Need advice on 1983 17' Celebrity I/O with spongy floor

[copierkat]

I recently purchased '83 Celebrity. Have not started or tried to start yet, as it is freezing here and will have to pull plugs and spray lubricant in to loosen rings as it has not been run for 2 years.
With a spongy floor, does this mean I have to tear out all carpet and cut old floor out to inspect further damage? Should I be worried about transom rot? Can I put boat in water in spring to try her out without worrying that the transom will split in 2? Pics of boat attached. Thanks, Dave

 

[Friscoboater]

Re: Need advice on 1983 17' Celebrity I/O with spongy floor

Please take a look at my threads and you will see what needs to be done with a spongy deck. It depends on how rotten the transom is, but if all the wood is gone you can split the transom and let a rush of water in.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: Need advice on 1983 17' Celebrity I/O with spongy floor

Fear the worst and hope for the best.

Your deck is rotten/rotting, the water that has gone through it has saturated your foam and more than likely rotted your stringers... that same water has probably taken it's toll on the transom as well.

Your boat may not be that bad, but my description of the damage is typical of a boat with a deck that has a soft spot.

At the very least you're looking at installing a new deck, but it usually turns out to be quite a bit more than that.

What's your location CC?... somewhere freezing?

 

[Grandad]

Re: Need advice on 1983 17' Celebrity I/O with spongy floor

Transom rot will often be evident by probing with a screwdriver inside below the thru-hull engine mount. If the wood is glassed at this point, you'll need to drill a core sample. If it's solid, seal the test hole well with something like 3M5200. In looking at the outdrive picture that you posted, the lighting angle appears to define a bulge/dent in the transom in an outline around the drive. Not a good sign. - Grandad

 

[copierkat]

Re: Need advice on 1983 17' Celebrity I/O with spongy floor

OK, thanks for the info. Hopefully, I can put this off till next winter. I am in Minnesota, hence the term "freezing" out. I will have to wait till the spring thaw to really find out how bad it is and go from there. I will be viewing the many floor re-dos on iboats in the mean time. This is a great site! Dave