Repairing boat deck -- need advice

[mercerfisherman]

Hi. I own a 1984 Sylvan 16' fishing boat, deep V. The deck is getting soft in one or two areas. I will assume that I have to replace the entire deck and carpeting. I don't know if the stringers are ok or not. This may be my ultimate Spring project. My question is, is this a hard job?... expensive? Not worth the effort? Other than the deck, the boat is in good condition and engine runs fine. Please share your nightmares and successes with this kind of project so I know what I might be getting into. Thanks

 

[John_S]

Re: Repairing boat deck -- need advice

A picture or two of the inside of the boat would probably help. Assuming that Sylvan only made alum boats, I'd say it shouldn't be too bad. But, thats coming from someone that has run away from any fiberglass deck replacements.

 

[scott11]

Re: Repairing boat deck -- need advice

Hi. I own a 1984 Sylvan 16' fishing boat, deep V. The deck is getting soft in one or two areas. I will assume that I have to replace the entire deck and carpeting. I don't know if the stringers are ok or not. This may be my ultimate Spring project. My question is, is this a hard job?... expensive? Not worth the effort? Other than the deck, the boat is in good condition and engine runs fine. Please share your nightmares and successes with this kind of project so I know what I might be getting into. Thanks

It is definetely a hard job if you dont do your research first but if you do a lot of research on the site like i did its pretty easy. If you plan on doing the job right it gets fairly costly if your going to use epoxy resin but worth it. I recently started mine and id say its worth the effort now that ive looked into it and seen how easy it can be with the help of others who have done it. The only thing that you may not like is the amount if time it will take to do the grinding work. I have spent about 10 hours prepping the hull for laying the stringers but if your stringers are good you will save a lot of time there. If you do decide to go ahead with the project just ask lots of questions on here and people will help you out.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Repairing boat deck -- need advice

We need to know if this is an aluminum or fiberglass hull...Sylvan made both.

 

[mercerfisherman]

Re: Repairing boat deck -- need advice

It's aluminum

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Repairing boat deck -- need advice

Then you're in luck. It's not a bad job AT ALL on a tinny. The stringers are aluminum. Pretty much just remove the old wood, use it as templates if you can to cut the new, and reinstall. The extent to which you go about sealing the new wood is up to you. Check out any of the Starcraft projects on here for ideas as they are nearly identical boats.

Also, I am doing this exact job right now on my Starcraft. Just ripped out a section of the old floor last night.