Haha, gotcha.

I know you can't weld fiberglass.  My real question is how much trouble am I in for trying to replace the floor in a 1982 Procraft bass boat.  I would say 80% of the floor is solid, it is just the spot infront of the passenger seat.  I am thinking I should dremel out the soft spot and keep cutting back until i find the stringers.  Then either cut back some more to expose half of the top of the stringers or cut back even with the stringers and install some sisters to support the new section of floor.  I fear that once i open it up I will be rebuilding everything.  I am also thinking about just putting a new sheet of plywood over the existing floor.  I really don't like this option since it is such a shortcut and not a professional repair.  Any help and wisdom will be appreciated.

I went through this with my old boat a few years ago and ended up replacing the entire front and rear deck. It may sound like a good idea to just patch the soft spot, but chances are you will be making another repair shortly; whether it is this spot or another. If you take the floor decking completely off, you will be able to inspect the condition of the stringers and insulation and hopefully determine why the floor rotted in the first place. Then you can replace the decking with a full sheet of material, which will be considerably stronger than just a patch. But... It's your boat so do what want. This is just my opinion.

I share your thoughts exactly,  However, I am not sure how to work around the console/ livewell which is part of the side and bonded to the floor.  If it was seperated I think I could get it easily but I don't think I could slide a solid piece of plywood under the console/livewell for the whole floor.  So I am stuck piecing it together.  DRAMA, DRAMA, DRAMA!!!

I bought a boat that looked really nice and was told was in excelent condition. Before ever getting it in the water I spent $2000 to have the motor completely overhauled. The motor is a 1967 Evinrude Starflite 80. Runs like a champ now . Arter a few fishing trips on the lakes around here I noticed an ever worsening crunching sound under foot in 2 areas of the deck. The boat is a 1977 Glastron Sportster, 16'. I pulled up the carpet in those areas expecting to replace a little plywood and be done with it. WRONG. The plywood was so rotten I could just rip out chunks with my hands. My mechanic told me to replace the deck and stringers. Never tackled a job anything like this before, but at this point I was committed. I cut out the fiberglass all around the inside perimeter with pneumatic cutting tool and removed all plywood. I left the old stringers in place (1 down the keel, 1 on either side 1/2 way between keel and side of hull) as they weren't totally rotted out. The original stringers were pine, and plywood deck was 1/2" plywood. I bought red oak to make new stringers and 3/4" marine grade plywood for new deck. After cutting and shaping stringers to fit in place I treated all the new wood to waterproof it before installation. Mixed fiberglass resin, then diluted it 50% with acetone to allow it to penetrate into the new wood where the acetone evaporates and leaves the wood impregnated with fiberglass resin, and treated the old stringers as well .I applied 4 coats to completely seal and coat wood. Pulled out all the old open cell foam from the hull (it was all waterlogged and weighed a ton ), bought twice as much new foam, closed cell to prevent waterlogging. Installed the foam, and bolted new stringers to old ones, sandwiching the old ones with new on either side, using stainless steel bolts. Screwed down new decking with brass screws. Applied new fiberglass cloth and resin to seal down new deck and form it to the hull. Bought new high quality outdoor carpeting and glued it to the new deck, using a roller to get it smooth and even. Then installed new high end pedestal seats from Cabela's to replace the original back to back lounge seats. Since then I have also added a new bimini top, Minkota Edge 50# thrust trolling motor, VHF marine band radio, Sirius satellite radio, Eagle 320c depth/fish finder, compass, submersible fishing lights, dual batteries on a 1/both/off switch, fishing rod storage tubes for 10 rods, 6 tactical fishing rod holders,  motorcycle headlights for night time operation, interior cabin lights on both sides of boat, and a solar battery charger to keep batteries full charged at all times. I did all the work myself (except the motor overhaul ) over a period of about 5 months. I love the end result . I get constant compliments on the boat. It was a lot of work, but for me it was well worth it. Don't hesitate to ask me for any advise or help you would need should you decide to rebuild your "good bones" boat.       Happy fishing.

Allen

Hello allen, your boat dose look nice..sounds like you have a brand new boat and the best thing is it is set up the way you need it . JOHN

Tank - can you take some pictures and post them? Maybe someone on here can give you a recommendation of what can be done to get at the decking under the console and livewell.

Allen - Nice job on the restoration, it looks terrific and I'm sure you will enjoy that boat for many years.

Thanks guys. Don't hesitate to ask me for any advice on your restoration if you have any questions.

Some more pics.

All I can say is WOW!!!!   You did an amazing job.  How many grave sites did you have to buy to be buried in your pride & joy? 

I don't think mine is that bad but the thought of that scares me.  I think I am going to try to cut out the bad spot and repair it.  The total floor area is approximately 4x5 and the front & rear decks are predominently lids for the storage areas and live wells.  Everything on the decks is solid.

Once you get the areas exposed you'll know if you can do a simple repair or whether you have a serious problem. Hope it's simple for you. HAPPY FISHING.