30' ODay- soft floor

[pirate_81]

Good day, this is my first post and I am looking at buying my first sailboat and becoming a liveaboard. My question seems simple, however I can't find a strait answer online. I am looking at a 1979 ODay and the price seems really fair, I am a handy guy, and if this was a runabout I would have no problems knowing how to fix and how in depth it would be, but this boat here I am worried it's a major issue and that is the reason for the price. (Yes I plan on getting a survey) just wanted to see what you all thought.

The floor from the stairway to the mast and couch to couch is "soft" I pulled the inspection points and looked it and it seems the top layer of fiberglass has become loose, should this be a red flag or is this a Saturday project and not a structural issue.

Thanks for any help.


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[onestepcsy37]

Not structural in that boat. If you're handy it should not be difficult to fix, and depending on what you want, could be inexpensive.

[pirate_81]

Thanks, aside from that it looks like a good boat.


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[Boatyarddog]

Your probably talking about a shelled interior floor which would have a stiffener board, usually made of plywood that became saturated with water at some point and has decomposed.
It was probably fiberglassed, under the floor as well, as these floors are assembled off boat and laid in before the deck was put on.
Production boats.
Structurally for the hull it's more than likely ok.
Sometime hatches that run along the floor for the bilge can become sticky if they sag.
Keep an eye out for problems.
The fix issue is access related.
As long as the area under the compression post isn't part of the floor and has its own pad or fixture that does not rely on the integrity of the floor for support.


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[Aloha_float]

I had a solid liner in my boat with a laminate teak inlay floor. I found that my hull was oil canning like crazy and the floor was soft. I had it cut open to find the plywood that is mentioned in this thread. It was soaked in water and diesel fuel and had to be removed. I ended up replacing the whole system with stringers at excessive expense. I would be cautious ....if the boat has a heavy diesel smell, that may never go away without removing that underlying plywood. Are there any signed that water rested inside the cabin ie. indication of a waterline on any wood finishes?


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