SoCal Jet Boats

Tech Talk => Gelcoat / Paint / Fireberglass Repair => Topic started by: AMG on March 23, 2012, 04:16:54 PM

Title: Floor Replacement Start to Finish
Post by: AMG on March 23, 2012, 04:16:54 PM
Well its time to start my project. Ill be replacing the floor in my new(to me) boat and updating this thread along the way with pics. I'm a total newbie and have never done it before but I intend to do it once, the correct way, and never again. Also the gel coat is looking a bit yellowish so I'll be doing some light cutting and polishing to bring back its original white shine.

So here we go!

Before pics:
Title: Re: Floor Replacement Start to Finish
Post by: AMG on March 26, 2012, 09:39:59 AM
I wasnt sure the extent of the rot until i got in there to tear it out.. turns out it was all rotted! when i started to pull up the old wood I noticed that the bottom side had absolutely no epoxy, paint, or anything to seal it from moisture from the bottom up.

 Pics of progress
Title: Re: Floor Replacement Start to Finish
Post by: AMG on March 26, 2012, 09:43:21 AM
more pics
Title: Re: Floor Replacement Start to Finish
Post by: berkbryan on March 26, 2012, 10:14:41 AM
No turning back now.
Title: Re: Floor Replacement Start to Finish
Post by: BIG JOHNSON on March 26, 2012, 01:34:10 PM
Boy, my one regret when I had mine all tore apart... I would have ran my throttle cable under my floor and come up a gradual rise through conduit severed on a bologna cut so I wouldn't have that red cable under my bare left foot.

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Title: Re: Floor Replacement Start to Finish
Post by: ka0tyk on March 26, 2012, 02:45:46 PM
Boy, my one regret when I had mine all tore apart... I would have ran my throttle cable under my floor and come up a gradual rise through conduit severed on a bologna cut so I wouldn't have that red cable under my bare left foot.

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i used a push pedal with the cable going the other way and a longer cable.  i never understood why people want a cable running inside of their boat. 
Title: Re: Floor Replacement Start to Finish
Post by: AMG on March 27, 2012, 11:52:38 PM
Boy, my one regret when I had mine all tore apart... I would have ran my throttle cable under my floor and come up a gradual rise through conduit severed on a bologna cut so I wouldn't have that red cable under my bare left foot.

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I never thought of that, thanks for the idea!
Title: Re: Floor Replacement Start to Finish
Post by: AMG on March 28, 2012, 12:40:20 AM
The last 2 days have been what feels like endless grinding and sanding to get rid of old glass and resin buildup from when they filleted in the old floor. just in the last 2 days ive gone through 4 cutting wheels, 6 flap wheels, 2 disposable respirators,and 2 filters on my shopvac. this dust is nasty. oh and i itch like hell!!

I'm ready to start cutting and laying out my floor which I chose 3/4" sanded birch plywood. I will do a test fit, then paint the underside with 1 coat of marine sealer, and 3-4 coats of marine topcoat

I'm still contemplating a ski locker, I don't do a whole lot of water skiing, nobody i know does, but it may come in handy for extra storage if nothing else.

Progress:
There was some dry rot in my stringers where some brain child cut into them :mad: to secure 2 pieces of angle bar to support his makeshift compartment :banghead: :screwy:... luckily the rot was contained in the 2 foot section on the stringers and only went down about 2 inches. My simple solution was drill a pattern of holes down 3 inches, well into good wood, and 6 inches past the cuts which held the bar also good wood. Mixed up a few batches of "GIT" ROT and soaked the hell out of it until the wood rejected it. I'll patch up the holes tomorrow and fill the cuts in with some fillet mix, and possibly wrap it to be safe.

Pics:
not many pics for now because they all look the same until i get floor in
Title: Re: Floor Replacement Start to Finish
Post by: AMG on March 29, 2012, 08:43:58 AM
Test fitting the floor
Title: Re: Floor Replacement Start to Finish
Post by: BIG JOHNSON on March 29, 2012, 09:04:15 AM
Lookin good!



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Title: Re: Floor Replacement Start to Finish
Post by: berkbryan on March 29, 2012, 11:32:57 PM
good job
Title: Re: Floor Replacement Start to Finish
Post by: CHROMEY on March 30, 2012, 10:57:36 AM
On my cruiser I had to shovel out the rotted wood and soggy foam....im watching this thread close...mines in the works
Title: Re: Floor Replacement Start to Finish
Post by: AMG on March 30, 2012, 09:42:06 PM
Sealing the floor and and one coat of paint the bottom side.
Title: Re: Floor Replacement Start to Finish
Post by: AMG on March 30, 2012, 09:48:32 PM
and the new "firewall" being PB'd in, and the back of the ski locker... also all the holes are filled with PB and marine putty
Title: Re: Floor Replacement Start to Finish
Post by: BIG JOHNSON on March 30, 2012, 11:37:51 PM
Gettin r done, very nice.

