Soft floor....well....rotten floor.
 

I am about to inheret 23' 1974 seacraft. It was an I/O but has been converted to an bracketed outboard (225 Yamaha 1995). My father and I rebuilt it in 94/95 (I was 14 yrs old) to make a long story short, I love this boat. Dad is great, he just doesn't have the time to use it. So he gave it to me. Gotta love Dad.
I know there are 3 or 4 spots all on the deck that if I tried I could put my foot through it. The rest is soft, besides a few places. No damage on the casting platform. So my question is, what is the ballpark price range I should expect if I were to get the whole deck replaced at a boat shop. Not the dealer. I would be able to paint it though. I've done that before. Any information would really help.
thanks
Scott

Re: Soft floor....well....rotten floor.
 

Scott,

Where are you located? I know the Florida boys have their favorite body shops (such as Hermco and Wildfire). I think that this type of work is a little less money down South.

FYI, the owner before me on my 1972 23' had all of the lower deck replaced by Young Brothers in Southern NJ. I think that it cost him aout $7,500.

Peter

Re: Soft floor....well....rotten floor.
 

I live in Tallahassee, FL. Were those shops you mentioned in north or south FL?

Re: Soft floor....well....rotten floor.
 

Hermco is in Jensen Beach and Wildfire is in Stuart.

Re: Soft floor....well....rotten floor.
 

Those shops are in Stuart Fl. You can do it your self for approx $300 to $500. plus Beer and approx 7 - 10 days of work. This is not rocket science just sweat, fiberglass, sanding, painting and beer work.


Before
http://www.classicseacraft.com/fello...edium/0011.jpg


Middle
http://www.classicseacraft.com/fello...edium/0022.jpg


After
http://www.classicseacraft.com/fello...edium/0064.jpg
FellowShip
__________________________________________________ ________
Just for the Grins :D :D :D

Re: Soft floor....well....rotten floor.
 

Where would be the best place to get information on "how to"?

Re: Soft floor....well....rotten floor.
 

Great look'in boat. By the way.

Re: Soft floor....well....rotten floor.
 

Look at Stick's post: "Here we go again!" It is an "Evrything you'd ever want to know" instruction manual!!!!! The only other things you'll need is time, money and the West System manual, (not their products; cost too much, but they are good!)

Good luck and post pictures!

Re: Soft floor....well....rotten floor.
 

Ha Nobitchin

The West Systems manual is a good place to start. This is a sight to it but if I can remember correctly that have a section in the regular paper manual about doing decks.
http://www.westsystem.com/frames/tier1/usingepoxy.htm
http://www.westsystem.com/ewmag/19/Replacing_Core.html


You could do a search on this sight about replacing decks and look at some of the boat projects under galleries as well. The method I used and probably the best for you problem since you are not wanting to raise the deck just fix soft spots is to remove the top layer of deck fiberglass, remove the core material, replace the core material, and then replace or put back the old deck fiberglass lamination.



FellowShip
__________________________________________________ ________
Just for the Grins :D :D

Re: Soft floor....well....rotten floor.
 

Nobitchin,

I have same spongy deck problem on my 18 ft Seacraft. I took fuel tank out to check and drilled a few holes in spongy area. There is plywood between layers of glass where console bolts to the deck and balsa between edge of plywood and inner hull. The deck is cracked which caused water to enter balsa and rot it. The plywood rot started where the console was screwed to the deck.

I agree with Fellow ship's idea of cutting away top layer of glass with circular saw and removing rotten wood, if you are not raising the deck. I am going to remove the live well forward of the transom and will then be able to see condition of stringers and flotation.

There are many good sources on replacing rotton core. I will probably use Divinicell and resin instead of epoxy.