# Soft Spots on a Fiberglass Floor



## mcmd8700 (May 21, 2004)

I was looking at a boat yesterday, and felt a couple of small "soft" spots on the floor. I know on wood floors, this means rot. What does this mean on a fiberglass floor? The boat is a 1985 Procraft 1750


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## M.Magis (Apr 5, 2004)

It likely means keep on looking. It should still has wooden stringers, which are apparently rotten. Unless you can get it cheap and do the work yourself, it's probably best to pass.


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## pomeroy (Apr 20, 2005)

I had the same problem with my boat. The fiberglass floor had a cracked area and other soft areas. The 1/4 inch plywood under the fiberglass had rotted out. I cut out a section of the floor, put in a new piece of plywood and did the fiberglass on top of the wood. I also added another layer of fiberglass in other spots of the floor while I had the carpet up. I was surprised how easy it was to work with the fiberglass. If the price is right on the boat and the structure under the floor is good it isn't that hard to work with the fiberglass.


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## mcmd8700 (May 21, 2004)

Can anyone reccomend to me someone who might be able to do the floor work for a reasonable cost? I am just not good with woodworking, nor do I have the tools to do it. I already have carpet, I would just need someone to do the work. If the cost is too much, then I will pass. but I can get this boat dirt cheap, and motor is well worth it. I am in the Cincinnati area, and would appreciate any help!

Thanks


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## DaleM (Apr 5, 2004)

Here's a suggestion you might consider. Get a piece of Alum. sheeting cut to cover the soft area plus a few inches all around it. Get a piece of alum that is stout but not to thick. 1/8" alum would work fine. Screw it to the floor and seal around it with silicone sealer. Your covering it anyway with new carpet, so you'll never see the patch. This will cost you a LOT less than having it cut out and re-fiberglassed. It will also be as strong if not stronger.


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## steely123 (May 17, 2004)

Geez buddy-

RUN FOR THE HILLS MAAAAN !....

Pass on it ...trust someone who has boat a fiberglass boat with the same telltale signs....

My nightmare about 8-9 yrs back....

I bought it. Did not have it surveyed. Turns out the fiberglass had become dilineated or water soaked. I can tell a bad hull just by tapping on it with a small hammer or screwdriver now....too bad i didn't know what I was doing then....oh well....

The sucker still leaked after ripping everything inc/ the stringers out and redoing....

Yeah, you might get lucky and be able to fix it....

Or you could have my experience and try to sue the guy etc....

Do yourself a favor if you are spending some $$ and have your potential
choice surveyed by a licensed/bonded surveyor...

steely


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## mcmd8700 (May 21, 2004)

Thanks for the tip. Maybe I will buy it for what I would pay for the motor, and hope for the best. If the boat is shot, I have a good 150HP motor to sell or put on another boat.


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## steely123 (May 17, 2004)

That's not a bad plan...

At least you know goin' in that the boat may be junk.....

steely123


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## JV1 (Apr 18, 2004)

I know this is an old post , but for safetys sake I wanted to chime in. Cutting a piece of lumber or aluminum to cover the hole is easy, and cheaper. Thats very true. Is it going to make it stronger? ABSOUTLY NOT, Is it a good idea ? not even remotly. Im not making this post to step on anyones toes, Im making it to make you aware that advice was given thats a very very bad idea. I will explain. When you find a soft spot on the floor, it usually didnt start on top of the floor, it started under the floor out of your view. And by the time the "rot" appears on your floor as a "soft spot" its most likely to late to help it and in its last stages of rot, the next stage is structural failure. Covering it with a piece of metal or lumber (as I did before I knew any better) is the *WORST POSSIBLE THING* you could do. How do I know? I just dealt with the conciquences of covering it with a piece of lumber. A full stringer job, after the floor came out and I had a look at what was under it and I was sorry I ever thought that hiding it with a sheet metal patch would help anything. What was under there was this> the floatation foam that was meant to save me was working against me defiantly as a sponge, holding water and weighing down my boat. The wood inside the stringers was mush , my boat was actually bendable, meaning it was flexing with the torque from the outboard, the boat was an accident waiting to happen. If I would not have put a sheet of metal over it, I would have dealt with this problem earlier instead of putting my family in jeapordy each and every time out on the water. Like another gentleman said in this thread, if your willing to fix it, go for it, if your not willing to get dirty, move on, dont fish in a "wet boat" The amount of rot I found was incredible, boat was seriously owerweight and most of the bulkheads & stringers were soggy oatmeal,







completely gone in some areas, actually rotted to a pile of slop, the stringers were not intact. your entire boats structural strength comes from the stringers and the foam inserted in between them. Without the stringer grid 100% intact, your boat has no structural strenght. Meaning it will BOG through the water, bend with the waves, waste fuel, have diffuculty planing. Boats are made to be rigid, If you remove the stringers and foam, your boat turned into a wet noodle, it loses its rigidness and is "soggy" , Mix that with 1000 pounds of saturated foam and 30 year old soaked lumber , and you could someday be on the bottom of the lake. If you have a soft spot on your floor, deal with it, please dont put it out of your mind. If you really want to see the potential of a "soft spot" with dozens more pictures of the damage that was UNDER the soft spot, again which is the tip of the iceburg , visit my repair page, http://ohfishing.com Or you can send me a PM here at OGF if you have any questions about the repair.


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