Flooring

[gerhern]

New to boating, just bought an '82 Hammond. It has a few soft spots on the floor. Should I remove entire old floor, or would plywood (covered with fiberglass) suffice over entire area as new floor?
Thanks!
gerry
gerhern@verizon.net

[alan white]

You've got to replace the entire floor if you're finding soft spots all over the place.
If I read yopu right, you are asking if you can simply cover the old floor with new plywood and glass.
That would be a mistake for many reasons--- unless you are only expecting to nurse the boat along for a season or two.
No, there's no good alternative to complete replacement of at least medium-sized sections of glass and ply. One reason is that any softness underfoot is often the tip of the iceberg. What supports the floor (or, more properly, sole or deck)---- frames and stringers----- has been encased in the same area and subject to the same conditions----- soaked flotation foam, mold, etc..
Ideally, if the boat has enough worth to you, you would excavate and replace all damaged wood and foam, using epoxy rather than polyester resin to build everything back to original strength.
Maybe only the deck is involved. That would be nice, but there's only one way to tell, and that is to dig, poke, drill, prod, and generally biopsy the whole thing.

Alan

[gerhern]

Thanks for the heads-up, Alan. I bought this boat to work on during the winter season, and the more I search for help in this category the more I find that others are re-doing entire floors. I also have to re-do some of the wiring on this boat. I haven't looked yet, but I'm wondering if this has a fuse box/panel where everything's tied into. I'll have to see. Thanks again for the info!

gerry