Soft Deck Repair

[Scott Pasley]

Hello all, I am about to begin rebuilding an old columbia sabre. Most of the cockpit floor is soft and needs to be replaced. I know on the cored decks of my boat I need to cut out and replace the old core to fix any soft spots up there, but the cockpit floor seems to be uncored. I can access the floor from inside and outside of the boat but am at a loss as to how to repair or replace it. The cockpit is 8' long and is supported in 2 small areas by 2x4's. The underside of the cockpit is next to the sea births that run all the way aft from inside the cabin so I am curious as to what the best method of repair or replacement would be. Can I glass over the old flooring and try to blend it into the cockpit sides? Is it possible to cut the whole floor out and build a new glass floor? I would appreciate anyones advice.Scott Pasley

 

[JPF]

Here's what I did on my last boat...

On my previous boat, a Catalina 27, I also had a soft cockpit floor. It did have a core at one time.... but was not evident when I opened it up. The core was just...gone. So you might want to be certain that the floor is "actually" non-cored before starting.I cut-out the top layer of glass from the whole floor and removed it, then rebuilt upwards.You also might want to consider replacing or "sister-ing" the wood support beams below the floor, if possible.Good luck with the project!

 

[Cecil]

My Repair

I own a Columbia 22 `69, I ground off the underside and the missing/rotten core , replaced the "core" with 3/8 ply( used 5200 to bond it) and then glassed over that. This saved my non skid pattern and left the exterior "factory". Good luck with your project, Cecil