1970 Larson Tri hull rotten floor

[keakins]

I just bought a 70 Larson Tri-hull will a good sized soft spot (fist sized hole) in the floor where the tilt pump had prviously leaked fluid. How hard is it to replace the floor? Should I just lay over the existing floor? What material should I use? It's only soft in a few spots, the rest of the floor seems solid.

 

[JB]

Re: 1970 Larson Tri hull rotten floor

Boat topic

 

[djzyla1980]

Re: 1970 Larson Tri hull rotten floor

How does the rest of the floor look? is it fiberglassed or wood floor??? <br /><br />If it is fiberglass I would just repair the section as long as the rest of the floor is solid... If it is wood or replaced already... replace the whole floor. It would give you an idea whats under it.<br /><br />In Omaha myself... was looking at a trihull in Lavista Cheap with no motor... figured I have enough on my plate with the boat I have now

 

[SCO]

Re: 1970 Larson Tri hull rotten floor

I would cut out the soft wood and look inside. You need to determine the condition of the stringers and transom. In the worst case, hulls are cheap. If you have a good motor and trailer, you can get a better hull. Good luck.

 

[MrBill]

Re: 1970 Larson Tri hull rotten floor

Just fixed similar issue...for a hole potentially 5" in diameter cut the carpet 12 to 15" around the soft spot. Cut three sides of a square and pull back, then carefully cut the floor to get a look inside. If it's only that spot or a little larger cut out to solid wood. Chances are that some thing under is also a problem. You may be able to make a repair by cutting some more flooring to sister a stringer or something like that. I had a 8" floor hole to repair. Cut a piece to fit through the hole and pull it up against the underside of the floor. Use water-proof glue on it and don't forget to put something on it to hold on to, like a screw, etc.<br />Drill pilot holes and screw through the floor to attach the piece from the underside. Then cut a piece of ply the same thickness, size and shape as the hole. Glue and screw that down, then glue down the carpet.<br /><br />If you luck out and don't have alot of rot, you'll be ok. The key is to work neatly and pattern the cuts, then carefully glue down the carpet.<br /><br />I would not go over the entire floor unless the stringers are sound, otherwise you'll have sagging floor very soon and a lot more to pull up later.

 

[SCO]

Re: 1970 Larson Tri hull rotten floor

Hey 70, I am leary because I also bought a boat and hoped to just repair the floor, but it turned out that the thing rotted from inside out. The last to go was the floor. But, if you have some outside source causing it, you might be ok. Tell us what you find.

 

[navigator336]

Re: 1970 Larson Tri hull rotten floor

Try tightening all the screws holding the seats down. If they all snug up nicely, the floor in general should be fine. If most of them strip, the whole floor should be replaced (a 1970 boat with the original floor is due for replacement). The suggestion to cut a larger hole for keel and stringer inspection is important as is testing the transom. I had a tri-hull several years ago that I replaced the floor, stringers, keel and transom on. It really wasn't that bad of a job.