Got a hell of a deal on a 15 foot aluminum starcraft last year. Only thing it needs is a new floor as the old one is soft.

What kind of project is this and how much of a pain in the ass?

Good luck Matt. I hope it goes well.

I've done it years ago. In my case the floor was soft, but stringers were good. The size of the project depends on what you find when you remove the old floor. If you have to do stringers it becomes a much bigger job. Best advice I can give you is to try to retain the old floor pieces as templates if you can. Should make replacement much easier. Also, replace any waterlogged foam you find under the floor. The reduction in weight should help the boat's performance too.

SS

I dont even know what a stringer is. Dont know how a floor attaches. Going to be less than fun I gather

Depends on you're idea of fun

Matt-I'm pretty sure the stringers are the ribs that run parrellel to the keel, and the floor is attached to. My 14' Lund had three of them under the floor. Is your boat an open floor plan, or does it have bench seats? If it's got bench seats, you'll have a set of them in the area between the furthest back seat and the middle seat, another set between the middle seat and the front seat. My boat had one piece of flooring built in the area between the back seat and the middle seat. The stringers are to get the floor up off the ribs that run across the inside bottom of the boat. On my boat, they looked to have been made out of marine grade wood, and had cuts in them to slip down over the ribs of the boat, but still lift the floor up off the ribs. It had been professionally done, but really didn't look all that tough to me. The flooring is screwed into the stirngers with stainess steel screws. I think the trickiest thing would be cutting the floor boards for a tight fit, keeping in mind you have to leave a little space for the carpeting to wrap around the floor boards. So there was one small carpeted section behind the back seat-that one had no stringers. It's a small board, and is where the gas tank and battery fits. The middle one was a tight fit. The flooring just drops down in there, but when I removed it, I had to pry it out with a screwdriver. This is where you will do the bulk of your walking around, so you want the fit to be good. In the bow, they had cut a small piece that matched the contour of the V-hull, and it was carpeted too. Above that, they bridged the middle and front seats with a carpeted casting platform. They tied the platform into the little front seat up in the very bow of the boat, and had it on heavy hinges, and it laid down on the front edge of the middle seat. It worked very well, and also gave you storage space in the bow.

If you have basic woodworking tools and skills it might be a hell of a deal, as you say.

200 bucks for an aluminum 15 foot boat with no issues other than a soft floor. Trailer with new wiring and tires. All I had to do was drive 2 hours and get it for the 200 bucks.

So if I have to pay someone 500 to put a floor in, for example, I am still pretty happy

I replaced the floor on my 16' Starcraft.........twice. Made the mistake of using pressure treated plywood the first time (seemed like a great idea) but it de-laminated the first season. Used marine grade the next time. My floor was attached to the aluminium stringers with rivets.

I replaced the floor and decking on my Crestliner. Boat was a FishHawk 1750 SC and everything was screwed down. Six sheets of marine grade plywood and carpeting came to about $800. It took me 2 weekends with redoing the carpeting taking the most time. In retrospect, I should have used vinyl and kept the boat.

Looks like I will have to drill out 5000 rivets first lol

But then I can use the old pieces for a pattern.

What about truck bed liner instead of carpet?

I have the exact same project going on, only with a 16' Starcraft. I have put floors and casting platforms in semi Vees and Johns before, so have a little experience to offer.

1) Take the posters advice about using marine grade plywood. Worth the few extra bucks. I plan on this current project to also seal the boards with urethane or fiberglass before riveting them in. And avoid the temptation to go with super heavy thickness like 3/4 inch - just adds unnecessary weight which you don't want in a light aluminum boat, and also causes the boat to lose steerage (been there). I'm using 1/2 inch on this project.

2) Make sure the hull is tight before putting the floor in. Pulling out a second batch of 5000 rivets (well. a large number anyway) is no fun. On my boat I sealed all seams inside and out, and about to apply an 2 part epoxy airboat type paint to the bottom - super slick and tough to handle the rocks in the lakes and rivers I fish.

3) Think through your wiring and plumbing before you lay the floor.

4) Stringers - if you are going to install these to make the floor flat, use the upside down U-shaped "channel" tubing. great weight to strength ratio.

5) You are going to need to consider flotation. I recommend googling this. I'll probably go with foam encased in plastic sheeting to keep the squeaks down.

6) what to apply after the floor is in. Some folks use bedliner, but I don't like the black color, it absorbs/reflects too much heat. There are marine paints with the sand type finish in various colors.

7) I don't think I'll go with carpet or vinyl, although that is also an option. I have found over the years that carpet is bad - it just soaks up moisture and makes the plywood soggy.

Good luck with your project!

Blu_Cs

Thanks!

don't even think about it. replace any of it with new regardless of
how good it looks while it's apart. it only makes good sense to do so
good luck