85 2001 Renovation

My choice for a cutting tool is a 4 1/2 grinder with a ceramic cutting wheel on it. You can also use the thin metal cutting blade.
With the clear guide off, you can get in to close quarters.
Just must be very carefull with the safety guide off.
By controlling the depth, you can just cut through the glass and then
peel it off to see the wood underneath. Cut more if needed.

Andy, I am in Raleigh also. More like New Hill. If you would like to
borrow my grinder, I can loan it to you.

Here's a pic of the boat taken today as I was gutting it...She's a beauty. Can't wait to get the interior stuff worked out.

Taking a second look at your picture it looks like someone already cut some of the wood away. It should continue over top of the cradle. Does it look like part of it was cut away? The dog house also comes up short of the ski pole so could you see the metal around ski pole or was it carpeted over?

Taking a second look at your picture it looks like someone already cut some of the wood away. It should continue over top of the cradle. Does it look like part of it was cut away? The dog house also comes up short of the ski pole so could you see the metal around ski pole or was it carpeted over?

I hadn't noticed that it should all be one piece, but you're right. The wood over the cradle was raw wood with no glass. I pulled it out before taking the pic. I could see where someone put resin on top of the original glass around the battery box. Probably a quick fix to seal up a battery box that was allowing water to get into the floor.

If I don't replace the whole section I'll be sure that the replacement piece covers the cradle and the rotten section so there is only one seam to join.

I agree! Can you take a larger picture of it? The battery box looks like it should be about 10 inches towards the bow. Maybe it was moved or maybe it just looks off because of the missing wood over the cradle. They might have removed the wood to get the cradle out for the rebuild but that would have been a little silly!

Here is an 85 that was rebuilt by Bill and you can see how far forward his battery box is.



Usually a large source of water to get into the floor in that section is the drain in the battery box (if you have one). If you replace the entire section you could dig up some of that foam and look at the plumbing.

That wood is probably rotten because they cut the wood out over the cradle and didn't seal up the edge correctly.

I would start cutting and see how bad it looks but I bet it is pretty rotten all the way through. The seats screw into that section which is why it is wood and CC doesn't nothing to seal those screws going into it so the water just wicks into the carpet and down the threads of the screws right into the center of the ply in that section.

I would use non-treated 3/4" ply if it isn't to thick. Coat it in lots of CPES and then one layer of epoxy and then put it back down and screw it into the stringers (if they aren't to rotten and will grab a screw) with stainless steel screws. Seal the top of the screws with epoxy and then and glass it back to the level of the floor. That will fix it for a while.

The only thing to be careful of is if you do tear it out you might find rot in the stingers and be compelled to replace the entire floor.

Sometimes ignorance is bliss

There are lots of good threads on here for floor and stringer rebuilds. I have a pretty detailed one when I did my 82 with lots of pictures.

Another question...Steering wheels and throttle knobs. How do I figure compatibility? Do I have to find a "teleflex" wheel or are there adapters to let me run whatever I want? What about a newer Correct Craft wheel with a splined shaft? Trying to keep this on a $150 budget max (preferably much lower) for both pieces. eBay is acceptable though which should help. I can refinish the original wood knob when I refinish the swim platform, but if it's a ~$20 piece I'll just replace it.

First, that missing section over the engine cradle is factory. There is a small 1/4" piece of ply that goes over the pylon and screws down to the cradle. Then the carpet is laid over it all. I'm not sure why it was done like that, but my 88 is identical.

Bills is an 87 and his battery box is in the same location as my 88. I think I remember the early boats had the battery closer to the engine.

My floor is also a bit bouncy/soft in that area as well. I want to warn you that you will probably not like what you find under that floor should you pull the whole piece up. Mine has held up for a few seasons, but is now definitely showing signs of stringer rot now. I've got a couple more soft spots in the floor and some cracked glass on the secondaries near the exhaust. I just caution you since I honestly think you'll get in there and realize you need a complete stringer/floor replacement. IMO, if you want to use the boat this season, eat the cost of some lowes carpet/glue and put the interior back in to use the boat. Then, plan for to do a complete job in the next season or two. my $.02

As for the wheel, its a standard 3/4" keyed shaft. Just find any wheel with that hub and it will work. We picked up a nice one off ebay for <$100.

Good luck with the project.

That hull looks good! Much better than our '85. Makes me want to do the wetsanding soon as well!

LKG_ wrote: I assure you guys I'm not naive to what I'm going to find under the floor. You wouldn't replace your whole dock just because one deck board pulled out would you? Sure, it's a sign of things to come, but there is no reason to make a mountain out of a mole hill.

