Replacing my deck

[texasvet54]

Hello All,

I have a 1992 Pro Craft 170 Combo bass boat that needs the decking replaced. It looks like I’ll have to put plywood over the top of some of the older decking because as I try to pull it up, the styrofoam floatation wants to come up with it.

Rather than put down plywood and then carpet over it, has anyone ever put Trex decking down with no carpet?

I’ve pulled up & cut out as much of the old plywood as I can as shown in the attached photo.

I’d appreciate any advice or tips.

thanks,
Texasvet

 

[KJM]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you likely have rotten stringers, maybe transom, and wet foam. I'd take the foam out and have a good look. I definitely wouldn't put anything back over rotten floor parts. I was also wondering about the Trex decking for a floor. Is it water tight between the boards? I priced it and its very expensive, thats what kind of turned me off from it. Hopefully someone else has tried it and can give an opinion.

 

[Scott Danforth]

trex, otherwise known as recycled soda bottles requires a structure of wood under it when building a deck because it is not structural.

the wood deck in your boat is structural.

you choice is exterior plywood at $30 a sheet, marine plywood at $80 a sheet, or one of the custom engineered deck materials such as coosa at $300 a sheet. trex will not cut it.

as KJM indicated, your transom and stringers are also rotted. the deck is always the last thing to rot.

with your boat, I hope you made a cradle for it. you also need to pull the cap to give yourself room. you will need to pull the drive and motor to replace the transom and stringer

 

[Chris1956]

Trex and other composite decking materials is real dense and heavy, real weak, and cannot be waterproofed, at least, I cannot think of a way to do it.

It is therefore unsuitable for use in a small boat, like yours.

 

[texasvet54]

Thanks all!!!

How can I get a good look at the transom?

Rebuilding the transom & deck sounds expensive, especially for a boat that would probably only retail for $2K if it was in very good condition.

there’s a boat company in town. I wonder if I drove it by there whether or not they could give me an opinion on what I should do with it. They’d probably say that I should burn it.

Also, from the portion of the stringers that I can see, the stringers look aged and like they were wet, but they are dry now and they appear to be solid.

thanks,
Texasvet

 

[Scott Danforth]

if you have to pay someone to do your transom, you may not restore it

expect $2-3000 for a typical boat hull restoration. that is with you doing the work yourself. that is the cost of plywood, resin, cloth, foam, and incidentals. if you have to pay someone, the price is usually $10-15K

at teh top of the forum are the stickies. the last sticky in this forum is something you should go thru

https://forums.iboats.com/forum/boa...r/295740-how-to-s-and-other-great-information

specifically look at links 14, 15, 18, 2, 3, 4a, and 4b in that order. go thru them in their entirety. watch every video, look at every picture.

 

[texasvet54]

Wow!!!! That’s a lot of info & instruction. Thanks!!!

i’m pretty handy with mechanical stuff, but I’ve never done fiberglass work and I don’t know that I want to start this point in my life. I was hoping to just lay some marine plywood over the top of it and see if I could get another few years out of it.

i contacted a friend of mine that works at the boat yard and I’m hoping I can take it to him tomorrow to get an opinion on whether I should repair it or not.

if it’s junk, I may just sign the title over to him get rid of it.

thanks,
texasvet

 

[GSPLures]

The worse part is grinding the hull, if you can get past that the rest is not that bad. For the amount of money you spend to redo the transom, stringers, and floor you will not get a better boat. If it cost you 5k which would be really high you can buy another boat that will need to have the same work done. As long as the motor is in good condition for about 3k you can get another 30 years out of the boat. If you just redeck the boat you may get 1 season out of it. Possibly worse depending on the stringers and transom which could make your boat future structure for other bass fishermen to fish.

 

[texasvet54]

“Possibly worse depending on the stringers and transom which could make your boat future structure for other bass fishermen to fish.”

I like it!!!

Last night, I took a good look at the transom and I don’t see anything but solid fiberglass. I tried to shake the engine, but it is rocksolid. How do I check the transom for damage?


texasvet

 

[GSPLures]

“Possibly worse depending on the stringers and transom which could make your boat future structure for other bass fishermen to fish.”

I like it!!!

Last night, I took a good look at the transom and I don’t see anything but solid fiberglass. I tried to shake the engine, but it is rocksolid. How do I check the transom for damage?


texasvet

Drill a few core samples along the bottom and look at the shavings. Dont go all the way through, but if you do it can be fixed. If the wood is dry you can fill the holes with thickened resin. I would also do the same for the stringers. Its better to fill a hole and know what is in there.

 

[texasvet54]

Well, I talked to a local business that does boat & fiberglass repair & he said for the deck & stringers it would be $3k to $5k or more and if the transom needs repair, it could be a lot more.

