Rotten floor 89 340 EC

[Sherman Moore]

Found the water leak now to repair the damage. This boat has been leaking rain water since new. The floor at the center stowage area was shot. Removed the carpet and found that the fiberglass/wood had seperated. Cut out the really bad stuff and have no intent to remove the cabinets. Wood filler was still saturated with water. Water is still leaching out of the wood where it has been soaking for the past 20+ years. The foam is saturated, but drying. Any suggestions on where to go from here. Check out the pic of what I have thus far.

 

[tobnpr]

Need better pics.
If you're going to do this job- do it right. You say you don't want to remove the cabinets- but it's really no big deal. Is the plywood dry and solid here- or is it damaged and you just don't feel like removing it?

Remove all the foam. It absorbs water and will take forever to dry out itself, if it ever does. You could very well have water lying in voids, trapped against stringers that'll continue to cause damage. You could also have damage currently being hidden by the foam.

Can't tell for sure, but it looks like stringer damage in pic #4.

 

[wileecoyote]

WOW, Very interesting to me as I have the same vessel. No matter what you decide be sure to provide some pics, it's always of interest to see what it looks like under the carpet. I think Tobnpr is right, as long as you are this far in it's worth doing it right. Make sure to remove all the water so you don't have to go back in later.

 

[Sherman Moore]

Well fellows here's the situation. I gave 8500.00 for the boat. 1500.00 and its running great. Everything works and is 100% factory (Except for GPS and radio). 10K even is where I am at. Whats the value? The floor is the worst part, but is it worth the money to tear everything out. Next problem is its like a donkey *&^% the more you mess with it the bigger it gets. I was thinkg of removing some foam to get to the bottom and go from there. I'll post some additional pics and show where I am at. Next problem is the marina kind of frowns on HEAVY work being done. I was told its a MARINA not a boat yard.

Again open to all advise and will consider TOBNPR. Looks to be a MAJOR project removing the cabinets.

 

[douglee25]

Yeah, you definitely need to remove the interior to get to the bottom of the rot. If you do not, the rot will continue and the hull strength will be compromised.

Was this boat surveyed before you purchased it?

Doug

 

[Sherman Moore]

No formal survey. Purchased via an open auction. I know the guy selling the boat. It was simply abandoned at the marina and sold for back slip rent. I am the third owner. The guy who let the boat go is nice guy but just lost interest and didn't care what happened. Hell I had to give him back his clothes from the boat. Kept the dishes.

 

[Sherman Moore]

How do you add pictures to a reply? Just wondering

 

[sprink56]

Well fellows here's the situation. I gave 8500.00 for the boat. 1500.00 and its running great. Everything works and is 100% factory (Except for GPS and radio). 10K even is where I am at. Whats the value? The floor is the worst part, but is it worth the money to tear everything out. Next problem is its like a donkey *&^% the more you mess with it the bigger it gets. I was thinkg of removing some foam to get to the bottom and go from there. I'll post some additional pics and show where I am at. Next problem is the marina kind of frowns on HEAVY work being done. I was told its a MARINA not a boat yard.

Again open to all advise and will consider TOBNPR. Looks to be a MAJOR project removing the cabinets.

My neigbor bought the same year and model for $11,500. The engines are strong, the generator and A/C work well the interior is average and the boat is dry. he spent $2300 hauling it out, had it wet sanded, polished out and bottom painted with new zincs. He has close to $14,000 in it and that's about what they are going for here in average condition.

Your boat sounds like it might need to be gutted and have some structural work done. If those stringers are wet inside with fresh water....well...how much do you like the boat? You will be better off $$$ wise to run it a couple of seasons and dump it. If you don't have any structural problems you are still going to spend thousands to gut that boat and re-work it.

I looked at a FREE '88 340 hull 6 months ago that was dry, solid with no power. I did a ball park estimate that it would cost me around $30K to bring that boat back...and it still would be worth about $20~$25K.

Old boats are a crap shoot. If they have been sitting around wet for a long time you can bet that they are rotten...especially in fresh water. Salt water doesn't support bacterial growth. There are many boats like yours around that are in much better shape for about $12~$15K.

With $10K in it now you are only out $10K....you can double that real quick tearing this boat apart and re-building it. One thing to consider is to patch it up, run it a year or two and see how you like that model. If you do, find a solid one with bad engines for cheap and use 2 boats to make one. You might decide to have $10K worth of fun with it and sell it for close to what you have in it and move on....just don't get sucked down the drain with this thing because it is easy to do.:thumbsup:

 

[Pietro]

You're right Sprink..it's important to understand how much you like your boat.
I'm facing a similar problem as my shower has leaked into the area between the stringers where the dinette table is. Much water is under the freshwater tank too. After realizing I love my 390, and since my CAT have some 150 hr only, I will go on repairing the floor. It's not as bad as Sherman though.
I'll post some pics as I'll open up the whole thing.

