Old zodiac floor repair and/or replacement

headdamage · 13 August 2008, 03:34

I have an old (1969) mk1 zodiac that my Dad bought used in 1974. It has been a great boat and is still in good condition but the the floor is a becoming a problem. I refurbished the floor about 8 years ago but now I've cracked one of the long locking sections that holds it all together. It still works but a few more hits on waves the wrong way and I think that it will be done for. Does anyone sell parts for this floor or are there any instructions for building a new stronger floor? I was thinking of making a complete new floor that is one piece so that the boat is stiffer in waves but I don't really know where to start. Any help would be great. Thanks.

prairie tuber · 13 August 2008, 13:28

Welcome Headdamage,

By "cracked one of the long locking sections that holds it all together", do you mean a stringer? Are your stringers made of wood or aluminum? If it is aluminum, you should be able to order the part from your nearest zodiac dealer. You need to bring yours with you to show the dealer the exact profile of the stringer (there have been a few stringer profiles over the years, one slightly different from the other).

If the stringer is made of wood, you might still be able to order it from the zodiac dealer, or you could get a local millwork to mill you one out of oak, or better still (if you want at least 39 more years from it), purpleheart.

What is the condition of the thrust board? Is it still solidly glued to the fabric? The boat must have been stored in the off season in ideal environmental conditions (cool and not too dry) for the glue holding the thrust board and the transom to have held up for this long.

headdamage · 13 August 2008, 15:32

I think it is called the stringer, it is the wood rail that fits in along side of the floor boards and locks them in place. The trust board and transom are good as is the rest of the boat. The only thing that looks rough is the seam tape which is about half fallen off. We have kept the boat in a shed in the back yard here in Calgary for the last 20 or 30 years when not in use. Some years it gets used a lot and sometimes it sits for a couple or years or so without getting used.

headdamage · 26 September 2011, 06:40

Just to update I glued the crack in the wooden stringer together with 3M Marine Adhesive/Sealant back 2009 and it has held together great. Caught some air in some big waves this summer and generally pounded the boat and there where no problems with the floor system.

harpua · 03 October 2016, 21:34

Hi, which 3M marine adhesive did you use, and is it still holding up? I have a cracked stringer as well, in Whitehorse.
Thanks.

jyasaki · 10 October 2016, 16:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by harpua

Hi, which 3M marine adhesive did you use, and is it still holding up? I have a cracked stringer as well, in Whitehorse.
Thanks.

I'd lay odds it's 5200. Polyurethane adhesive/sealant/caulk. Sticks well, but takes a while to cure, and is nigh-on impossible to remove.

jky