170 Deck repair advice

[Brendanpd28]

Hello all,

   I am a new member to the site and the new owner of a 1976 Aquasport 170. The hull, transom, and motor are all solid but the floors have a few soft spots.  I know this topic comes up quite a bit and I am looking for some advice. The problem is clearly from very poorly sealed fasteners through the deck for the console and the seat.  I probably will just end up replacing the entire deck vs. the drill and fill method. Any advice on floor removal, where to cut, plywood, resins, etc....???

Thanks a lot!!

- Brendan

[larsli68]

Hello Brendan,

My 1981 170 had a water logged deck. I also found that my stringers were water logged. That pretty much forced me to remove the deck.
I installed my new deck on top of the rim, allowing for the scuppers to be moved up 3/4 of an inch. That helps a lot in keeping the boat dry.
If your stringers are dry, I would do what you are planning to do. Cut away the top skin, and repair the soft spots from the top. Saves a ton of work.
On my boat the water had pretty much spread to the entire deck, and with the stringers and transom wet, it became a bigger project...

//Lars

[Brendanpd28]

Thanks for the response Lars!  I spent about 3 to 4 hours last night scouring through 170 rebuilds and I believe yours was one of the ones I read through but I'm not completely sure of that.  Was laying your new deck over the lip and butting into the gunnels an easier way to go? I've seen some people try to keep the original deck height and just tie into the old cut edge.  I've done a fair amount of fiberglass work, but I'm really not sure what the best way is to tie the deck into the gunnels and create a nice smooth transition avoiding any sharp inside edges.  I'm also confused about the process of just removing the top layer. I know when I remove the layer there's most likely going to be a bunch of balsa squares saturated with water below. Are you suggesting I just try to replace the wood over the bottom layer of fiberglass sheet  then re-fiberglass the top?  I greatly appreciate the help.  I'm not trying to do a complete rebuild here but at the same time I like things to be done right the first time.

Thanks!!

[wingtime]

I injected the soft spots on my 170 deck last year. Solid as a rock. There is a thread of it on another site.

[Brendanpd28]

I have pondered the idea of doing that wingtime.  I just dont see how its possible to use that method and end up with a nice smooth deck in the end.  I feel like no matter how good you are with fiberglass patching you will always see those holes.  Even if I go over it all with Kiwigrip or Interdeck non skid. 

[Brendanpd28]

I have pondered the idea of doing that wingtime.  I just dont see how its possible to use that method and end up with a nice smooth deck in the end.  I feel like no matter how good you are with fiberglass patching you will always see those holes.  Even if I go over it all with Kiwigrip or Interdeck non skid.

- Heres a few pics to show you what im working with.  Tank was no good OF COURSE!  Going to order a new 25 gal poly tank as soon as I can but I assume I will need to remove a section of the floor to run the new lines. If I do end up doing a new floor I will probably do away with the hockey stick trough and the rear trough at the transom. It seems to be the way everyones doing it.  And I wanna be cool like everyone else lol!!! But dont do drugs

[wingtime]

Here is a pic of my finished deck.  So yes you can do it and have it come out looking good.  I was planning on painting the deck with Durabak.  But decided not to since you can barley notice the gel coat patches.



Here is a pic of the holes before injecting them:



I also have some videos of it on my youtube page (wingtimeRV7)

[Brendanpd28]

Ok thats your video I watched then haha.  Ya it actually came out pretty damn good. So even though the balsa in the core is punky the epoxy still does the job and binds well?  And you were able to reattach your console, seat etc...?  I was thinking about leaving the floor work till next year but there really isnt enough meat to fasten everything down.  My next idea was to mill up some nice teak or starboard frames, epoxy them to the deck, and use that to secure everything to.  I just don't want to do a bunch of work then redo it all. I will have to make a new panel to cover the tank coffin either way as well.  Thanks for your help! Im so glad I found this site!!

[RickK]

Great repair and video documentation Bruce 

[Aquamaniac]

Great vid !
I was fortunate with my 200 Striper.....it only had a couple bad spots near the flip seat frame. I first injected a water thin epoxy (WoodRX) to penetrate any rot well......and it did soak up quite a bit. Then after that set up, used their layup/lam epoxy (thickened with Cabosil) to fill any voids. Worked like a charm. SOLID!!!
Good luck with the project!!

[Brendanpd28]

Ya i will be giving the deck injection a go when we get a stretch of warm weather here in north shore MA. For now I am finishing the teak in the shop and started sanding the gunnel topsides. I have some filler work to do then I need to figure out what to coat them with. Im thinking about using some form of non skid like I will be using on the deck after the injection.  Anybody ever do this and happy with the final product? Im thinking either KiwiGrip or Interdeck.

[wingtime]

I was leaning toward Durabak. http://www.durabakcompany.com/marine.htm

My 170 deck is plywood core. The deck was a tad soft when I bought the boat. I found several loose unsealed screws that was the source of  the water intrusion. I went around and resealed all the screws and just kept an eye on it. The soft spots stayed about the same... until I took the cover off the boat after sitting for two months during the winter lat year. I found they gotten very soft. Not bigger just softer. Turns out when the wood dried out it turned to dust! This left an open void in places.