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Title: Re: Floor Replacement Start to Finish
Post by: AMG on April 04, 2012, 08:39:11 PM
Ok, 3 coats of marine paint takes 3 days :banghead:... but its done and all the new wood under the floor is fully PB'd and glassed in.

I bolted the floor down today PB'd all that i could before running out of mishmash(resin thickener). so instead of stopping I cutout the dash supports and ski locker

Pics:

Title: Re: Floor Replacement Start to Finish
Post by: BIG JOHNSON on April 04, 2012, 09:23:47 PM
You'll need a bigger gap between floor locker and the rest of your floor for carpet to fit and mesh.

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Title: Re: Floor Replacement Start to Finish
Post by: AMG on April 07, 2012, 08:55:52 AM
You'll need a bigger gap between floor locker and the rest of your floor for carpet to fit and mesh.

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maybe ive been huffing too much resin, but i cant seem to wrap my head around what ur sayin.
Title: Re: Floor Replacement Start to Finish
Post by: AMG on April 10, 2012, 08:52:01 AM
Major weekend update: the floor is all glassed with the exception of the ski locker. the dash supports are in, the new rear seat box is built and the seat is set on.the mouths for the bucket seats are made,and the bow seat boxes are in and the seats set on. Now all i have left to do is glass it all in and lay some glass on the ski locker door, carpet, and put the stereo back in! Riv this weekend?? I think i will! :beer:
Title: Re: Floor Replacement Start to Finish
Post by: AMG on April 10, 2012, 08:57:55 AM
More pics
Title: Re: Floor Replacement Start to Finish
Post by: MPKardell on April 10, 2012, 09:38:52 AM
Positive reinforcement:  Great job!

Matt
Title: Re: Re: Floor Replacement Start to Finish
Post by: BIG JOHNSON on April 10, 2012, 10:07:53 AM
maybe ive been huffing too much resin, but i cant seem to wrap my head around what ur sayin.

What I meant was, if you're going to wrap the corners of the floor opening and the edge of your drop in locker with carpet, it won't fit. I think I had a 3/8"-7/16" gap all around mine and used scrap carpet on all four sides and a lot of belt sanding.

Looks good!

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Title: Re: Re: Floor Replacement Start to Finish
Post by: AMG on April 10, 2012, 02:19:56 PM
What I meant was, if you're going to wrap the corners of the floor opening and the edge of your drop in locker with carpet, it won't fit. I think I had a 3/8"-7/16" gap all around mine and used scrap carpet on all four sides and a lot of belt sanding.

Looks good!

Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk
Oh i gocha, i narrowed the door down a pretty good amount, I have nearly 1/2 inch on each side, which will be taken up partly by glass, and mostly by carpet. I should have room to spare, although the ski locker has been one of the most time consuming parts, and of the whole project, the part im most worried about not turing out the way i planned... we'll see
Title: Re: Floor Replacement Start to Finish
Post by: BIG JOHNSON on April 10, 2012, 06:06:29 PM
Don't forget your signature before you glass it. You be Aight.

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Title: Re: Floor Replacement Start to Finish
Post by: CHROMEY on April 11, 2012, 07:38:59 AM
 :thumbup: very cool tech article..... :beer: cheers to you...project looks great...I'm starting mine this weekend
Title: Re: Floor Replacement Start to Finish
Post by: CHROMEY on April 11, 2012, 07:47:03 AM
Question?.....were those. Lag bolts you used to hold the floor down?.....poor stringers..lol if so what size?
Title: Re: Floor Replacement Start to Finish
Post by: CHROMEY on April 11, 2012, 07:51:24 AM
Also...what about a supply list...like what kind of wood ; how thick;paint; and otherparts and materials....please...it will help with the guess work.thanks in advance!
Title: Re: Floor Replacement Start to Finish
Post by: BIG JOHNSON on April 11, 2012, 08:14:50 AM
You can use 3" wide aluminum and carriage bolts so the carpet wraps under the floor and tighten bolts so it clamps the carpet too ;)

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Title: Re: Floor Replacement Start to Finish
Post by: AMG on April 16, 2012, 09:46:05 AM
:thumbup: very cool tech article..... :beer: cheers to you...project looks great...I'm starting mine this weekend
sweet! one major thing i wish i would've known before glassing is how much resin I would really need. the owner of the fiberglass(boat building) store that i went to said that i would be fine with 2 gallons and 5 yards of mat and cloth..... I ended up buying 9 single gallons, an extra 10 yards of mat tape(12" cut in half) and making 5 trips to costa mesa not to mention spending about 200 too much. if u have any other questions feel free to ask here or PM me.

have fun itching for a few weeks lol
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