Removing Rotted Wood Fiberglass Boat Floor

Some parts will be super easy if they re really rotten.

Removing rotted wood fiberglass boat floor. The most common material used for boat flooring is bc plywood and it is also used for fiberglass boats in particular. In the smaller fiberglass boats the wood for the engine mounts is usually part of the stringer assembly and encased in fiberglass. Replacing a rotten boat deck is a fairly common task and it s a lot easier than you might think. A lot of work.

If the stringers and bulkheads are rotten get them replaced with fiberglass ones. At this point the fiberglass transom had bits of leftover wood 4 so i used a grinder to grind it all down to bare fiberglass then used a belt sander to create the flattest possible surface. Hopefully when you bought your boat you gave it a thorough pre purchase inspection and didn t get any nasty surprises. Once you are confident that the rotten sections have been removed you can start to repair the floor as needed.

Step 1 remove the damaged flooring. To repair the wood would mean removing the engine cutting the top off the stringer replacing the wood and then re glassing the top of the stringer back in place. Make sure to. But if you buy a fixer upper or have an older boat you love and don t want to part with there s a fair chance you ll need to replace part or all of the rotten boat.

The methods used to make minor repairs to wood and fiberglass floors in a boat are similar in many ways. You cannot repair the boat floor while rotten wood remains as it will only continue to rot. Start removing the old damaged material using an electric saw to cut it. Major repairs or repairs to aluminum boat floors should be assigned to an experienced repair shop or boat yard.