36 year old inner hull
 

I Finally removed the rest of the floor and now on to the new floor install. You were right about the Potter Putty(in the original floor). The last floor was unlaminated 3/4 inch plywood that was rotted. At least the inner hull looks to be in good shape. Pretty amazing after all the neglect!

Weight Distribution 20" MA
 

Can anyone comment on the set up and placement of weight in these boats?
Old set up
2 main batteries all the way aft behind and up against the gas tank(plastic), 3 car batteries for the trolling motor located all the way in the forward compartment.
Potential new set up-
3 trolling motor batteries located at same level as the gas tank(below floor) under the front of the Centerconsole and then the 2 main batteries on the deck under the centerconsole.
I would think the more weight located lower in the hull would be better?
The pic is of the old Battrey compartment located in the area about two feet infront of the transom below the floor.
Thanks Jon

Assuming your tank is in the stock location, and your engine weighs more like 400 lb, not 250 or less, then put all the batteries forward.

I have my 20 gallon tank and 2 batteries under the console in a 1975 20 foot master angler. I have 420 lb of outboard on the transom (100 HP 4 stroke main, 6HP 4 stroke kicker). Balance is OK that way.

If the weight is a bit too forward, remember where everyone will be when boating a fish- an aft corner. If possible, put too much weight forward. If you don't like it, put tackle or a livewell in the stern. But I don't think you will have to.

One more thing- don't put plywood in your floor. Use a real foam core if you can, or coosa. Or buy nidacore- premade from boatbuildercentral.com.

Barring that, then balsa core.

These are all ok for weight. The foam cores are lighter, as is the nidacore.

Balsa seems to be stock. It is strong, but it is wood. And it gets wet and rots.

Plywood is the worst. Heavy. Strong where it does no help. Grain orientation makes for a faster rotting process than balsa when you get it wet/ drill holes.

I think you should check out 3/4"-20mm nidacore first. With or without glass already on it.

Floor/weight distribution
 

Too late on the floor-I bought 4 sheets of 3/4" marine plywood($99 each), from all the reading on the site I thought 3 coats of resin on the bottom, then 1 layer of mat and one layer of cloth on the top, then paint with some type of antislip material mixed in. I do have a limit on how much I can spend here. I thought this was a cost effective decent floor.

Thanks for the response on the weight issue, with an older merc 115 she got up on plane with all that wet plywood and the 3 batteries all the way forward before so things can only get better

Inner hull
 

What would you do to the inner hull before putting the floor down? Would doing a quick prep and a coat of resin to seal things up? or just leave it?
Thanks again Jon

FS, is got a good tip on the composite foam. If you can afford it, foam is the way to go. Wood will last a long time if done correctly and if it is 100 percent sealed but the foam will last longer even if it isn't sealed well. Foam is defiantly a better product to put in a boat, but the cost becomes the factor when choosing usually. The cheaper wood may last 30+ years but you got the extra weight. I still don't mind using wood where weight is not a major concern but you have to take extra care and make sure it is sealed up well. Far as resale value, most people will pay more for a full composite boat so that is another thing to consider if you plan on selling in the future. I would not be afraid to use wood and I use it a lot myself, just take the time to prep it well and you will be good to go for a long time.

I was going to coat mine with a bilge coat product but read lots of bad things about it flaking back out. I ended up taking left over VE resin and coating the existing exposed areas. Once that dried and I was ready to cover the area I used interlux 2000e epoxy barrier coating to seal off the fiberglass to water proof it from any water that may get down there. Epoxy resin alone would work well and be better than polyester due to the water proofing nature of the epoxy. The polyester resin is porous and will not seal it as well.

If you have exposed fibers from grinding in the bilge, then a thin layer of vinylester probably can't hurt. Vinylester has good water and chemical resistance, works like polyester and has the elongation of epoxy (as it is partly an epoxy chemistry). Strick mentioned (and I agree) that an old school bilge coating is just gel coat. With or without duratec high gloss additive. It will stick to polyester or vinylester, but not epoxy. If you buy non-waxed vinylester, you can put this down, then coat with waxed gel coat over the top with no sanding in between if you follow up in a reasonable time frame. (Without wax, polyesters and vinylesters don't cure on the very surface- the air inhibits this. Most resins include wax that floats to the top to allow the cure on the side that sees air)

I am on a tirade against wood this year as I keep dealing with rotten stuff. But plenty of people use it successfully. So don't take my comments as that you did something wrong.

Merton's fiberglass in Springfield, MA is worth checking out if you haven't already.

If you want to use plywood, and you want it to last, I suggest laminating both sides with glass and use epoxy resin. Polyester resin is not impervious to moisture, and resin without glass in it isn't much better than paint, just more expensive.

Joel Shine, the moderator of this section of the forum, can give you good advice. His business specializes in boat kits with wood/epoxy construction. Done right, it's a good, economical construction method. Or you could post on their forum and ask for advice there (http://forums.bateau2.com/index.php). There are some good guys over there with experience in wood/epoxy that may be helpful.
Dave