Soft Spots In Fibreglas Floor

[coasty1]

HI,I was just getting some heads up on cutting out two soft spots in my fibreglass floor,i have done some other fibreglass work to the old girl so have some but limited experince in it,just a question what would be the best way to cut out the exsisting floor part with out going too deep in cut would a circular saw be too hard core ,any help would be much appreciated,could post pics if needed,cheers all,

Coast1

[rickb]

Circular Saw is exactly what you need. Set it to about 10mm deep as your floor should be approx. 12mm thick. Make a few cuts ,so you cut out a shape of a square.And then remove this and have a feel around to see if you can find any stringers.Keep opening up the hole until all the rotten timber has gone.Take your time and dont go for a deep cut straight away as you may cut through the stringers.

Good luck..once you start cutting and get rid of the old stuff ,it isn't too bad.

A bit scary at first though.!!

G/day, OBEY1,

I thought you might have lent Coasty1 your laser.

cheers Rick.

[coasty1]

Circular Saw is exactly what you need. Set it to about 10mm deep as your floor should be approx. 12mm thick. Make a few cuts ,so you cut out a shape of a square.And then remove this and have a feel around to see if you can find any stringers.Keep opening up the hole until all the rotten timber has gone.Take your time and dont go for a deep cut straight away as you may cut through the stringers.

Good luck..once you start cutting and get rid of the old stuff ,it isn't too bad.

A bit scary at first though.!!

cheers for that bud i will,do you think a stud finder would locate the stringers,just an idea as i can tell my sound any way were they are,also should i cut it on and angle to help new piece site in old spot,cheers

[coasty1]

Studfinder ??? worth a try I guess..never thought of that myself.

Cutting on an angle probably would be ok but you may find that the rot goes a lot further than you think. On my old boat I thought a square foot or so would do it easy but I ended up taking out around 1m x 0.5m.I ended up having the new timber sitting on the stringer and the two edges of the floor.

Dont be tempted to leave the old crap in their...or else you may be back here again.

Good Luck

Thanks mate will do i thought as much just planing on doing hole piece behind seats just to be done with it.

[tuffy]

Thanks mate will do i thought as much just planing on doing hole piece behind seats just to be done with it.

Much easier to do the whole lot in one go if you ask me.

Tuffy

[coasty1]

Just a question Raiders what the best tool to get a nice square corner as circular saw bit limited, ended up taking it back further then in this pic,also whats the best stuff to coat marine ply in before laying

[tangled1]

Arent we fishing tomorrow? I hope you your working through the night .

Oh yeah i dont know much about this sort of stuff but maybe a recipro saw

Edited October 2, 2010 by tangled1

[roosterman]

coasty i would be doing some test drill holes in those stringers checking for rot.. ya can fill with glass/resin .....

also may be idea to check transom if suspect..

this will make a big difference to what and how you are going to fix floor..

for the ply theres no need for marine grade as construction stuff is cheaper and only veneer outside is different which ya covering with glass and resin anyways...

ripping up ya floor is always a chance and pot luck sometimes in whats hidden ya weren't aware of..

good luck with it and research all ya can and do it right first go round avoiding shortcuts when ya get frustrated..

as for cutting.. small grinder does a good job...

be very careful and use proper masks and overalls and dont have kids people around when grinding and sanding etc...

fibreglass is same as asbestos in the deadly nature of it...

hope this helps...

cheers...steve.......

[coasty1]

Thanks Raiders,just wondering was still thinking of going with the marine ply as one hardware store has sheets for $60 andanother store has sheets for $300,so will just stick the marine and cover it as well,and for the corners i actually just got mychisel and cleaned up the corners,will ask fibre glassing place about the correct gap filler ect,thanks.

[stuartf]

Kharglass should do the trick as a filler.Its chopped fiberglass with a hardner. You can get it at your local spare part Auto shop.

Fibreglass it then flowcoat it. You can paint or carpet after that, or just leave it with that finish.

Stuball

[coasty1]

Thanks ,was onto the filler stuff,I will flow coat it as you said,today i painted with resin letting dry will put in boat tomorrow and will get that flow coat you recommend,thinking of carpeting it later.will post pics.And yes i did not let the kids near it when cutting and am aware of hazards cheers