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Floor : Hull : Liner Structural Build ?
Been thinking about doing some floor work on my 23' Tsunami. A buddy and I were talking about what keeps the rigidity of these boats.
My vision of it ( up for discussion ): Huge stringers are glassed to the hull. Potter Putty (PP) is then placed on top of the stringers and the the liner/floor is then placed on top of this Potter Putty, 'gluing' the liner/floor in place. The liner and the cap are then screwed in at the rubrail. Not sure how, if at all, the liner/ floor attaches to the hull near the vertical sides of the hull ? Also, below deck bulkheads play a critical role as well. Sound right ? I've viewed many SC floor job pix and it seems that the PP does not make contact with a lot of the liner/ floor as seen when the old floor is ripped out. You can see 30-40% of the PP with no contact at all. This seems like an achilles heal. Without ripping out the floor, how could you know of the integrity of this union of floor to stringers ? Lastly, if you were to rip out a floor and replace, what is the better mouse-trap then the original PP / floor / stringer joint ? Where and what bulkheads are there that would need to be inspected ? Just thinking of a winter project. |
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I'll bet there is more contact with the Potter Putty than you think.
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I am surprised that I'm getting crickets on this topic. If and when a new floor is done, how is it attached to the tops of the stringers ?
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I think some of your concerns about the Potter Putty not making full contact are unfounded. The liners were overbuilt at the factory. I would say if 50% of the putty made contact, you're good. See attached for reassurance.
http://www.classicseacraft.com/commu...1&d=1536181198 |
BTW, diggin' those bikinis!
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strick |
If attached to stringers then how / why so many spungy floors?
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The cracks in the gelcoat on decks (some more than others) is from the deck flexing because of lack of contact with the deck/putty/stringers, more voids means more flexing/cracking.
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The rot in my floor was from the rigging hole under the console. Either from the factory or when my uncle put the Suzuki on it, the rigging hole was not sealed. When I pulled the layer of glass from the underside, you could tell exactly where it started...and how far it spread. The balsa was like a sponge still saturated.
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100% contact is great but as others have said, is not totally necessary. If say, 50% contact is enough to resist the loads and equally strong to mechanical fastening at X" O.C. (not good for boats, but preferred by engineers over adhesives in most disciplines) everything above 50% is for good measure. |
Thank you all for your input. I appreciate it. Always learning. I have a few spongy spots near my IO engine cover from the hinge screw holes leaking water over the years ( there was actually some sponginess in this area when I first did the resto, but thought it was not worth the effort at the time ) Not a big deal or structural but something I'd like to remedy at some point.
I'm a 'do it all and do it right' type of person, so I'd rather redo the whole floor than a section. I have heard that the Potter Putty can be a bear to remove. Does the liner glue/ attach to the hull at the point where the floor heads vertical ? |
I have not had the liner out of my '76 23 Sceptre but I have cut the decks out. The PP was between 1/4 and 1" thick on the stringer tops - still surprisingly well bonded to the fiberglass lower skin of the deck. It appears that there is also PP between the liner and hull where they are screwed together under the rubrail. I was able to get a chisel under the putty and break larger chunks off of the stringer tops (got most of it) and ground on the rest to remove. I probably could have left the lower deck skin in and just replace the core and top but decided to do the whole tamale.
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When they rebuilt my floor they left it raw on the bottom so that if it got wet it would dry. Most of the spots prone to dampness was epoxied. I hear that this method isn’t the best but my floor is solid. I think it was done in 2005
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