Floor crack repairs, anyone may have tried?
 

I have a number of small and one or two semi deep cracks in floor of 1976 V20. I got a price of $1,300 for the glass work, but I found this company who makes a vinyl marine type non skid material that can be glued down and would flex with the boat, and not re-crack like a paint job would. It is from a company called All Vinyl Fabrics 877-618-4695.

It seems like a good idea after they sent me a sample. Has anyone done this or something similar?

thanks.

Haven't used that, but if it were me, here's what I would do.

As long as the floor isn't soft (meaning further repairs are needed under the flooring, I would just fill the cracks with epoxy, sand them smooth and then cover the floor with truck bed sealer (like RhinoLiner or Upol Raptor) I used the uPol 3 years ago and it's still like new. Rubberized, so it flexes, easy to wash, tintable and soft on bare feet... plus it's non-skid so it gives great traction.

I thought about doing that on my 1st early 70's V20 but ended up not doing it. Seemed like a good idea but the better option would be something along the lines of what Destroyer said. In hindsight I'm glad I didn't do it.

floor shouldn't "crack" under normal wear & tear. small spider cracks in the gelcoat, no big deal. i'd at least grind out the large cracks to make sure your core is ok. if all is good , fill and sand, then cover with whatever you decide on.

X2 what Phatdaddy said. Used a dremel or a wizard to widen the larger cracks enough to accept some lightly thickened resin, marine tex, or bondo/fairing compound. Don't get too crazy with it. I used porch and floor paint on my skiff custom tinted seafoam green, cheap and easy and only took about 20 percent of a gallon to do a few coats. Even if it doesnt hold up I figure I can roll a new coat once a year and it will take less than an hour.

I would grind the cracks down past the gel coat in a circle or patch style. Then layup 2 progressive layer of CSM (more of a structual repair rather than just filling it)....then fill a fair as needed to prep for primer and paint of choice. But as stated it should not be doing what its doing if the boats bones were strong...

thanks to all