Need To Replace Floor In '90 Searay

[2stroker]

I have a 1990 Searay 180 that needs a new floor. Assuming the stringers are in good shape, what type of cost should I expect to have this done. I plan on doing the carpet myself. Are there any recommended shops in the Phoenix area? Are there any shops I should avoid. Thanks for any suggestions.

[ledofthezep]

Couldn't tell ya, never done that before. Got any pics of it? Searay's are pimp! We had a '86 20' ray when we lived on Table Rock lake in AR. Talk about a chick magnet! Too bad I had yet to hit puberty when we had it! We actually traded it off for what's now my dune buggy. You may do a google search for some places around you, or see if you can come across any boating forums & I bet you can find what you're looking for.

[pimp559]

Do you have insurance on it? I had the floor replaced in my 78 Sanger Jetboat and it cost the insurance company about $2500.00 and they did't even redo the stingers or carpet. Have you thought about doing it yourself? If you don't have insurance on it I would get some and then maybe it might get some water in it and let them fix it . The floor was only like a 4' x 6' area that they repaired for me. I would think that your boat has more floor area cause mine was only a 4 seater. I traded it in on a new BlueWater Vision SE because I was tired of working on it. I still miss it though. The materials for the repair were only like $250.00 out of the $2500.00. Seems like a rip but what can you do unless you do it yourself. Good luck

[Holyman]

I re-did the floor in my boat and I found that when they built it the injected foam under the plywood bottom but the foam was open cell. So once the boat got water in it {rain, splashes etc.} the water would get under the plywood and soak into the foam and stay there forever. Since the plywood was coated on top with fiberglass resin, the water couldn't even evaporate thru the top.

I pulled all the interior out and used a 1/8" grinding wheel {WEAR A RESPIRATOR!!!} and cut around the edge and pulled up all the old plywood. I chopped out all the old foam and dried everything out really well. {it took about a year of spare time to complete so it was DRY }

I used stainless screws to attach new 1/2 treated plywood down to the ribs. I wanted to use 3/4 but it wouldn't flex enough. The few ribs that were rotten got cut out and I glued down new blocks with resin.

After the plywood is all screwed down I drilled 1/2" holes about 8" apart in a grid pattern and injected it with spray foam like Great Stuff. This bonds the plywood to the bottom and doesn't allow the same kind of voids the factory foam had. I used Bondo to feather out the areas around the plywood where it wasn't even or as flat as I wanted it. I made a nice cutout for the bilge area and bondo'd around it to keep water from getting under the floor.

I went to Menards and got a dark grey indoor outdoor carpet with ribs in it for next to nothing and did the floor. I redid the insides with the black fuzzy "trunk carpet" like you see in the trunk of your car. Mounted new seats and it looked great.

For materials it was about $10 for the screws, $10 for the carpet adhesive, $15 for the plywood, $30 for the resin and Bondo and maybe $30 for the carpet. The canned foam was about $15. It was super solid no squeeks or creaks and looked really good. You could do it in a couple weekends without killing yourself.

[2stroker]

I've considered performing the repair myself. From what I can see, the job doesn't look very technical but, I've never done this type of work before. The only place it really needs repairing is in the open bow area and around the ski locker. I'm thinking of re-doing the seating setup so I'm just gonna have the whole floor replaced. The existing console seats are glassed into the floor. I'm still considering doing it myself. If so, Holyman gave a lot of good advice that I'd follow. But if it doesn't cost too much to have repaired, I'll go that route. Thanks for your input guys.