Questions for owners of FC-470 with Aluminium Floors

[F470]

I recently purchased a well used aluminum floor that came off of a 1998 FC-470 and I installed it yesterday on my 2006 FC-470. It doesn't seem to fit quite right so I would like to ask you who have this set up, what 'right' is. The floor seems bit longer and narrower than it should be. It is missing panels on the bottom of the floor so the ribbing is exposed and I was told the stringers look different. The stringers have a sunburst logo, Is this Zodiac or another brand?

When I installed it according to the manual, by pushing down the center section, it just appears like it has to travel a lot before it settled. The skin of one of the floor boards buckled a fair amount and there is a crack where it has been flexing/buckling. There also seems to be a gap between the stringers and the boat (although the edge of the floor boards themselves touch the boat) as you can see in the photo.

Did Zodiac change the floor design between 1998 - 2006? Is it possible that this is not a FC-470 floor? Thoughts and comments are appreciated.

[SIBRider]

Sunburst logo is ok. Sign of Zodiac. Gap a the finger is ok too. I believe I've seen another f470 floor and it had exposed ribs at bottom of floorboards. There is no bottom skin on any of floors.. Floor-boards are snuggly fit together extrusions of specific size. Rectangular tubing or C channel type thing.
Stringers must fit snugly against boat and floor boards. Floor-board lip must be fully inserted. For example, on first picture of entire floor on right it's nice tight fit but on left there is significant gap between deck (seat) rail and edge of stringer (1/2" or so) same on picture with crack. if lip is not fully engaged floor boards will flex against each other and stringer. Quit likely causing them crack from fatigue like pictured. When installing stringers you may have too wiggle floor boards up and down to make sure stringer fits tight on the lip. I'd suggest assembling it together without boat to make sure it all fits together, there are no deformations, niks, etc

[F470]

Thanks for the reassuring feedback. I just think it is weird that there is a gap between the stringers and the boat. Isn't the whole purpose of that arrangement that the boat is supposed to apply pressure to the stringers so they don't come loose?

I'm going to wiggle them in place properly and go for a test run. I mat have some aluminum reinforcement panels welded on if necessary. I was planning on sandblasting it and anodizing it but I'd like to make sure it is stable and secure first.

[SIBRider]

Well. I meant at very top there might be gap where tubes curve up and away from stringers but otherwise there should be solid contact for the most part. You should feel floor as one piece with boat.
This is how stringers should contact with floor-boards


Take it apart and put back together without one of panels (last one by transom), inflate boat and keel to proper pressure then you can easily examine fitment.

[SIBRider]

Floor boards are not fully engaged too. looks like 1/2 gap between each one. They should fit snugly making one surface. That will add 1-1.5 to length to floor putting extra stress on thrust board.

[F470]

Thanks! I will take a closer look this weekend.

[F470]

I'd like some input on refinishing the floor as well. I'm currently considering sand-blasting them and having them hard anodized. The other option I am considering is filling some of the numerous holes with Alumi-weld and spray painting the floor. I would just have to make sure they fit well together if painted. Any thoughts on this?

[captnjack]

I'd have them bead blasted and then leave them as is. Paint won't work well, the slightest scuff and water will get through/under the paint and cause it to bubble then chip off. Within a year it will look shabby (like a painted scuba tank)

Hard anodizing looks and wears great but might cost you more than they are worth.

[SIBRider]

Originally Posted by F470

I'd like some input on refinishing the floor as well. I'm currently considering sand-blasting them and having them hard anodized. The other option I am considering is filling some of the numerous holes with Alumi-weld and spray painting the floor. I would just have to make sure they fit well together if painted. Any thoughts on this?

IMHO doing this would be more trouble than it's worth. To do properly you would have to take every panel apart not just side rails but entire floorboard. I'd rather just paint it.
I think better alternative is something like this (comes in black too) SeaDek
Makes it quieter, more pleasant to stand on. Will hide those holes as well. There are other decking options too.

How's floor fitment?

[captnjack]

I have this stuff on my Ali floor
Buffalo Tools 3 ft. x 5 ft. Anti-Fatigue Rubber Mat Flat-RMAT35 at The Home Depot

[F470]

I may bead blast and anodize the floor. I got a reasonable quote for it despite its size. It can be done without disassembly, even with the adhesive in place as it is not a heat process. Will Alumi-weld anodize? Should I not bother patching holes?

My concern is the structural stability. One of the boards has a crack on the edge and the top skin buckled during installation. Any idea why the rails are glued, not welded or bolted in place? Seems that if the rails were welded on it would add more stability.

I hope to take it out and do another fitting session this week. If I can just get the boards to interlock snugly without gaps it should be fine.

Thanks for the mat ideas. I've been looking at Rubber-Cal Paw-Grip mats as they come in rolls that could cover the entire length but they're expensive. I'm also considering applying an anti-skid spray to the center section of the floor boards as an alternative to a mat. My friend used it for a different application. Creates a clear, toothy texture with anti-slip properties.

[SIBRider]

Originally Posted by F470

I may bead blast and anodize the floor. I got a reasonable quote for it despite its size. It can be done without disassembly, even with the adhesive in place as it is not a heat process. Will Alumi-weld anodize? Should I not bother patching holes?

