Floor separation temp fix

I would grind till you have a good surface to work with and then glass over it and hope for the best.

Must have had a fatsac in it for some hours?

Yeah I figure doing the stringers two seasons from now. But I don't want to hurt it anymore. Its separating in the same spot on the other side... so I'll fix them both. I love the boat so I don't plan on getting rid of it. I just want to at least slow it down. So I should fill the crack w/epoxy. Then glass over the remainder of the crack and outside of the edges some too correct? Should I put a brick over it while the epoxy cures so I don't have too much of a hump in the floor? It doesn't have to be pretty or perfect just hold for a while longer so I can do a full on floor/stringer setup.

Thanks guys!!!

If you push straight down on that floor piece, does it mate to where it used to be?

BuffaloBFN wrote: If you push straight down on that floor piece, does it mate to where it used to be?

98motorsport3 wrote: For the most part yes.

Usesome weights and something flat like a piece of ply to get it close to were the floor was originally. Then you can use some thickened epoxy to fill the gap and then start laying in the several layers of glass.

storm34 wrote: Pete, if the area isn't too big couldn't he just grind away the separated section like you would delaminated glass and patch using mat and cloth?

Chris,
Even if he can push the floor down close to where it originally was, he's going to have to grind the old glass back (towards the center of the hull) and this will probably result is a fairly big gap. The glass will only bridge so much until the resin kicks so he'd have to "baby sit" it. The other option would be to shoot a can of Great Stuff foam in the gap and then trim it off after it cures.

I can only imagine that there is a ton of water under your floor and find it hard to believe you don't have some serious rot issues. If you are in a garage you will be better off. Once that water is trapped in there and freezes something is going to crack.    A quick fix wont take but an afternoon but then you are going to put new carpet down and redo it 2 seasons from now? Its early, I say get nasty on that old girl this winter and break her out looking like brand new next summer.

You can repair the separation as talked about above but that's not going to fix the problem that caused it.
It will happen again.
How soon who knows but if you run it with ballast, it will happen sooner than later. It will more than likely cause your stress cracks to get worse also.

That's where mine failed and I didn't think my stringers were that bad, but they were.

Seems like a broken record on this thread, I think Nelson relizes he has some structural issues with the Boat.                                                                But i can't blame him for not wanting to tear the floor/strigers out right after he bought the boat. He does seem smart enough to not want to keep useing it as is.                                                                   So is putting a Bandaid on it the right thing to do, it may or may not cause more cracks but,,Its your choice Nelson so i will throw in my two cents..                                                                Im no Glass expert but i would grind away until you get to good edges on the hull and floor, and lay some glass mat over can Foam, coat it with resin and let it ride until your able to fix the cause of the problem later down the road...

NAUTIQUEjunky wrote: Seems like a broken record on this thread, I think Nelson relizes he has some structural issues with the Boat.                                                                But i can't blame him for not wanting to tear the floor/strigers out right after he bought the boat. He does seem smart enough to not want to keep useing it as is.                                                                   So is putting a Bandaid on it the right thing to do, it may or may not cause more cracks but,,Its your choice Nelson so i will throw in my two cents..                                                                Im no Glass expert but i would grind away until you get to good edges on the hull and floor, and lay some glass mat over can Foam, coat it with resin and let it ride until your able to fix the cause of the problem later down the road...

It may sound like a broken record because putting glass on a rotted structure wont get him the time out of the boat he wants and that's what we're are telling him..
The problem wasn't the glass floor it's whats under it, so why would someone think that putting new glass down on the floor is going to fix or extend the life. All he's going to do is destroy the boat he wants to keep.
It would be like putting new plywood on a floor that has broken/rotted joists, there's no support it won't help!!

98motorsport3 wrote: I understand where you are coming from, but you really think it wont "help" at all? If that were the case why do we have needles and thread? Welders? All things that can be used to patch or repair something to buy some time. I'm not looking at this is a permanent repair by any means. I've already stated I plan on doing the stringers and floor, but I'd like to get another season or so out of her before doing it. The bottom line is the damage is done and is there and isn't going anywhere, but I can stop the floor from separating more and getting worse in the meantime.

Yes the damage is done but it looks like you missed this post - stop the floor from getting worse but possibly do more damage to the hull? I don't get your logic. Plus, you never answered whether you have gel cracking now!

8122pbrainard wrote: Nelson, I'm torn on doing a temporary fix with reglassing the floor to the hull sides. I'm wondering if it will do more harm than good. We've seen hulls that have stringer rot where the floor has produced gel cracking on the hull side roughly parallel with the floor. Do you have any gel cracking now?

Welders and thread? Evidently you've never repair welded. Metal or a welded joint breaks due to stress. If it's welded again it breaks again unless that stress is relieved or redirected. If enough weld (your patch) is put on the crack, and the stress is still there, you get a new crack next to the weld repair (your hull side gel or the floor again). The same is true with stitched fabric. The stress causing your floor to come apart, is from rot. I'm 99% sure.

Repair the stress! Doing a stringer job on the boat is the best solution.

Thats a lot of work but if done right that get you another couple years like you want.

Nelson,
Patch the floor and report back after the end of next season.

nelson, I followed tim's repair job (the one Chris linked you too) and I wouldn't do it ever again!

We spent just about the same $ and time as if we would have just committed and done the whole thing like most people do on this site. I didn't have a say in the matter as it was my father's boat and he had the last word. It honestly isn't worth the time and money spent to do it half way.

Pete is right, the cracks are probably from the secondaries being rotten and the primaries getting there too. After tearing into one of these, it's clear why they get that way. Mine had sections of exposed wood directly touching wet foam. Lets just say the rebuilds here are much more extensive than what came off the factory floor.

If I were you, I would patch the floor by grinding away the old, broken piece and then lay new glass/mat over it. Use it for a few summers and keep a close eye on your motor mounts and alignment

This will give you time to plan and acquire the correct materials before you start a rebuild.

Don't get too frustrated with people here on the site, there is a lot of knowledge and people ultimately want to help you out and keep your CC running safely.

storm34 wrote: nelson, I followed tim's repair job (the one Chris linked you too) and I wouldn't do it ever again! We spent just about the same $ and time as if we would have just committed and done the whole thing like most people do on this site. I didn't have a say in the matter as it was my father's boat and he had the last word. It honestly isn't worth the time and money spent to do it half way. Pete is right, the cracks are probably from the secondaries being rotten and the primaries getting there too. After tearing into one of these, it's clear why they get that way. Mine had sections of exposed wood directly touching wet foam. Lets just say the rebuilds here are much more extensive than what came off the factory floor. If I were you, I would patch the floor by grinding away the old, broken piece and then lay new glass/mat over it. Use it for a few summers and keep a close eye on your motor mounts and alignment This will give you time to plan and acquire the correct materials before you start a rebuild. Don't get too frustrated with people here on the site, there is a lot of knowledge and people ultimately want to help you out and keep your CC running safely.

I know everybody is on here to help. I'm sorry for the frustration but I just want people to understand that my current situation does not allow me to do a whole stringer floor repair this winter. I just figured if I'm gonna have to do the whole thing anyways I could at least get by with fixing those spots and in another season or two do the whole shabang, so I don't have to do it twice. My motor mounts are good for sure. This is a very novice question but how would I go about checking the alignment? It would be good to know so I could check it every few times out to make sure things are good. Thanks for those trying to help even if I do seem irritated.

Thanks for the link. Should I check it just to check it, as of now I feel no weird vibrations or anything? I think I'll check just to be safe.

Thanks!