Cracking sound in cabin deck

[Sergio]

There is a low cracking/creaking in the cabin floor of my Oday 22. It's NOT like the creaking of an old wood boat, it's more like the sound of splintering lumber. And it is only over the keel area. The floor indents only a very small amount when walked on. Is that normal? If I cut a 12" X 36" piece of floor away, will it damage the keel? Is there wood in or under the floor or is it all fiberglass? Could I forget the cutting and just custom fit a "new" 3/4" plywood floor in the cabin?Any comments would be a tremendous help. Thanks, ~Sergio

 

[john]

cracky/creaky

sergio, I have a 78 22 and there is a removable cover on the floor over the top of the keel.It's about two feet long and starts right under the companionway; it's aboutsix inches wide.Is your floor solid fiberglass? maybe it has been done over already?

 

[Sergio]

John, re: my floor

John, it looks a like a factory floor. And very clean too. The only trouble is this strip about 6-8" wide and about 48" long that crackles when I walk into the cabin. Do you suppose your '78 has already had some work done to the floor? Can you tell me a little more about that cover and the floor itself? Thank you in advance for your courtesy.~Sergio

 

[john]

creaky floor

Sergio, The more I listen to what others say about their O'day 22s, the more I realize that over the years they were built they went through a lot of mostly minor changes. I guess the biggest one would be the swinging centerboard , which mine does not have. I have a molded in lead keel.directly above where the keel is in the hull, the cabin floor boxes in and extends down to the top of the keel and forms a bilge area for the cabin. This is not open to the hull or locker areas. I have had considerable water in the lockers and the cabin floor was still dry, and water in the cabin with dry lockers. There is a long narrow cover for this bilge, and it sits level with the cabin floor when it is installed. I am guessing that other years did not use this setup, but it does make it easy to pump the water out of the cabin. Perhaps there is a floor support from the floor to the hull that is giving a little; If it only does it when you walk on it , I wouldn't be too concerned about it.

 

[Sergio]

creaky floor

I think you are right about that, a 25 year old boat is bound to have been altered by it's owners over the years.And I'm going to follow up on your idea to cut an access strip into the floor. This will allow me to inspect the bilges for deterioration and dry it out like you said. Also, if and when I add more ballast, the process will be easier.Thanks~Sergio

 

[Russ Marcks]

Creaky floors

My 25 also has a creaking floor, in my case, at the compression post. What I found out is the fiberglass cabin sole is not well supported immediately around the compression post (a 2x4 in my case). The creaking is simply the fiberglass floor rubbing against the post. A support directly under the floor adjacent to the post solved the problem