom and remove from sib, push remaining alum pannels towads transom, to expose wooden pannels, now easier to remove, if side alum joiners from wooden pannels are stuck, rinse with mixture of fresh water and some vinegar added to it, let stand to penetrate, then remove.

Happy Boating

 

[nobrainsd]

Re: Removing flooring from Zodiac Futura Mark III

The Futura has the two wooden front floorboards held in place by tension. The back three aluminum sections press forward onto the wooden sections. That combined with the inflated tubes is all that holds them in place. To remove the front wooden sections you need to lower the tubes pressure. Remove the aluminum stringers from both sides of the aluminum floor.Raise up the aluminum floor sections where the first and second panels join, releasing the tension on the floor section and then it is easy to remove the front wooden pieces. I have not used the wooden oar under the boat trick described in the manual. I have had no problem assembling the flooring without that aid. I can also remove the floor while the boat is deflated on my trailer because my supports are under the floor rather than the tube. The weight of the hull keeps the transom and outboard in place while the floor is removed. Whether on the ground or the trailer you can release the two front floor sections by just "tenting" the two aluminum floor sections. It isn't necessary to physically remove the sections unless you want to. Handy for me with my permanent console assembly attached to the aluminum flooring. It is a pain to haul that section all of the way out. Here are the applicable manual pages.

 

[0976claxton]

Re: Removing flooring from Zodiac Futura Mark III

Thanks for the reply fellas. My post was like sending out a call to batman. I was hoping someone would magically respond before I threw my tools all over the driveway. Of course, I know better, but I was literally shaking with frustration and anger last weekend. I ended up calling Inflatable Boat Specialist in Ventura and politely asking them for a little guidance. That's when they told me about the side stringers on my aluminum floor. Having purchased this boat used and never having to do this before, I never would have thought of that. After popping those side stringers out, the rest was easy. My frustration and anger just melted away (also thanks to my Tecate). Anyway, now I have a small hole to repair on the bottom side of my inflatable keel. It's in the worst place imaginable. As a temporary fix, I've taken a bicycle tube and a strap and just made a tourniquet over the pinhole. Seemed to work for the short term, so that I could get out on the ocean on Sunday. Now I just have to find another available weekend to repair it correctly.