New Floor Help

Discussion in 'Fiberglass and Composite Boat Building' started by tonsofun88, Jul 20, 2013.

  1. tonsofun88
    Joined: Jul 2013
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    Location: Ca

    tonsofun88 Junior Member

    I was given a 1970 glasspar. floor needs replaceing. I have already pulled up most of the plywood. Started doing research to see the right way of reparing it. People are talking about stringers? Foam and wood. Underneith the plywood is foam on the edges of the hull with some 3/4 in x 6in wide and under that is more foam. Is any of this stringers? is it just space filler and wood for the seat to screw into. Its a tri hull. I need help. Seen a local shop and they dont work on floors till winter and its outta my price range. Help plz
     
  2. the1much
    Joined: Jul 2007
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    the1much hippie dreams

    the foam is filler,,but not jus that,,,its also floatation..stringers are for the floor to be screwed to,,but not jus that its also stability to your boat so when u give it gas or in seas your boat wont twist up like a towel being wringed out.stringers also keep the pressure of the water on the outside from squeezing your boat together like a flat sandwich..
     
  3. PAR
    Joined: Nov 2003
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    Location: Eustis, FL

    PAR Yacht Designer/Builder

    Welcome to the forum.

    It's difficult to tell what you have without a better idea of what you have. Can you post pictures of the questioned areas?
     
  4. tunnels

    tunnels Previous Member

    please post pictures with lots detail so can see what you have !!!!!!

    simple need pictures lots of them with lots detail and lets see what you have got now and what you need to do !!
     
  5. tonsofun88
    Joined: Jul 2013
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    Location: Ca

    tonsofun88 Junior Member

  6. tonsofun88
    Joined: Jul 2013
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    Location: Ca

    tonsofun88 Junior Member

  7. tonsofun88
    Joined: Jul 2013
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    Location: Ca

    tonsofun88 Junior Member

  8. tonsofun88
    Joined: Jul 2013
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    Location: Ca

    tonsofun88 Junior Member

    Boat_1.jpg
    Only way I could post the pictures was one at a time.
     
  9. tunnels

    tunnels Previous Member

    dont stop there keep going !!

    wow what a mess ! still more digging and ripping out to go yet in reality the floor was only part of the problem so keep going I love all those old woven roving glass over the stringers !! its as much use as **** on a bull at this stage of the boats life because the wood under them will be soft and crumbly and mush !!
    don't stop keep going but take some detailed pictures and get some measurement's for when you get to remake and reassemble the whole lot better than new again !!
    All the old rotted wood needs to go and after a close look at the woven glass I would say with a little effort you could get a good grip and simply tear it out !! its has its day and is doing nothing now so be gone I say . what the very back of the floor up around and under the aft end deck ?? also the front end looks like the stringer simply dissipated to nothing !!each side ?? all need to go !! next part to think about is grinding . to get it all done and finished suit up and do the lot at one time not in bits and pieces now and then that covering of vinyl along the side of the hull rip it off as well because the new glassing will be going a good 4" to 6 "inches up onto the hull side . Point to remember new glass will not stick over an unground surface that's not 100% cleaned !! very important !!! , so when you start to sand and grind keep this firmly in your mind . secondary bonding is really important over old glass !!,its critical !!.

    Tell us how much fibre glassing have you done before ?? any at all ? or non ? what materials like glass and resin do you anticipate using to do all this work with ??
    the boat will be polyester and you can use poly for all the rebuild and glassing just need to have big bonding surfaces to glass onto so wont come apart any time in the future !!



