Bow flip up seat back rotted out

mikebaker1975 · **Posted:** Sat Aug 10, 2013 10:10 pm

Anyone else with an '05 that has the flip up seat backs in the bow (that give access to the storage area) have a problem with them rotting out?

My wife flipped one up today to put some of our stuff down there before we left the boat slip and wood pieces fell everywhere. I should have seen it coming a while ago. When I had it parked it the driveway in years past it would always drip water if you tipped it up.

Arrghh...anyway....any suggestions for repair? I'm hopeful an upholstery shop can re-use the vinyl and just replace the wood inside of it.

230 Mike · **Posted:** Sat Aug 10, 2013 10:25 pm

I didn't even know it was wood. Why would it get so wet there?

mikebaker1975 · **Posted:** Sat Aug 10, 2013 11:04 pm

230 Mike wrote:

I didn't even know it was wood. Why would it get so wet there?

I think it's the design of the bow/cockpit cover. It's a two piece that allows the water to roll off the windshield and right down to those seats. I was surprised it was wood too. I think it's a fiberglass trim around a piece of plywood. Best case scenario I can replace that wood with fiberglass without too much hassle. The vinyl is in good shape.

ric · **Posted:** Sat Aug 10, 2013 11:05 pm

My 2000 H180 was suffering this problem. You fix it yourself it's easy. Carefully remove staples attaching the vinyl to the plywood. Buy a piece of treated plywood that is rated for exterior. Very important it's exterior rated as the glue is waterproof. Four Winns used untreated douglas plywood that's why it rots. Use old wood as template. Re-attach foam/restaple the vinyl to the new wood with stainless staples.

It's wood not starboard because starboard bends under weight with people sitting on it and is crap tons more expensive.

Using a treated plywood will make it last the life of the boat. Four Winns was famous in the 2000's for saving a few bucks by not using treated wood. My 2003 Chap, all the wood is pressure treated and the harness is tinned with weather tight automotive style connectors. Hate to say it because I love the Four Winns design, but their build quality/materials are not the best.

230 Mike · **Posted:** Sun Aug 11, 2013 6:31 am

mikebaker1975 wrote:

230 Mike wrote:

I didn't even know it was wood. Why would it get so wet there?

I think it's the design of the bow/cockpit cover.

Ah yes, that makes sense. At least it shouldn't be hard to get that part off to fix it.

LouC · **Posted:** Sun Aug 11, 2013 11:10 am

I had to replace the huge sun pad wood on my '88 about 5 years ago. That 6'x4' piece of 3/4" ply was heavy! I used pt wood and monel staples to re install the padding/upholstery.

Graham R · **Posted:** Sun Aug 11, 2013 4:37 pm

Unfortunately, the designers at FW in some years had no understanding of the need to keep rainwater out of their boats and as a result, made no effort design covers etc to do that.

Coupled to sub standard wood prone to rotting, if that is true, that would be a sure recipe for problems. I have only found one section of rotted wood on my 2004 Sundowner so far; the ski locker lid on the transom in the region of the latch, to around 1- 2" around it.. The hole was bored through the lid at the factory with no attempt to seal the exposed wood core, no sealant on the latch either. The rotted wood is removed and the cavity left behind is now filled with thickened epoxy

LouC · **Posted:** Sun Aug 11, 2013 10:45 pm

Graham if you could have seen the horror show of my deck replacement, here is how they used to build these boats: 1/2 in plywood deck, stapled to stringers (stringers not glassed all the way up, raw wood on top. Holes drilled to mount seats no sealer. Deck 'glassed (if you want to call it that) with a thin skim coat of glass. Carpet glued down that held moisture against all the staple holes and the holes for the seats. As if it was made to rot. This is why I'd never buy another old boat with this kind of construction. It just can't last. Unless you live in the desert. When it was re-done all those faults were corrected.

LouC · **Posted:** Mon Aug 12, 2013 10:10 am

Oh and about the covers, when I got my boat it had no covers the originals were long gone. I had them re-made by a local guy and what he did was make the cockpit cover come down over the top rear edge of the bow cover. This way the water does not come up under the windshield and drip down on the seats.

ric · **Posted:** Mon Aug 12, 2013 11:53 am

Covering isn't exactly the perfect solution either at least here in Florida. It rains so much it just becomes a moist jungle under there and very very very quickly destroys everything. In my years of living here with boats I've found the least damage to a boat is actually uncovered with the bimini top up.

LouC · **Posted:** Mon Aug 12, 2013 1:39 pm

That's why the right boat for Fla is a center console with a T-Top. No covers. The style of boats FW, Chap, Monty, Regal et al make are just not good for any semi tropical climate. Pain in the butt to keep nice. Even here, in a very temperate climate, its hard to keep them from getting mildewed.

Graham R · **Posted:** Mon Aug 12, 2013 5:08 pm

LouC wrote:

That's why the right boat for Fla is a center console with a T-Top. No covers. The style of boats FW, Chap, Monty, Regal et al make are just not good for any semi tropical climate. Pain in the butt to keep nice. Even here, in a very temperate climate, its hard to keep them from getting mildewed.

Or a cover with properly thought out vents, so the enclosed space beneath it can breathe. I remember reading on a boat owners forum where someone had installed cheap laptop computer fans in the cover of their yacht with solar panels to power them, so there was continuous airflow. I tend to leave the portholes open, along with the door to the cuddy so ventilation is good.

OK, a security risk, but to be honest there's nothing much to steal ( above the excess on the insurance) and the damage a forced entry would cause would be more hassle/ expensive.

www.iFourWinns.com

Bow flip up seat back rotted out

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