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weak cockpit floor

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Author	Topic: weak cockpit floor
raza JuniorMember	posted June 23, 2003 09:08 PM I am restoring a CL 16...the cockpit floor is not ridgid outboard of the stringers; perhaps a foot of the floor is limber. i contacted C& l and they told me that there should be foam underneath to keep it from flexing; they said that this is common in older CL's and to not worry about it but it is causing the gelcoat to crack....i plan to use a 2- part urethane foam to fill the void..has anyone else had this problem and can you tell me how you solved it...thanks in advance.
Tom D CL16 Member	posted June 23, 2003 09:24 PM I had similar problems with my CL16 #438, very old. The cockpit sole was very spongy and had many cracks. I removed all the hardware and seat brackets from the floor area. I use 4 oz glass cloth and epoxy and covered the floor with it. This made the floor much stiffer. I had some old foam strips in the side of the hull and they were wet. I took out as many as possible through some holes I cut above the seats about a foot before the curve to the forward deck. My boat has no water block from one side under the sole to the other side. I cut 2" strips of foam from a 4 x 8 2" block and stufffed them in the best I could. I plan to use foam in a can to fill several areas for a more secure floatation. I also did major epoxy coverage on the hull exterior. If you have questions you can contact me and I will to my best to explain in detail. Tom D.
Darcy Member	posted June 23, 2003 11:00 PM Be very careful on the selection of foam. as I understand it you should be using a foam specific for boats. Many a boat with foam floatation has had major water absorbtion problems. In a few years your boat may end up weighing a few hundred pounds more than it does now if you use the wrong foam. I have always tended to fix the floor adding stringers etc. and use floatation for floating only. I've used floatation that can be inspected and removed if need be: Air bags small chunks of foam or even ping pong balls. D'Arcy
Canadian Sailor unregistered	posted June 24, 2003 09:27 AM The cracks in my cockpit have been explained. Yay! ------------------ Canadian Sailor ;) "Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you're a mile away and you have their shoes."

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