Bellboy 404 cockpit floor replacement

[BellBoyBob]

Hi All:

Even though my BellBoy is in storage at the moment, the first thing I am planning to do when I retrieve it, is to replace the floor. My wife, Katie stepped right through a soft spot in the floor near the cabin door. So, after 51 years of use, it gave up the ghost...
The original floor was 1/2" marine ply. I was planing on using the same thing, using two halves running fore and aft. I don't know what's underneath yet. The floor may have been just screwed on to the stringers or there may be frames running perpendicular to the stringers?
I want to foam in the space underneath the floor for flotation and noise reduction. I would like advice on all aspects of this, including building a dam around the bilge and how to lay the PVC drainage pipe? Do you bore holes in them? How does water find its way to the PVC with all of that foam under there??
Thanks so much for your help!!

Bob

[Guest]

I think it's pretty similar to the floor in my 21' Bellboy. If you look under "another Bellboy 21" you'll see a number of photos. Fore-and-aft stringers plus frames. Don't be surprised if it's all rotted. And I would plan on reinforcing the stringers.

What I did is to put a small sump in the cabin and another at the stern. The PVC pipe allows the forward sump to drain to the stern where the bilge pumps will be. If the floor is foamed then there's no need for holes anywhere else. There may be some weepage at the bottom of the foam, but probably not. And if there is any it will be minimal.

[TheBronze]

I went through this with the 404 project this summer. Its going to be a big deal.... so sit down and get your checkbook out.

You will have to remove most of your interior to get to the edges of the floor/deck.This includes the bulkhead at the stern that supports the splashwel.

The main bulkhead extends through the floor joint and attaches to the stringers.It also attaches to the roof and sides of the cabin. So if you are plannig on replacing the entire floor, this is going to have to come out, or you are going to have to work around it somehow.

The floor can probably be done from the main bulkhead aft in two main pieces, but I chose to run full length to the bulkhead forward in the cabin from the 48 inch mark off of the transom. This gave me 1 piece across and then two pieces forward.

I took measurements every 4 inches from the centerline stringer to the edges of the hull and plotted these lengths on my replacement wood (1/2 birch ply). It got me really close then I did some minor shaving to get it to fit. If you can get your original out in one piece, you may be able to use them as templates.

As an added strengthening item and water barrier, I chose to lay 1708 biaxial glass on my floor and floor to hull joint. The orignal had nothing protecting the wood. This was an expensive option as it took about 4 gallons of vinylesther and many yards of glass. The end result is great though.

If you plan on filling the bilges with 2 pound foam, you will need approximately 3 gallons each of A/B mix. This is what it took to fill mine. Not cheap, but I'm not worried about any moisture in my bilges for the next 30 years at least, since there isn't any place for it to collect to!

I wouldn't worry about stringers much. They are full length longitudinal fiberglass caps with wood inserts at the top to take screws. I left the stringers in place and didn't even attempt to remove them to get to the wood underneath as it would require a complete removal of the stringers. You will find 5 stringers. One big main one, two good sized ones next to that and then 2 smaller ones outboard that don't run the full hull length. There are no cross braced stringers. You'll probably end up breaking a lot of screws off trying to get the old floor up. Just grind them down and forget about them.

Bilges. I did the same thing you are thinking of. I made little wood cutouts and stuck them between each stringer, damming the entire bilge area up. I did make 1/4 round cut outs for any drainage that might need to occur, but its all back filled with foam. The center section (between the 3 big transom stringers) is open. The two sections outboard from there are open, but covered with wood. The final section at the edge of the hull is closed and filled with foam. I didn't bother with any PVC piping in the bilges though. Maybe it would have been good, but I figured the whole thing is so sealed up there won't be any place for water to get in. As for wiring, it should all be above deck and hidden behind panels, so no worries there.

Take a look at my thread for my 404 restoration. I promise this time I'll actually post some more pictures (tomorrow when I have a day off). I have new pics taken yesterday of the completed floor. I think there are already pics there from when I put the floor pieces in. If not, I'll upload them.

I probably went overboard on my floor, but I don't ever want to have to take it up again, or help my son in 20 years when the boat is his. In addition to the glass layup, I also plan on painting the entire floor and about 4 inches up with KiwiGrip to seal it up. The goal is to make it a bathtub so the water can only go out in the small bilge area at the stern.

Good luck!

[BellBoyBob]

Thanks guys, very much for these pointers. When I get the old floor up, I hope to salvage the pieces to make a template, I will be back online to ask for more suggestions. Until then, Merry Christmas!!

BBB