New floor?

[Noiseworks]

What would you do in this situation? The false floor aluminium frame is pretty buggered and is in dire need of some work. Looking at the welds it is apparent that they have been rewelded prior (possibly several times). Am I better off cleaning up the slag and welds and getting somebody to redo it, or, look at alternative designs. I was considering removing the 3 or 4 of the central members and putting in a timber frame. I am not a welder, and feel alot more comfortable working with wood. Any tips, suggestions or thoughts. Feedback will be greatly appreciated.

Cheers
Noiseworks

[oldboot]

Crikey ... who let the pidgeons in:-/.

It all depends on you inclination to pay a talented welder with a decent TIG.

it occurs toe me the main problems is a failure to allow enough overlap in the joints.

there is quote a lot of grinding and welding to be done

Either way...I'd be inclined to start again.

cheers

[Jackinthebox]

Mate, stick with the ally frame, not too much work to be done there as most of it looks ok, unless you want to rip it out and put in a new ally frame. Probably be quicker and easier to do a new frame out of ally.


As oldboot said, plenty of bird poop welds in there though.

Get yourself a miller and thinners & a stainless brush and clean up all the areas to be rewelded. Then get someone that knows how to weld ally (with a MIG).
Having done plenty of these floor subframes myself, it is just too slow and difficult with TIG, especially if there is a bit of tension in that floor.


Much better to have an ally frame with welds under the floor than a wooden one that you would then have to secure to the ribs.

Also your console needs something solid to anchor into with the bolts on the base.

All IMHO without looking at it closely in real life.

Mick.

[foxx510]

I'd just give it a really good clean and get someone to mig it up. It doesn't have to look pretty, just needs to be a bit stronger. Odd that some of it looks fine, but some of it looks like an apprentice's first weld.

[finga]

I'd be cutting those vertical braces out and renewing if the main cross members are OK and renewing with more of the same welded onto the keel itself not to the ribs mid span because they flex like buggery....and I'd be bunging in a heap of longitudinal members between the crossmembers to brace the cross members from moving forw'd and aft.
Some gussets wouldn't go astray either :)

[Mad-One]

I would weld in gussets as per pic

Cheers Phil



5250752508

[Noiseworks]

Thanks everyone for your input, it's appreciated. I have started grinding back the 'pidgeon poo' in prep for welding. Good idea about the gussets (and thanks for the illustration. All comments have been taken onboard and I will be making some mods.

Cheers
Noiseworks

[Noiseworks]

Project was put on the back burner for awhile but has now been done. Next question is what thickness for the new floor? I want it pretty strong, and I'll probably see about building in some storage. All opinions considered.

[Luc]

Get construction ply. Much cheaper than marine ply and last just as long.

IMO, the original frame job was crap. The braces should have been welded to the underside on the cross members.

Luc

[shano]

no need for the gussets, structurely they are strong, and adding gussets would not serve any advantage as there is already trianglation on the sides and this is where you get the strength from,just redo the vertical members, make them overlap more also.

[oldboot]

How thick..... depends on how heavy you want it.....then there is the other question.....what material.

plywood is probably the easiest choice...the best weight/price/result..is the imported luan type ply....it holds up much better than any of the pine based material and has less faults.

If you want it firm under foot go for arround 18/18mm.........if you are chasing weight.....you might get away with 10mm if you add a few choice double thickness ribs.

if you are feeling exotic....there are all sorts of "fun" materials to consider

Cheers

[STUIE63]

just get 18mm form ply and seal the edges
Stuie

[smashed crabs]

Here is a real simple method for your floor that i have done to boats in a lot worse condition.
Method 1 , boat condition good
Forget about the cracks in the frame it happens
Fill the underfloor area with coke bottles
Whack the ply straight over the top and hold down using self tapping screws for ally
Go fishing

Method 2 , boat condition not so good
forget about the cracks in the frame it happens
fill the floor area with coke bottles
Whack the ply straight over the top and hold down using self tapping screws for ally
Seal the edges using fibre glass and put in a small wet well , dont forget internal bungs.Go fishing

Method 3, boat condition up to shit eg boat sinks before entering the water;D
Forget about the cracks in the frame it happens.
Check the hull for damage around the keel area , if there is plenty of damage and rewelds, glass the entire inside underfloor section of the boat at least 1/8 inch thick.
Fill the entire underfloor area with coke bottles.
Soak the ply with bondcrete , at least two coats and allow 24hr to fully cure.
Place the pre cut ply sheet down and fix to frame using self tapping srews for ally.
Make sure to lay the sheets length wise and not across the boat.
Seal the edges with glass, just the edges and not the whole floor,If the gaps are to big use a bog of telcum powder and resin , if there are gaps behing the ribbs fill with spray foam.
Dont forget to put in a wet well and internal bungs to drain any water that may get inside.
Paint the floor with whatever you want.There you have it , one custom self draing deck and superior floation.New life to and long lasting and the added strength of the souped up back.
Go fishing

Ply size 3/4inch and the cheapest stuff you can get you hands on, the boncrete will do an amazing job on the ply.
Coke bottles are great because that dont break down over night.
looking at your boat it would take approx 1 week of taking it easy

Method 4
Give it to me to do:P



Cheers