 

[douglee25]

My neigbor bought the same year and model for $11,500. The engines are strong, the generator and A/C work well the interior is average and the boat is dry. he spent $2300 hauling it out, had it wet sanded, polished out and bottom painted with new zincs. He has close to $14,000 in it and that's about what they are going for here in average condition.

Your boat sounds like it might need to be gutted and have some structural work done. If those stringers are wet inside with fresh water....well...how much do you like the boat? You will be better off $$$ wise to run it a couple of seasons and dump it. If you don't have any structural problems you are still going to spend thousands to gut that boat and re-work it.

I looked at a FREE '88 340 hull 6 months ago that was dry, solid with no power. I did a ball park estimate that it would cost me around $30K to bring that boat back...and it still would be worth about $20~$25K.

Old boats are a crap shoot. If they have been sitting around wet for a long time you can bet that they are rotten...especially in fresh water. Salt water doesn't support bacterial growth. There are many boats like yours around that are in much better shape for about $12~$15K.

With $10K in it now you are only out $10K....you can double that real quick tearing this boat apart and re-building it. One thing to consider is to patch it up, run it a year or two and see how you like that model. If you do, find a solid one with bad engines for cheap and use 2 boats to make one. You might decide to have $10K worth of fun with it and sell it for close to what you have in it and move on....just don't get sucked down the drain with this thing because it is easy to do.:thumbsup:

X2

Doug

 

[Sherman Moore]

I've pounded on the florr through out and it all sounds solid. I'll make another trip to the marina on Saturday and check things out. I think its pretty solid even with the water leak. I'll get better pics and post them. I'm not much onto 20K in a 15 K boat. Hell I've already had 100K worth of fun.

 

[douglee25]

You can't pound on the floor to determine if the structure under it is intact or not. You really need to keep digging until you find dry foam and wood.

Doug

 

[Pietro]

This is what I found on my 390:

Water from the shower filled the compartment under the freshwater tank and the sealed compartment on the left.
Water is where the arrows are pointing:

What were they thinking???? No way to reach underneath the shower :smt013:smt013:smt013

Thank God the floor is completely dry and there is no water under the furniture....
__________________

 

[wileecoyote]

I think you need to check year and model. I have a 89EC and there is no shower sump, also the area under the center of the floor is different as there is a long storage area. I've never seen the layout like you have.

 

[Spookeay]

Yes, Water damage is a mess, common and is so easy to stop.

This damage was caused by 28 years of a slow drip drip from a leaking window. The window had 3 Lbs of silicone on it. If you are putting silicone "ON" the window/frame to stop a leak, you to will have a boat like this in a few years. How easy it is to take them out, fix them right but no one will.

 

[Sherman Moore]

Well I went to the boat today after a good heavy rain. Stopped eveything on the starboard side, but the port side is still leaking. Water standing inside near the center storage area. I did find water running down from an area where the service plugs (shore power/tv/phone) attach to the side. I'll post pics tomorrow as I am hung over from a celebration last night and find it difficult to stand on my head to get in some of the small spots.

 

[tobnpr]

I think you need to check year and model. I have a 89EC and there is no shower sump, also the area under the center of the floor is different as there is a long storage area. I've never seen the layout like you have.

He has a 390- not a 340.

Pietro:

Have you determined if the leak was from the shower drain itself, or a leak along the bottom edge where the floor pan is caulked to the wall?

 

[Pietro]

He has a 390- not a 340.

Pietro:

Have you determined if the leak was from the shower drain itself, or a leak along the bottom edge where the floor pan is caulked to the wall?

Both! There's water that leaked from the pan and runned along the head floor down to the wall between the head itself and the salon (I ripped the carpet off along ago and put wood floring). There's more water coming from the drain and it filled the sealed foamed compartments!

 

[tobnpr]

Looks like you'll have to enlarge the hole you've already cut in the floor to get access to the drain fitting to see what's leaking.

The holes in the floor really aren't difficult to fix- I've done a few of them. Epoxy coat some fir strips, like 1x3. Then spread some thickened epoxy along the tops, and put a few screws through them from the top around the perimiter of the hole (leaving 1/2 the strip exposed to act as a ledger for the filler piece). Then spread some more thickened epoxy along the tops of the exposed ledgers, and lay in a plywood filler piece into the bedding. Use a spreader to fill the gaps around the edges with more epoxy.

Once the epoxy sets up, it'll be stronger than the original floor.

 

[Sherman Moore]

Well I would of posted more pics, but they would look the same. I think I have stopped all of the rain water leaks. The water I am getting now is just leaching form the hidden areas I can't get to. Seems after 20+ years of steady leaks, the bowels of this boat are FLOODED. I'll give another week or so then I'll get started rebuilding.