How to cut out floor on 1989 Maxum?

[mikemlittle]

The floor to the boat is rotten so I'd like to cut out the floor and look at the stringers...replace the floor..etc. what is the correct way to do this? How do I avoid cutting into the stringers or damaging anything else when cutting?

 

[chevymaher]

Well if it makes you feel better. 99.9% of the time absolutely all of it needs to come out. Just got to try to not cut into the hull as you do it.

Grinders with cutting wheels saws all and the new tool oldrem will chime in with. I wish I had one of those they sound great.

Just mentally prepare it all is coming out. Once you get over that it is alot easier. LOL I am the Harbinger of Doom. There is no hope. It is the way of the boats. Rot from the bottom up so if the deck is bad it is all bad.

But on the other hand everyone hopes their boat is the one in a million that is okay underneath. It has happened. Once.

It isnt so bad we all had to do it to.

 

[mikemlittle]

I read some things and watched videos about leaving some along the edges..like 4" but it never explained why

 

[Scott Danforth]

go to the stickies at the top of the forum.

go to the DIY stickies

go thru links 14, 18, 2, 3, 4a, and 4b in their entirety. make sure to watch all the videos in link 14. it will take you 2-3 days.

the answers you seek are in the stickies

and your stringers and bulkheads are coming out. the last thing to rot is the floor, long after the stringers, bulkhead, and transom.

 

[tpenfield]

Set the depth on your circular saw to the thickness of the flooring (probably about 1/2”) and have at it.

 

[sphelps]

Set the depth on your circular saw to the thickness of the flooring (probably about 1/2”) and have at it.

This ... And stay back as you said a few inches from where the deck meets the sides

 

[sms986]

I just went through the same thing... Floor had some soft spots and I found that the stringers were rotted. I started out by drilling a 3/4" hole through thet floorboards, about 1" from the stringers, big enough to fit my sawzaw blade into it, on all corners of the floorboards. Then I cut the floor out all the way around. Be VERY VERY careful if you do this because as you get to the sides of the boat your blade will begin to hit the hull if you have it inserted all the way. This worked very well for me and I didn't put any nics in the hull. If you find the stringers are rotten, which I did, you can take an angle grinder with a masonry cutting disk (metal works too, I just had masonry on hand) and cut the fiberglass tabbing all the way around the floorboard then pull it up by hand. It was really easy for me to do it this way. I did find that the floorboards were stapled into the wood prior to being glassed, but with the seams being weakened I was able to pull it away by hand fairly easily. We may have different boats, but at the end of the day it sounds like we're in the same one!

 

[DouglasW]

I used a circular saw set to 1/2". I think you want to leave a few inches from the sides to make sure you don't cut through the outer hull.

 

[steve_h7]

I read some things and watched videos about leaving some along the edges..like 4" but it never explained why

It's an easy way to know where the original floor was tabbed in and so you can put back at the same level.

 

[tpenfield]

I read some things and watched videos about leaving some along the edges..like 4" but it never explained why

In addition to the sighting rationale, it is pretty hard to get close to the edges of the hull with a circular saw, So, the last few inches are often cut afterwards, once all the measurements are taken and the perimeter has been marked for reference during the re-build stage.

 

[Mechanicalmike08]

I used the little lips to run string lines to get my stringers and bulk heads level with the old floor height. It's also a nice guide to use to trace ur hull shape for the bulkheads. I cut a piece of cardboard to the width of the hull but extra tall, then take a small piece of lumber with a tip cut on it and tape a sharpie to the other end. You can run the wood and marker onto the cardboard and get a great profile this way of the hull.

 

[dezmond]

If you use a circular saw and set to the RIGHT depth, that will leave you your lip all the way around as well... That's what I did. Then for all the inner parts, just start to rip away. Smaller pieces come out easier than big ones. Get your measurements first so you know how to put new back in.