    How did you post your pictures ?? I use the paper clip and click and follow that and can post as many as you like . best to reduce the picture size make a little smaller !! easier to load and much quicker and can do lots at the same time
     
  10. tonsofun88
    Joined: Jul 2013
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    Location: Ca

    tonsofun88 Junior Member

    Ok. So im not sure what a stringer is on my boat. Ive read what there purpose is but dont know if that is reffering to the foam or the wood that layed next to it. I am concered about one thing that I have no idea how to do? How do i get the foam to match the shape of the hull exactly? I dont want to do this wrong and ruin the boat so its makeing me think it might have to go to a shop to do the floor. I have not done any wet lay up fiberglass but I work with prepreg for a living and have several prople that I work with that would explain to me in detail or would come do that wet lay up fiberglass for me that have year of experience. I left one side as is for reference. I know what im doing once the structure of the floor is down I know how to put the plywood down and seal it all. I was told I didnt need marine plywood if i sealed it well but I plan on useing it anyway to be safe. Is that necesarry. Right now after I remove all the foam and wood from the one side Im not sure where to start with replaceing it. My friend who knows nothing about boats said home depo sells foam. Is that the right stuff to use or is there something specific? Thanks for any and everyones advice. First time doing a project like this
     
  11. tunnels

    tunnels Previous Member

    ok ! the woven matt you have is covering either a wood stringer or foam . at a rough guess I would say its wood possibly rotted to the point of totally crumbly and could scoop it out with your hands .!! so rip out that woven and post some picture as you doing the job and when its all out so can see what's there . just do one side if it makes you feel a little better !!
    you cant stuff the boat !!,its survived all these years and will live to ride for as many again !!
    Lets take this one small step at a time ok ?? your pictures are our life link !! :D
     
  12. the1much
    Joined: Jul 2007
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    Location: maine

    the1much hippie dreams

    the wood is your stringer (like studs in the walls of your house) the stringer is covered with your cloth to make it stronger and done right water proofed.the foam you see is for both filler and floatation. both really need to be there. and your right on sealing your plywood with glass resin. and no you have no need for marine ply,,in fact the extra money spent on it could be used in alot of other places. but your choice to use both is yours. everything you see there is needed to be ther4e for the boat to be at least as if not more stable then original.without the foam you would need many more stringers,and would be able to haul less wieght then original.the extra stringers would solve the "filler" problem but also would make you have less payload available
     
  13. tonsofun88
    Joined: Jul 2013
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    Location: Ca

    tonsofun88 Junior Member

    Ok so theres foam stringers used as floatation and as filler and thats mostly what was underneath the deck. There was only one wood stringer that was nestled up next to the channel that runs down the center of the hull. Sorry if there is an actual name for it. The wood stringer was roughly 3/4th of an inch thick. I have the other side that I will get exact dimensions from. Is this stringer big enough? I feel like its a little on the small side since thats the only wood part of the deck exept for the plywood. So is everyone in agreement for the most part that marine plywood is not nessisary? Is there a type of plywood that is better to use for this type of use then others? The thing that I am the most worried about is getting my foam to fit the shape of the hull like the original. The bottom has a contour to it that I need to match and I have no idea how I am going to achieve that. Is the foam at home depo or lowes the right stuff to use? Or is there a specific name for the foam that I should be useing so I can start looking around for it? Thanks for all your help and advice again
     
  14. tunnels

    tunnels Previous Member

    ok
    first off pictures of what you are referring to would be a great big Help
    that 3/4 wood is on edge and how high is it ?? need details always !!!
    That is your stringer the foam that's there is doing virtually nothing , deadening sound , adding a small amount to the stiffening but not a lot and was a place for your floor to sit on that's all !! that wood is your stringer its the part that's really important !! without that the bottom will move a lot so get the size and if its soft and rotten it need to be replaced from end to end in one piece and it need to be glassed over with good strong glass !! to hold it in position and added strength
    photos please with detail !!
    lots digging and lots grinding etc to be done in other words need to get right to the hulls surface 100% cleaned !!
    Names !! a deck is a deck and is not a floor ,a floor is inside the boat that you stand on !! don't make people confused between the two . The stringer is the wood on edge glassed over and nothing to do with the foam . the foam is just there as a fill in and serves no useful purpose !! you don't really need it at all !! just make the fllor that goes back in a little thicker than what was there before and do away with the foam , it has a terrible habit of soaking water over time and makes the boat get heavy and slow , and as for being buoyancy !!, well its in the wrong place and would make the boat roll over upside down
    ok straight in what stuff is called and used for ??:?:
     

  15. FMS
    Joined: Jul 2011
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    Location: united states

    FMS Senior Member

    Floors are neither the cockpit sole nor the deck.
     
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