Floorboard bracing

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amytom
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Floorboard bracing

Post by amytom »

I've been looking into replacing the floorboards in both hulls. They tend to flex especially right at the stairs. Replacement is quite pricey and the top surface isn't all that bad.

I'm now thinking of just adding stringers or braces under the floors. I could use the plastic/wood decking stuff in the 2"x2" size and just glass that into the bilge level with the glass floor.
A few areas, though, need something a little thinner (over the shower sump). I'm thinking of wood strips (maybe 1x2 pine?) epoxied to the bottom of the floorboard.
I also want to add cut-outs for bilge inspection similar to what Nina Bonita did; what size wood strips would be strong enough to support the installed cover?

Any thoughts and reccomendations are appreciated.
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Page 83
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Re: Floorboard bracing

Post by Page 83 »

My floorboards flex because they are waterlogged with an accidental mix of antifreeze and rain water. They were sufficiently rigid when I got the boat, so I need to replace them. Has anyone had experience with alternative flooring systems?
Sandy Daugherty "Page 83" PDQ 36026
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thinwater
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Re: Floorboard bracing

Post by thinwater »

amytom wrote:I've been looking into replacing the floorboards in both hulls. They tend to flex especially right at the stairs. Replacement is quite pricey and the top surface isn't all that bad.

I'm now thinking of just adding stringers or braces under the floors. I could use the plastic/wood decking stuff in the 2"x2" size and just glass that into the bilge level with the glass floor.
A few areas, though, need something a little thinner (over the shower sump). I'm thinking of wood strips (maybe 1x2 pine?) epoxied to the bottom of the floorboard.
I also want to add cut-outs for bilge inspection similar to what Nina Bonita did; what size wood strips would be strong enough to support the installed cover?

Any thoughts and reccomendations are appreciated.
Hi!

I think plastic lumber is a poor choise; it is heavy and will not bond. Nix that.

I would Nix the ports, since the floors are trivial to lift. Your call. However, a simple solution would be a 6" deck plate.

I think even firring strips are over kill for the stiffening, IF you glass over them and let the glass take the load. I wouldn't be surprised if 3 layers of 6 oz. cloth laid flat without the wood would do it, certainly if it was uni-directional cloth. Try glassing a small bit of similar plywood and see what the stiffness increase is, like the battens. Remember how litle carbon it took, and the batten was thinner. You also might consider gluing on thin plywood.
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amytom
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Re: Floorboard bracing

Post by amytom »

Finally installed the floors today. I forgot to take pictures though.
Several of the boards had cracks and were very "soft" to walk on. I cut 1/2" birch plywood into strips for most of the areas and a couple larger patches for the worst damage. I used epoxy thickened with 406 to glue them to the bottom of the original flooring. i also added easy access hatches to both sides and epoxied the entire bottom of all the floorboards to seal them. The tops were lightly sanded and treated to 3 coats of polyeurothane (sp?) I will be working on the salon floor and steps next.

BTW I finally learned where the water in starboard bilge was coming from. The shower pump and the bilge pump share a throughull fitting. When the shower pump builds a little pressure the water comes flowing out the bottom of the bilge pump.
I'll eventually add another throughull, not sure if I want to do it in the water.

Tom
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