Jon boat floor renovation

[Skinbone]

I have a jon boat i saw and immediately had to have it .Was my kind of boat but had a rotten floor. I figured no big deal i can fix it .Never worked with fiberglass but figured i would love to learn. Well anyways i have the old floor ripped out but have a few questions on where i should go next. The boat didn't have any stringers, just an 8 foot board going up the middle. I removed the rotten plyboard under the fiberglass and my next step is to grind everything down smooth and turn it into my dream boat. Any advice would be greatly appreciated .Im thinking of filling the space under the transom and the fiberglass overtop a middle board. Then deck, then more glass.

 

[Woodonglass]

Pics always help us to help you. Post a few more times then you can upload the pics. What size is the boat?

 

[Skinbone]

14 ft. And it wont let mw post pics. I'll try again when i get off work

 

[Woodonglass]

is it a fiberglass hull?

 

[Skinbone]

Yes

 

[Skinbone]

It keeps saying my picture is too big even when I take a new one

 

[oldrem]

I've been using irfanview for many years to size photos down - easy and free www.irfanview.com/

 

[Skinbone]

[No message]

 

[Ned L]

Pretty simple boat, you have a blank slate to make it whatever you want.
Was there foam inside the seats that you removed? You will want to replace it with at least as much foam.
Can you describe you plans a bit better so we can get an idea of what you want.

 

[Woodonglass]

Yeah, you will need to add some lateral support the the sides of the hull. The seats provided that but fore and aft deck would do the trick as well. Foam would be recommended for floatation.

 

[Skinbone]

[No message]

 

[Skinbone]

Yes, it did have foam under the plywood that was glassed over. What I'm thinking is a bench with one or possibly two seats near the transom. Also I want to keep the deck somewhat open for walking around and then have a upper deck towards the front with a casting seat on it. That's kind of the idea I was thinking of

 

[Skinbone]

So yall are saying i need to add foam under my decking like it was before and to add some lateral support such as a few stringers or a bench seat fiberglassed to both sides to add support?

 

[chevymaher]

In my opinion foam is the best thing since a pocket on a shirt. It both make the boat structurally stronger. And if done correctly it does not sink when it gets swamped. A plus if you don't want to loose the boat. It absorbs sound and makes the boat run quieter on the water. Nothing but win wins in my book.

I know it says 2 lb foam isn't structural. I got some excess that ran out of the cracks on the deck. I can beat it with a hammer it wont change. That stuff is tough.

 

[Scott Danforth]

4# foam is considered structural for small boats. 16# foam is structural for large ships.

as chevymaher stated, you probably do not need anything more than 2#

 

[Skinbone]

Ok i have the boat floor grinded down and sanded. Also cleaned the whole boat thoroughly with soap and water. It's drying in my garage now .So i am thinking of adding a layer of 1.5 chop down as an extra layer since the floor is sooo thin. Then add my middle support board then lay glass over that .I'm taking my time and trying to do it right. Think thats good for the next few steps? Am i missing anything?

 

[Skinbone]

[No message]

 

[kcassells]

Something like this?
Pretty bad drawing but food for thought. All lower areas get foamed or storage in the raised deck area. You may need to add a lip of wood on inside perimeter for the new flor to rest on and the same in the raised areas. Try to put your bench on the stringers/bulkheads.
Oh yea forgot. You need to get all the hull glass grinded down flush and clean.

 

[Skinbone]

Looks great! And the lip helps the floor sit better? So i should add that?

 

[kcassells]

I would add them to the sides, front and back. Makes a good support for the deck and easy leveling for stringers and bulkheads. Prob. 1/2" ACX or BCX plywood.