My concern is the structural stability. One of the boards has a crack on the edge and the top skin buckled during installation. Any idea why the rails are glued, not welded or bolted in place? Seems that if the rails were welded on it would add more stability.

I hope to take it out and do another fitting session this week. If I can just get the boards to interlock snugly without gaps it should be fine.

Thanks for the mat ideas. I've been looking at Rubber-Cal Paw-Grip mats as they come in rolls that could cover the entire length but they're expensive. I'm also considering applying an anti-skid spray to the center section of the floor boards as an alternative to a mat. My friend used it for a different application. Creates a clear, toothy texture with anti-slip properties.

Alumi-weld is Zinc based brazing/soldering I don't think it will anodize in same solution. Side rails are normally clamp on. No glue is involved.

[F470]

Sorry.. not the stringers but the aluminum U-shaped tracks on top of the floor panels. Those are glued on on mine.

[F470]

I took the floor apart and here are some more photos. Even though it appears from the top that the panels aren't fully flush it turns out the are indeed flush. See photo. One of the panels end pieces is loose and wiggles around and has a crack in it. This concerns me a bit. Should I try to weld this so it doesn't move? There are some holes with what appears to be inserts. Are those steel inserts or just remnant corrosion from some other part? Also there are some corrosion holes. Should I fix those with alumiweld? Not sure there is much else I can do to fit the panels together more snugly. I suppose I could trim the back end panel slightly in order to reduce pressure lengthwise but I am hesitant to do an irreversible modification. I just don't want the thrust board to delaminate from the pressure (it already is in one corner).

[SIBRider]

Originally Posted by F470

I took the floor apart and here are some more photos. Even though it appears from the top that the panels aren't fully flush it turns out the are indeed flush. See photo. One of the panels end pieces is loose and wiggles around and has a crack in it. This concerns me a bit. Should I try to weld this so it doesn't move? There are some holes with what appears to be inserts. Are those steel inserts or just remnant corrosion from some other part? Also there are some corrosion holes. Should I fix those with alumiweld? Not sure there is much else I can do to fit the panels together more snugly. I suppose I could trim the back end panel slightly in order to reduce pressure lengthwise but I am hesitant to do an irreversible modification. I just don't want the thrust board to delaminate from the pressure (it already is in one corner).

Looks like joint is of different design. . Holes are mostly about aesthetics at least some of F470 with rigid floor have holes naturally for carry handles

If crack is concern I'd rather plate and rivet it. Welding thin aluminum is tricky. It would depend what alloy it is. How wide are panels at the bottom including those ears.

[F470]

I measured the floor. How does this compare to your floors?

Width: 40.25" (lip to lip).
Length (assembled): 101.85"

[F470]

Bear with me on all the questions just trying to make sure I don't wreck the boat or the floor by not having it fit correctly.

So when all but one panel are fitted snugly there's about 3" of overlap as you can see here. I also included an image of what it looks like before you push it in place. Does this look normal? Should the boat be completely without air when installing or it ok to have it halfway pumped up? I figured it may stretch more without any air.

[F470]

Images:

[SIBRider]

I measured mine to 101 but that's home brew. Pretty close. It's on the boat so can measure width exactly but I believe it was tad wider at like 40.75.

[Attack Ducks]

Originally Posted by F470

Bear with me on all the questions just trying to make sure I don't wreck the boat or the floor by not having it fit correctly.

So when all but one panel are fitted snugly there's about 3" of overlap as you can see here. I also included an image of what it looks like before you push it in place. Does this look normal? Should the boat be completely without air when installing or it ok to have it halfway pumped up? I figured it may stretch more without any air.

Sorry coming in late to this thread but I have some insight. I've had dozens of F470s over the years and I've run into this before. I came to the conclusion the hard deck floors are all the same length and the variations were in the boats themselves. I don't know if it was design changes, manufacturing tolerances or whatever but some boats interior dimensions were 1-2" shorter than others. When I first ran into this I had the exact same scenario: floor seemed to be 2-3" too long for the boat. Keep in mind the floors are supposed to fit "tight" however this was excessively so.

Not knowing any better (this was the first time we encountered this), and on the advise of another buddy who had extensive experience with these attack ducks, we just forced the floor in. At first it seemed fine. About a month later the boat developed a leak. The source of the leak wasn't apparent until the next time I dropped it in the water...it was bubbling out the edges of the thrustboard in the bow on one side. Look closely where the thrustboard meets the floor. There are about 4 seams that overlap there. The stress pulled it apart. Talk about a nightmare repair...had to make a 9" access cut in the tube and patch from the inside then use inside and outside patches on the access cut. The repair was bombproof (had a climate controlled shop at the time) but was a royal PITA. Long story short: if the floor is more than 1" longer than the boat DO NOT force it.

What we ended up doing was disassembling the rearmost floor unit (knock off the side rails, they come right off) then we slid out one of the "short" aluminum subsections and reassembled it. I want to say it subtracted about 1.5-2" from the floor length. It fit perfect after that. Be careful though do not make the floor too short...ran into that too and the result will be a leak at the transom where the tube met at the bottom from chafing the the too-short floor...ask me how I know :-/

Good Luck!