I may be back to just putting some marine plywood down and carpeting it to get a few more years of use out of it before I sink it.

texasvet

 

[jbcurt00]

Please dont do a deck over, false sense of security

 

[GSPLures]

Please read this active post, which is proof what can happen with rot
https://forums.iboats.com/forum/boa...-88-wellcraft-nova-23-xl-stringer-replacement

I see you are a veteran (thank you). I am also, it would be ashame to survive serving your country to die from cutting corners

 

[Scott Danforth]

Well, I talked to a local business that does boat & fiberglass repair & he said for the deck & stringers it would be $3k to $5k or more and if the transom needs repair, it could be a lot more.

I may be back to just putting some marine plywood down and carpeting it to get a few more years of use out of it before I sink it.

texasvet

if you value you life, I would not do that. I know of too many boats where they sunk because the hulls split.

as stated, the floor is always the last to rot, long after the transom and stringers.

it seriously is not that hard of a project to do it right, and have a safe boat.

 

[texasvet54]

Well, I talked to a local business that does boat & fiberglass repair & he said for the deck & stringers it would be $3k to $5k or more and if the transom needs repair, it could be a lot more.

I may be back to just putting some marine plywood down and carpeting it to get a few more years of use out of it before I sink it.

texasvet

 

[texasvet54]

Thanks to all for all of the good info and thanks to GSPLures for noticing that I’m a veteran.

I took my boat to the local Boat/Fiberglass shop and here are the results. The transom is in decent condition, but certainly not new, the streamers are fair, but certainly have some water damage. To replace the transom, the streamers and the deck, I’m looking at $7,500.

What can I get for a running Mercury 1992 90 hp two-stroke engine and a 1992 single-axle boat trailer with good tires?

 

[Scott Danforth]

Thanks to all for all of the good info and thanks to GSPLures for noticing that I’m a veteran.

I took my boat to the local Boat/Fiberglass shop and here are the results. The transom is in decent condition, but certainly not new, the streamers are fair, but certainly have some water damage. To replace the transom, the streamers and the deck, I’m looking at $7,500.

What can I get for a running Mercury 1992 90 hp two-stroke engine and a 1992 single-axle boat trailer with good tires?

thats why most of us do it ourselves

your motor and trailer if sold separately may fetch up to $1k total between the two. with the boat still attached, $50

 

[texasvet54]

“your motor and trailer if sold separately may fetch up to $1k total between the two. with the boat still attached, $50”

Where would I take the boat to get rid of it? There is a salvage yard in town that I’ve taken a refrigerator to and I think that they gave me $4 for it. It wasn’t worth the effort, but I had to get rid of it somewhere.

thanks,
Texasvet

 

[texasvet54]

“I see you are a veteran (thank you). I am also”i

Hello GPSLures,

I just reread the thread and I must’ve missed that you were also a veteran on the first read. Thanks to you also for your service!!

A short veteran story:

I was talking to a fellow veteran before a meeting about his recent C&P exam when a college professor came up to both of us and heard about 30 seconds of our conversation.

He never served and he said to us “you guys look healthy to me, you aren’t disabled & then he wandered into our meeting room.

When it was time for the meeting, I intentionally sat down next to the college professor, who I’ve known for many years, and said to him “A little piece of advice, Don’T ever make a comment again like that to a veteran. You never served and you have no idea what you’re talking about.“

He was taken aback and said “really” in a sarcastic voice.

I then showed him this saying that I keep in my phone’s notepad:

”A veteran is someone who,when they were young, wrote a blank check to the people of the United States for an amount up to and including their life”

He said “I apologize.”

What he didn’t know was that the veteran that I was talking to had his shoulder replaced because It was shattered when he was ejected from the vehicle that he was in when it hit a roadside bomb in Iraq and that he also suffered from PTSD & TBI. He was having trouble dealing with the VA & was asking me for some advice, which I gave him.

Thanks again for your service,
Texasvet

 

[GSPLures]

“I see you are a veteran (thank you). I am also”i

Hello GPSLures,

I just reread the thread and I must’ve missed that you were also a veteran on the first read. Thanks to you also for your service!!

A short veteran story:

I was talking to a fellow veteran before a meeting about his recent C&P exam when a college professor came up to both of us and heard about 30 seconds of our conversation.

He never served and he said to us “you guys look healthy to me, you aren’t disabled & then he wandered into our meeting room.

When it was time for the meeting, I intentionally sat down next to the college professor, who I’ve known for many years, and said to him “A little piece of advice, Don’T ever make a comment again like that to a veteran. You never served and you have no idea what you’re talking about.“

He was taken aback and said “really” in a sarcastic voice.

I then showed him this saying that I keep in my phone’s notepad:

”A veteran is someone who,when they were young, wrote a blank check to the people of the United States for an amount up to and including their life”

He said “I apologize.”

What he didn’t know was that the veteran that I was talking to had his shoulder replaced because It was shattered when he was ejected from the vehicle that he was in when it hit a roadside bomb in Iraq and that he also suffered from PTSD & TBI. He was having trouble dealing with the VA & was asking me for some advice, which I gave him.

Thanks again for your service,
Texasvet

Thanks, Sorry to hear about your friend. I gave up on the VA the ones around me are or at least were useless.