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Been working on this for about a week now. The rotted area is dead center around the ski locker between the helm and front passenger seat. I tore out the rug, that I plan to replace anyhow, and marking out the areas to be cut away, making sure to not cut into the stringers and bulkheads. It's been messed with before unfortunately, and the guy who did wasn't trying really hard to do it right. He replaced a section with regular plywood and just slammed some mat and resin over it, not bothering to scuff the area down with 80 grit paper or to encapsulate the wood in resin to start with.

I cut out everything I needed to and got to work measuring and figuring out angles. I had a 1/2 sheet of 5/8" plywood in the garage to make the patch and a bunch of 3/4" plywood scraps to make the cleats for the fix. Got it all cut and set in place, and traced out the ski locker frame. I cut out the ski locker and made up the cleats to hold up the new floor.

Got it all installed yesterday evening and almost finished it up this afternoon. I used at least 50- 1.25" SS wood screws and 24- 1/4"-20 phillips drive bolts, fender washers and nylon lock nuts to hold it all together. My 200# frame can't get the new floor to budge at all so mission accomplished!

I did run out of resin and still need to scuff down the forward floor and the area aft of the patch. I want to redo the resin barrier to keep the water from getting into the floor plywood before I install the carpet for keeps. Here's a bunch of photos of the job to date....

I installed the Stars and Bars this afternoon too, was a gift from my Dad for my birthday last year. Adds a touch of class to the stern! :2th:

 

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Actually I have no real experience with glass repair but it's not too tough to do. I dabble in woodworking and have been rehabbing my home for years so I have that covered pretty well.

We had it out once his season, had a great ride out on Buzzards Bay. I stepped onto the rotted area and could feel myself sinking into it. Decided to get going and fix it up. Here's a thread on the boat and getting it in shape.

Repowering the new (to me) vessel. - MyTractorForum.com - The Friendliest Tractor Forum and Best Place for Tractor Information

 

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Nice work Mike!! A lot of my friends had boats, they always said they are holes in water they threw money into! They are fun and relaxing! Almost bought one years ago!

My system is simple Eric, I won't make payments on a boat! If it's not cash and carry I just won't do it, not with a family and a home to look after. If it can be kept affordable then I'm all in. Lastly, I have a great friend who has helped me many times getting an engine or two running like a top.

:ThumbUp:Good job Mike, looks great. I know where to bring my next boat for repairs.:howdy::ThumbUp:

You sold the bass boat Don?

 

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There are plenty of deals out there Don!

 

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Made some more progress on the floor repair today. I bought a 7" grinding disc attachment for my cheapy HF power buffer. Best $25 I've spent in a while! Made the job of removing old crusty resin easy, albeit dusty! Took about a half hour taking short breaks to vacuum up the area so I could see what I was grinding. The whole boat is going to need a good wash after this job is done, white dust everywhere!

Got the bow area all reglassed and sealed up nicely. Should be good for another 20 years now!

I started looking at the stern area where the battery is stored and found another problem area. Good news is that's all that's left, no more floor to inspect!

Started removing the trim panels and open the area up for inspection, then
removed the fiberglass in chunks to find wet plywood. Good news is it's not rotten, but needs a few good days in the sun to dry it up before I glass it in again. Just 3 hours in the sun today did a world of good! I left a fan in the bilge over night and the next two days look to be sunny, so it should dry up nicely. Want this done so I can get the new rug installed. It's boating season and I want to get out on the water next weekend!

Pic#1--The Bow area all fixed.
Pic#2--The stern area that's wet. Didn't get a picture of it stripped, will add later.

 

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Got the whole floor ground down and re-fiberglassed. Not perfectly flat but will work just fine. I got the carpet in a few weeks ago and was on the fence about installing it myself or have a guy I know do it for me for a fee. After batting it around for way too long I decided to just get it done. Started on it this morning and it took a couple hours. Used the old carpet as a template and cut the new one very loosely around it. I bought three cans of spray adhesive at Lowes, used two full cans. Came out decent, not great, but for my first time cutting in a carpet it came out pretty good. Just need to install the stern trimwork around the bilge and battery box.

Next years big boat project is to repaint the entire blue hull. But for now the floor is super sturdy and it's summer time, time for boating! Hopefully hitting the water on Sunday with the kids and their favorite boat activity, tubing on the pond!

 

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Thanks Mark! Like all my projects, it took far longer than expected but turned out pretty well in the end.

 

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I got the last of the stern trim and seats back in the boat, the new rug did a lot of good for the interior. Hope to use it this weekend.....

 

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Got the boat back in the water yesterday morning, it was nice to get out there and run it! Took this photo from the beach, nobody there but us on a Saturday morning!

 

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No fishing Ellis, I don't bother with fresh water anymore. The towable raft was on the beach, and the kids swam in the water for a couple hours.

I'm going to renew my Salt License and take the kids fishing while I'm on vacation in August. Planning on fishing for Scup and Snapper Blues in the river. Maybe a trip to CC Bay and troll for Stripers. Really rocky shoreline and the waters cooler than Buzzards Bay over there, maybe get into some fish!

Good luck tonight!

 

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Glad you had a nice trip Ellis, always good to get out on the boat!

It's been blowing gangbusters for days around here, small craft warnings every afternoon it seems. Tough to venture out in a small boat like mine. Hoping things are better when I'm on vacation and can use it during the days and evenings.