Foot went through my boat floor

[LifeonMars]

New owners who have no clue, was cleaning out their '78 Sabre Marine XSF (just in case all that is needed) when MY foot went through the rotten wood floor. I've watched youtube videos till I'm blue in the face and I need someone to tell me which products I should pick up at my local hardware store. Any specific kind of fiberglass and epoxy? I also believe multiple places need to be fixed so how would I go about redoing the entire floor? I know first things first is to remove all seating, steering island, etc. Much advice/help is needed. The first place I need to start is buying my supplies so I do not have to run for more once we get started.

Julie

 

[Chris]

Hi Julie,

What I would probably do first, is I would make an assessment as to what will need to be replaced. On many older fibreglass boats, wood was used in various places in the construction - the construction will also vary from builder to builder.

I would therefore have a look at the transom area of your boat, as well as the floor and see what kind of shape those are in. There might also be wood stringers under the floor which could also be in need of repair or replacement.

So the first thing I would do, is to check out what you can easily see, and assess what kind of condition everything is in.

-Chris

 

[Enticer1]

Major Repair

Julie, replacing the deck (floor) on any size boat is a very ambitious project. Be prepared for what you might find as you do the tear out. You will need a garage or workshop to get into a job that involved. Go to the Checkmate site and look up a project that "Jupiter Pulsare" did on his boat. As far as material goes its a personal choice but if applied properly you will have a boat that is probably more stout than when new. Good Luck and welcome to the site.

 

[Chris]

Yeah and the process and complexity of the job varies from boat to boat.

Many times if the floor is gone, the stringers usually need some work too, as does the transom. And then there's the core to be considered in some cases as well.

Once you get into replacing the transom, in some cases you might have to pop the deck, to be able to get proper access to it.

It's probably best therefore, to poke around and see how things look before you find yourself involved in a serious redo.

-Chris