Floor Spongyness

[Joe and Carol]

  Stepping off stairs onto floor in front of head entrance we feel a spongy give underneath feet.  I have removed the teak floor insert and inspected the fiberglass/plywood sub floor finding proper limber holes and no cracks.  How do I reinforce this area so that the floor is firm?
     A safety suggestion . . . insure upper section stairway brass holder brackets are properly seated.  Ours were not . . . stair separated causing a nasty fall. 

[Jeff Kaplan]

joe, i replaced the entire sole a few years ago and i must tell you, that in certain areas, the floor still feels a little spongy. when you took up the piece, did you inspect the sided and bottom to make sure no delamination is happening? if so, must reeplace. the floor boards fit into the prefab grids, but sometimes don't sit flush, thus the feeling you are experiencing. my floor was completely shot and that is why i replaced it. as to your fall, ouch, that happened to me on my old c27, so i am always looking at the ladder supports. hope this helps...jeff

[Jeff Kaplan]

joe, what i forgot to mention last post, if the wood is good but the feel bothers you, you can put some screws in to hold panel down, you're just screwing into fiberglass, just make sure there is nothing under where the screw comes out that could be punctured...jeff

[Joe and Carol]

Jeff, Thanks for the information.  The fiberglass insert sub floor area beneath teak and sole seems to be flexing under weight.  Will try your suggestions.

[Norris Johnson]

I had the spongyness problem in my cockpit. I used a product called Git Rot. It is a two part epoxy.It worked well, but I had to drill a 1/4" holes in the cockpit floor and tried to match the light grey color with Marine Tex white and a very little grey. I used a Dremel tool to match the non-skid. I can still see the holes, but the spongyness is gone. It feels solid.