Replacing Deck

E

erikbythesea

New member
I have a 1988 v20 Fisherman center console, the deck is getting soft. I live in NJ and spoke with a fiberglass guy about replacing the deck. He gave a quote to replace the deck by cutting the top skin off and replacing the wood with coosa board. He said he knows the boats well and there shouldnt be any problem with the stringers. My concern is that I'm assuming that the foam is waterlogged, since the boat currently lists to starboard a little. He said that once the water intrusion is solved, that the foam will dry out and will be fine. I am a little leary of that and would like to hear anyone's opinions. Also, if anyone can recommend another fiberglass guy in NJ around Belmar or Brick, I would appreciate it.
 
If i went to the trouble and expense of removing deck, i would also remove foam and either leave out or refoam. If you want to check your stringers, look in the limber holes where the stringers met the transom

The fact that he said he knows these boats well and stringers should not be an issue woukd give me reason to get some more guys to look at it
 
Hate to sound like a downer but here are questions you have to consider...

Does it have an original aluminum tank? expect to replace that.

what will you do if the stringers are shot? and the transom?

Is he going to cut out the deck in one piece, flip it over, save the skin and re-core it and then glass it back? or is he going to screw down coosa (into existing stringers?) and glass it over?
How will he deal with edges of hatches?

Is it just a soft spot at the pedestal seat?. can you scale back the project?
 
Transom seems pretty solid. I just replaced the brass drain tubes that run through the transom on the engine well and had solid wood all around. There is a little rot in the stringers where the drain holes are in the bilge area, but it doesnt seem to have gone too far. I believe the plan is to cut the skin and recore the deck with coosa, saving the skin. Most of the soft deck rot seems to be from a large 4 inch hole that was cut under the center console, which ends up getting wet and wicking the water into the deck. The rod holders on the side of the console are wide open and water gets in through there and gets trapped in the console. The tank hatch is pretty soft and he said it would be easier to make a new one instead of saving the existing. The area in front of the console is soft as well because of an improperly sealed cooler mount. The gas tank appears to have been replaced by the PO with a poly tank. I have owned the boat for 8 years and am having a tough time deciding whether to repair a 30 year old boat or get something else. I love the hull, the layout, and the memories that were created aboard. The motor is the original 150 yamaha and starts up every time, but I know that is on borrowed time as well. My biggest worry is the wet foam issue. I hear mixed opinions about that drying out once the intrusion is addressed.
 
Not that familar with the center console, but on the cuddy, tank hatch is no big deal, but recording it is a lot easier that making one. Just flip it over, grind off old wood and reclassify new in place. Not sure if i would go to exspence of coosa when good old ply held up for 30 years. Take the money you save on core and put in fresh foam if you think u need it.

I have an 83 or 84 cuddy and the only foam in mine was around the tank. I removed that and now and going commando and living it
 
Forget the 30 year old boat, mine is 40 years old and I would never replace her and I know she needs work so getting back to your boat I would find out if the stringers are good and the foam should be replaced, if your
fiberglass guy said you don't have to that it would dry out I would think that's a red flag, I would call the other fiberglass guy the the other guy told you about, can I ask how much was he charging you to do that job? If it was me and your transom is in good shape I would want it done right the first time ,then you can really show off your boat. My opinion is that the new boats suck the wellcrafts are the best boats (center consoles and of course step lifts ) are the best.
 
It takes YEARS for the closed cell foam to absorb the water. Technically, it will dry out, but it will also take years for it to dry out. (And that's assuming that it will never get wet again while drying out). Get rid of the foam and the guy saying it will dry. Remember that foam is called level flotation foam, meaning that if your boat sinks it will sink level but will stay afloat. (in theory) If it was me (and it was when I redid my V21) I would take out all the old foam, then do like someone (I think it was Spareparts) recommended here on the site and simply replace all the old foam with pool noodles cut to size to fit in the voids. They use closed cell foam, and as long as they are not exposed to UV sunlight will last a long, long time. and if you ever have to replace the foam again it's simply a matter of picking up the old and replacing it. Get them from the dollar store.

As far as the underdeck goes, just remove the old wood, and replace it with new plywood. (Cut the wood into parquet style rectangles and glue them onto the underside, then glass over the entire underdeck to permanently seal the wood.
 
Thanks all for the input. Im leaning more and more toward going to a newer and bigger boat. The fiberglass guy quoted me a price of 5500 to recore the deck. That does not include derigging and rerigging the center console, which I would have to do myself or would be an added expense. I agree that a second opinion would be a good idea and would prefer to see what is under the deck and address any issues, but finding a reliable fiberglass guy or even someone to return my calls has been virtually impossible.
 
erikbythesea said:
Thanks all for the input. Im leaning more and more toward going to a newer and bigger boat. The fiberglass guy quoted me a price of 5500 to recore the deck. That does not include derigging and rerigging the center console, which I would have to do myself or would be an added expense. I agree that a second opinion would be a good idea and would prefer to see what is under the deck and address any issues, but finding a reliable fiberglass guy or even someone to return my calls has been virtually impossible.
Click to expand...

It seems everyone wants to charge big bucks to do minimal, shoddy work now days. Granted, fiberglass prices for the raw materials have gone up, but $5500 is mostly labor costs.
 
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