Soft Flybridge Deck

[TheLake]

Hi all,

In the work I am doing in my wiring project I thought to address the spongy fly bridge deck. I took the headliner off with the thoughts that there were going to be rot in the cross beams.

Much to my surprise (sighs of relief!) the beams look good (at least to my uneducated eye).

I did, however, notice that there are some places where there is a gap between the top of the beam and the bottom of the flybridge floor's fiberglass. Could this be the source of the sponginess? That is, is this enough that when stepped on from above the above the flybridge floor sinks a little until it actually makes contact with the beams, thus feeling spongy?

If so, is it as simple (as if anything on a boat is simple) to just put in shims to ensure that the flybridge floor rests directly on the beams?

Do I need to worry about why there are these gaps? Could the beams have shifted and "sunk"? Do I need to tear apart where they are braced on the side walls?

Including some pictures. Advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Chris

 

[Comodave]

Most flybridge decks are cored fiberglass. That is they are fiberglass on top and bottom with some type of core in the middle. Usually when the deck is soft it is because the core has been wet for some time and rotted. You can try tapping it with a small plastic hammer to see where the wet areas are. You should get a sharp ringing sound when it is good and more of a dull thud where it is wet. The fix is a lot of work. Usually you cut the top fiberglass and lift it off. Then dig out the rotted core and replace it with a new core. Then replace the top fiberglass and repair the cuts. BoatWorks Today has some great videos on how to do this. I suppose it could be the spaces above the deck beams so why not try shimming it and see what happens. It will be way less work than replacing the core. But it is probably the core that is the problem.