1992 wellcraft 20 fish soft floor

Imtonjamone · #1 08-17-2016, 09:40 AM

I have a 92 center console, and i just recently pulled up the floor to fix my gas tank. And i have been debating on cutting up the lower level and re fiberglass ing it .. because of a few soft spots.. from what I can see, it looks like all of the stringers are fiberglass. Does anybody know this for sure. Is there anyway wood underneath there. Because if so I can do this a lot sooner than possible. I thought that the stringers were all wood and we're going to cost me an arm and a leg to rebuild them all and then the fiberglass ..$$$$$$??? Has anyone else rebuilt their floor , and/ or knows what is under there???? Thanks alot for the help..

Destroyer · #2 08-17-2016, 01:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Imtonjamone

I have a 92 center console, and i just recently pulled up the floor to fix my gas tank. And i have been debating on cutting up the lower level and re fiberglass ing it .. because of a few soft spots.. from what I can see, it looks like all of the stringers are fiberglass. Does anybody know this for sure. Is there anyway wood underneath there. Because if so I can do this a lot sooner than possible. I thought that the stringers were all wood and we're going to cost me an arm and a leg to rebuild them all and then the fiberglass ..$$$$$$??? Has anyone else rebuilt their floor , and/ or knows what is under there???? Thanks alot for the help..

Hi, welcome to the site. I'm a bit confused by your post.. (it's a little disjointed and tough to follow) Your floor is made up of a top layer of fiberglass. Then under that and glued to it is a layer of wood. It rests on the stringers, which are made of different things in different years. early years were just wood. Then they started using fiberglass covered wood. Someone told me one time that in the last years they were pure fiberglass, but when I redid the underfloor on my 96 they were fiberglass covered wood, so I don't know how true that is..
So what, exactly, is it that you want to do? Are you replacing the gas tank? removing the wood underfloor, replacing stringers, what?

Imtonjamone · #3 08-18-2016, 09:47 AM

I want to cut out my floor and replace it with new fiberglass.. it is getting soft in a few spots.. and i have heard horror stories about people having to replace all the stringers and costing thousands of dollars. But you answered my question. The stringers feel very solid ... i got a good look at them the other day when I had the hatch up , inspecting my gas tank. Thank you

Destroyer · #4 08-18-2016, 03:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Imtonjamone

I want to cut out my floor and replace it with new fiberglass.. it is getting soft in a few spots.. and i have heard horror stories about people having to replace all the stringers and costing thousands of dollars. But you answered my question. The stringers feel very solid ... i got a good look at them the other day when I had the hatch up , inspecting my gas tank. Thank you

Well, if your flood is soft, and your stringers are solid, then the ONLY thing left is the wooden sub-floor. That's what actually provides the strength to the fiberglass floor that you walk on. The cure is to remove (cut out) your deck, remove all the rotted wood that's glued to the underside, glue new wood on and put the floor back into your boat.

Do a search on this site for some of my posts about floors and you can see pics of my boat when I had to do the same repair, along with pics from others that have had to do the same repair also. With mine, I went an added step and put a thin layer of fiberglass over the new wood after I installed it so it's sealed from moisture and should last longer than me. The rotted sub-flooring is caused by moisture being allowed to remain in the bilge areas for long periods of time. (Think winter storage). Always store your boat with the hatches and covers open to allow air to circulate and keep the wood dry, especially during the winter.