www.iFourWinns.com

Could somone tell me how the floor in a 1996 19' Four Winn Horizon is fastened down. I can tell that the plywood is glassed over but can't tell how it is fastened to the boat. Have the dreaded soft spot in front of the ski locker.

Thank,

Tracy

I'm not sure how the floor (deck) in the '96 was fastened down but I can tell you that the one in my '88 was stapled to the stringers with a bunch of rusty, nasty long staples. It was probably glassed down too but when I ripped it up back in '06 to replace much of it I cut out the bad sections with a circular saw (roughly from in front of the helm seats to just in front of the engine on each side) I was able to just pry it up with a crowbar. If your boat has carpet, just rip up that lousy carpet, remove the seats and then check the whole deck for rot. You'll probably find it under the rear seat and under the helm seat mounts. I hope it hasn't gone as far as the stringers. That makes the job much bigger. So to start try cutting out that section and see how far the rot goes. You might get lucky and be able to scarf in a new piece of plywood. Then I'd remove all that nasty carpet glue (lots a luck it is a crappy job) and glass that deck over and either gel coat it or paint it with a marine deck paint with non skid particles mixed in. Take the rot causing carpet and throw it out.

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88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

LouC, you were correct about the floor being stapled and glassed down. I had to replace the wood around the ski locker and under the driver seat. The stringers and transom did not appear to be damaged. I checked what I could see and tapped along the length of the stringers and transom. The foam was not water logged under the decking. I put down 1/2 inch marine plywood (that I glassed on the bottom side to seal the wood) that brought the floor up level with the original floor. I tabbed the new in with the old and then laid a layer of 6 oz cloth over the new and original floor. I then put down tuff coat and left the carpet out. Does not look as stylish as carpet but keeps the floor from staying wet.

Just thought I would update you and thank you for your reply.

Tracy

Great effort, Tracy!
Would love to see some photos of your project!

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2011 Four Winns H180 SS.
Aussie built Mustang 2800.
SOLD - 1997 Four Winns Horizon RS

+1

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Chris and Alicia
Las Vegas, NV
ALTIVA
1996 Four Winns 238 Vista Dlx 5.8Fi

I'd love to see pix of how this turned out...I know mine was a tough job, it sounds like you found it just in time. The best thing any one can do who has an open boat with carpet glued on the wood cored deck is get rid of the carpet. Its harder to make it look nice but the fact that the deck will dry out, is what will make it last like 2-3x as long as if it had carpet, esp if you are in a damp climate like here. Two other things that help....
1) seal all holes for mounting seats with Life Seal or 3M 4200. On mine you could see that the worst rot started around all the unsealed screw holes.
2) if you have to leave the boat outside and its not shrink wrapped, but covered with a canvas cover like mine, get a garden sprayer and a gallon of Mary Kate Fabric Water Proofing liquid. Use the garden sprayer to give it 2 good coats letting it dry in between coats. I did this for the winter season and it stayed much dryer inside despite all the snow.
3) do the same thing for the summer canvas. Anything you can do to cut down on interior moisture will make the wood coring last longer.

This is a very damp climate, the one good thing is that salt water does not rot transoms and such, but anything you can do to keep water out of the coring helps a lot....

_________________
88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

I will try and get some photos this weekend. I drilled out the holes for the seat posts oversized and filled them in with epoxy resin and then re-drilled the holes for the screws. I also keep a boat cover over the boat with a tarp over the boat cover. I hope to keep the inside dry except when using the boat. I also plan on putting a shed up to park the boat under.

Tracy

Yours sounds very similar to my 98, I'm just too afraid to dig too deep.

What is the best way to find someone that can do this for me? I didn't spend a lot on the boat and while I have the skills to remove materials my skill set does not lend itself to putting it all back together. I fear having someone else do it will cost more than I paid for the boat.

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Jon Miller
1998 four Winns Horizon H200
Volvo Penta 4.3 GL
Newtown, CT

untitled-545 by millerjont, on Flickr

jontmiller: I had a 19' Chaparral cuddy extensively repaired about 8 years ago. Floor, foam and stringers were removed from the transom to the cabin. All replaced with 3/4" marine plywood, glassed in and glassed over top. Work was done by a small Father and Son fiberglass shop for $2500. I bet a larger marina would have been about 3 times that price. (also installed a new fuel tank and water tank, but those were not included in the price.

Look for small fiberglass shops in your area and see if they can give you a quote. You could also cut it open yourself, and maybe cut the new replacement wood, then take it to a fiberglass shop to finish putting it back together. Boat should be supported on a properly fitted trailer before cutting out any of the floor deck. Do not cut out any of the stringers unless you know that the boat is properly blocked up, and will stay that way until the new stringers are in.

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"Knot Easy" 2000 Horizon 240 Volvo 5.7GS /SX
tow: 2017 Honda PILOT EXL-AWD
prev. boats:
'87 Chaparral 198CXL 4.3 OMC Cobra
'69 Jetstar 16ft Ski Boat, 115hp Yamaha
'68 Aluminum Jon Boat, 3hp Sears
'64 Water Wings

It really depends on the extent of the damage/rot and you never know that till you start taking it apart. If you catch it early and its just the deck it is a do-able job by someone with some wood working skills and limited fiber glassing skills. If it goes into the stringers and bulkheads then the level of skill required is much higher. It also depends on the labor rate where you are. Here in Long Island NY the labor costs are high so that job, if involving stringers, could top out at about $5000. So what are you going to buy for that 5 grand....another rotted boat....
On mine I did the re-hab gradually over several years...first cut it out....then pulled the foam out...saw how bad the stringers were....had a 'glass shop do that part....then replaced the foam and re-installed the deck (really not hard). I had them gelcoat it in non skid gelcoat but I probably could have done that myself.
This was done 7 years ago, the boat is still very solid...but I do my best to keep water and moisture out of it. NO carpet is the only way to make a wood cored deck last, that and sealing holes for screws.

If you're looking for a shop, I'd talk to marine mechanics and people who own shops that sell boating supplies, they usually know the good people. Do not go to a marina, they are usually grossly overpriced at least here they are.
Most people would have told me to not fix it or do a quick and dirty cover-over laying down a new deck over the old.....thats not for me...it would have rotted all over again by now it would be unsafe to use.

_________________
88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

I know your right.....I need a partner who likes to work on boats

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Jon Miller
1998 four Winns Horizon H200
Volvo Penta 4.3 GL
Newtown, CT

untitled-545 by millerjont, on Flickr