Im willing to bet that its not a sign of things to come, but rather a sign of things that have already come! Dig in a little if you want, but dont expect the rot to be very localized. That mole hill isnt so much a mountain- more like the tip of a glacier.

Personally, I think it foolish to spend a few hundred in carpet to cover over a rotten structure- but thats just me! If you dont want to tackle the project, then band-aiding it back together as best you can is an option for sure. It will likely not lead to more damage for some time... but dont expect us to call it a proper repair.

FYI, there is no paint on the exterior of your boat- the stripe is gelcoat.

HA, that is funny. Didn't see your response till after my post Tim. LOL!

Sorry man didn't mean to sound to harsh! It is just the reality of these older boats. Almost all of them will have rotten stringers and floors at this point unless the boat was only used a handful of times and keep in a dry warm place.

If you want cheap carpet go to Lowe's. They have really nice grey outdoor / marine carpet. I used it in mine and it came out looking really good.



It is a little thinner than standard marine carpet but it still works pretty well and the best part about it is if you need to get more you just drive down to lowes!

Good luck man and take some pictures if you do tear out that section!

By the way, what's the best tool you guys have found for putting the rubber strip back on the carpet where it joins the floor and the gunwales? Last time I used a metal spatula, but I'd probably buy the right tool if there is a better way.

Alright guys...Made some progress this past weekend.

Cut out the bad section with an angle grinder...


Made a two layer brace for the floor. Bottom layer is made of two 2" wide 3/8" thick steel bars. Stacked on top are two more 1.5" wide 1/4" thick steel plates. Since there is no lateral pressure I used liquid nails to hold it together rather than welding. This combo was almost exactly the same height as the ski boom cradle. Painted them with industrial red enamel to keep the rust to a minimum. It slid right under the floor and rests on top of the stringers.


Cut a piece of plywood to shape. Went with one piece to cover the floor section and the cradle. It had a separate piece of wood over the cradle from the factory. Made a cardboard template first and then transferred it onto the board.


Fiberglassed over it bringing the edge of the fiberglass over the battery box. This made the battery box cover a super tight fit, but it should keep water from penetrating that edge again anytime soon.


Grinded down the high spots in the fiberglass. Sealed the rest of the battery box/fiberglass edges with 3M marine sealant.



Lessons learned...
The stringers in the small section that I could see were in good shape. They were a little slimy from staying wet for a while, but I was pleased that they did not seem to have any rot.

The floor has zero spongy spots now. I can walk the whole boat bouncing up and down and the whole thing feels great.

I re-carpeted the gunwales and floor using "Midnight Marine" carpet from Lowes. Bought 31', but found out after the fact that I could have gotten away with about 27'.

The whole job took a weekend, but I ran out of light on Sunday and have a few things to finish later. At least half of Saturday was wasted on trips to Lowes and Home Depot after I had trouble finding a store that had enough carpet on hand. I also still have to put in the rubber trim piece for the carpet and re-carpet the transmission cover and wood piece behind the back seat. I expect it to take one more full day to complete (including putting the interior back in.)


I'll have to figure up the total cost later, but it will look something like this:
- Steel plate bars - Lowes...$45.
- Fiberglass mat + resin - Home Depot...$20
- 3M marine sealant - Home Depot...$7
- 31' of carpet - Lowes...$156
- 4 Gallons of outdoor carpet glue - Home Depot...$34
- Trowel - $8
- Replacement SS screws, nuts, bolts, etc - Lowes...$14

This is not a permanent solution by any means, but I suspect it will add quite a few years to the service life of the current floor/stringers. I'm pretty happy with this considering the fact that new fir stringers and a new floor made of marine plywood would set me back at least $2k and a full week of work.

It looks like I have enough carpet and glue left over to do my buddy's bass boat, so hopefully I'll get some good karma out of the deal for helping out a friend.

you are watching too much "my name is earl" LOL...
One full week for a full stringer job? I'd say at least one month in the minimun...

BTW you might rebuild the floor and strings for 2K but it would probably take about a month to do it.   I worked on mine every night and weekend (sometime during the weekday) and it took me about 1.5 months.

Yeah, you're probably right. I was just thinking a week of working full time on it, but even that is probably being a little too optimistic.

Send me a message if you're coming to Lake Gaston this summer. I'm usually tied up at an island near Eaton Ferry with a handful of other wake boats during the day. I'll put my e-mail address in my profile.

I'll probably take it for a spin at Falls Lake in about a month when I get it all back together if you want to check it out.