Replacing floors

[2manymustangs]

They are rotted, soft enough to stick a screw driver through. I'm a big guy so they need to be replaced. I'm debating if I want to leave part of the floor between the stringers open to have a step down or to close it. Also to polish the glass or to carpet? Pros and cons?

Photos?


I'm guessing it the floors are that bad, the stringers may be in need of attention?

I think that the stringers need to be bedded in glass on top of the floors...

While I have not done any of this work on my own I've done a fair amount of glass/wood work and have followed plenty of threads over the last decade...

Set up a jig/dolly to know/keep it all straight/true... Built out of 2x4's... Do this first to ensure that the boat is sitting on a true/straight/rigid fixture...

Some guys use a router 1/4" diameter carbide bit to cut through the glass overlay/flooring and not damage the glass bottom of the hull... They use the router to adjust the cut depth and section up the rotten/ bad flooring to be removed and scrape it all out, then D.A. the glass bottom of the hull after the rotten wood is removed...

I think a handy guy can do all of this on his own with a little resarch and common sense... AND alot of elbow grease...

Measure/take notes-dimensions and duplicate how the hull was originally set up... Try to use clear kiln dried douglas fir marine plywood and timbers for the stringers...

IF your not totally sure what kind of resin your using be sure to clean the layers of new resin with acetone and scuff with a DA to remove any styrene and ensure a proper bond of the layers of new resins one to another... SOme resins contain styrene and will prohibit the subsquent layers from bonding to each other properly, the acetone will clean off any of the styrene (it rises to the surface and keeps the resin from being tacky)...

You can do a KILLER looking wood floor that can't be matched by any carpet floor...