rotten focsal/ bow floor
 

Hi and thanks if you jumped over to this from the intro page.

my problem is this - bought a what i feel is great boat for also what i feel was great price. of course great price always has a catch and the niggle that i had to accept is that the focsal/ bow floor is soft as philly cream cheese.

luckily it is in the middle, completely isolated, accessible and i know/ have eliminated the cause.

I want to repair it properly but the sun finally came out in southern Ontario and have promised my son a boat in the water on Saturday morning.

Big question- is this floor of the bow a major structural component? it doesn't appear to be. the main floor is much thicker and stronger and the various stringers and members indicate that the bow area floor is just for standing on. again the rot is in the middle to the center of the boat so aside from not being safe to stand on I hope it is NBD.

if this area is structurally crucial then that changes my priorities this weekend a lot but I can certainly handle the project.

other than that some general questions -
what is under this floor? any wires, tubes, parts I should be aware of before i get cutting?
has anyone had this problem? if so i would love to here their method and results.
also has anyone (assuming its possible) put a hatch in here? is it worth it?

On to the solution- assuming i can wait until the fall to do a full and thorough repair i have two phase plan-

1. create temp floor out of a rot resistant high grip material. I could try to do the fiberglass fix now but i would be rushing before i know the boat and what i really want to do in the space.

Options such as trex decking may work but that is heavy and expensive. I have a full shop so maybe ripping trex in half would solve the problem but its an expensive experiment

Ideally i would use the plastic Ikea uses for cutting boards with that slightly roughened texture in about a 3/8" to1/2" thickness then make the hatch out of it later. Anyone have an idea of a product that might work here?

as it is temporary it may be cost prohibitive but worth asking.

i was really hoping to avoid a ply deck painted white but if someone has done it and has a quick materials list particularly a good paint that will prevent slivers / look half decent for 6 months for this application then great. please send it and the job is done tomorrow.

saying "plywood and white paint" while very funny isn't helpful.

2. make future NG23 deal with properly repairing fibreglass and balsa core in September.

I hate that guy anyway- always criticizing my choices- so win win.

thanks NG