Replacing floor under the bow rider.

[gotons]

I pulled back the carpet today on my bowrider where the bow meets the rest of the boat at the walkthrough windshield and noticed that the wood under the fiberglass in the front MIGHT be a little soft. It looks like it's a little damp, but I would like to check on it. The rest of the flooring in the boat is new and has been replaced (not covered with new plywood). I've read elsewhere that the best way to know if the wood has ever been replaced up there is if the fiberglass is gone on the floor and it's bare wood.

I'm assuming the only way to check this would be to remove the fiberglass that is on the floor on the bow. That right?

If I wasn't clear as to what I'm asking, I'll try to take pictures today and post them later this evening.

 

[oops!]

Re: Replacing floor under the bow rider.

well thats a cryin shame aint it !

its possible that, if done previously, the wood will be bare. (not if they did it on this site) but thats not a good judge......forget trying to tell if its been done previously.....just find out if it needs to be done.

in order to do it correctly.......you would need to lift the cap to get at that area.

thats a lot of work......and worth the trouble.

you could just cut the fiberglass skin out and replace the sole under it. but when you put it back togeather it will be an ugly repair when you try to re-attach the old peice of glass/gellcoated decking to the main bow cap.

i hope that helps.....cheers
oops

 

[tmcalavy]

Re: Replacing floor under the bow rider.

Drill a hole and check the bit shavings for moisture, you can go deeper to check water intrusion in the foam...just don't bore through the hull.

 

[gotons]

Re: Replacing floor under the bow rider.

If I drill a small hole to do a sample testing on the floor, and it's good, what is the best stuff to use to fill the small hole? Epoxy? If it's bad, I'll be back to seek a little guidance as to popping the cap off....oy vey.

I'm a first time boat owner, but i'm very hands-on once I get a good grasp of whats going on. I've always been this way with vehicles I've owned (first thing I always do is go out and buy a Chilton's for the vehicle and drop it under the drivers seat). Those books are great...cracked the head on a vehicle of mine when I was younger, and I was able to replace the head with the book, so I don't mind getting dirty. This site will serve as my book!

Thanks for all the help guys, you have no idea how much it's appreciated.

 

[Chris1956]

Re: Replacing floor under the bow rider.

You may seal the hole with epoxy resin, marinetex putty or poly resin or marine poly putty.

Pulling the cap off the bowrider may be a bit tricky. It is a complicated mold with the sides and floor. Try to anticipate the weak spots (just behind the windshield, I would think), and make sure to provide support in this area.

 

[gotons]

Re: Replacing floor under the bow rider.

Alright, as soon as the frost disappears, i'm going to go out and drill two 1/8" holes. One close to where the windshield is and one at the very front of the bow. I'll let you know what I find and if it's bad, I'll need a rough estimate of how much beer I should purchase. Thanks guys.

 

[gotons]

Re: Replacing floor under the bow rider.

It's warmed up to a paltry 33 degrees, so I went out and drilled the two holes. The one in the very front I drilled the small hole through the FG and stopped. I wanted to clean the bit before I went farther so I could see clearly what coming out without having any FG on the bit. Well, I drilled down a little farther. I went down about the length of the bit ( 1 3/4" roughly and pulled out a white powdery substance. I never hit wood. Any idea what this could be? The one I drilled towards the windshields came out alright.

I pulled the ol' shop vac out to clean up where I pulled the carpet back and it died. Hooray! I get to get a new one! That's where I'm headed now, I'll clean up the area, take some pictures and see what you guys think...

 

[gotons]

Re: Replacing floor under the bow rider.

Well, here are the pictures...

This first picture is the overall area of concern. There was a piece of plywood screwed to this area and covered in carpet. I noticed it was a little soft, so I unscrewed the wood and took it out.

Here is the area near the windshield

And with the carpet pulled back to reveal....this.

Under the fiberglass

Another view...

In this picture, the hole in the middle is the one that I drilled to test what was underneath. The wood that came out appeared to be dry. The two holes on the outside are where the plywood was screwed down.

 

[gotons]

Re: Replacing floor under the bow rider.

This last picture, shows the other hole I drilled, also in the middle. I drilled down and through the fiberglass. Cleaned the bit and finished going through and out came a white powdery substance.

I'm thinking this all adds up to bad news. Should I start drinking now?

 

[tmcalavy]

Re: Replacing floor under the bow rider.

The white powdery substance in the front hole was flotation foam. Good to go if it was dry, and not damp. Think I'd drill a couple of holes near the two outside holes where the plywood was screwed down. Sure looks soft/rotted in that area. Guess the ply was there to give it some body. If you take a mallet with a wooden handle and rap the deck where you peeled the carpet back, does it make dull thud/thump or a crisp rapping sound? The thud indicates soft/saturated deck, crisp rap means dry/woody deck. Keep your fingers crossed.

 

[gotons]

Re: Replacing floor under the bow rider.

The powdery stuff was definitely dry. Good news. I drilled a few more holes like you said and one hole pulled out some wood that was a little damp. Bad news. It also pulled up some carpet through the hole. Surely they didn't carpet the deck under the fiberglass in the bow. To me, that seems like it would just promote dampness if any were to ever get in there. Is there a purpose for that?

I guess if I'm going to do this, I'm going to do it right. I still wish there was a way to do it without pulling the cap off. Any other ideas?

 

[tmcalavy]

Re: Replacing floor under the bow rider.

Read the Skanky Beast thread by Jason J before you get started...nice detail on refitting a bowrider. Yours won't need as much, but it's a cool read.

 

[tmcalavy]

Re: Replacing floor under the bow rider.

Forgot to post the link:
http://recaffeinated.net/skankybeast/page1.html