2300T Big Bay, worried about rot

[ColtH]

Just became the proud owner of a 1998 Parker 2300T Big Bay. I've been a fan of the hull for a while, one popped up in my area with a blown motor (which is no big deal, I wasn't finding any reasonably-priced ones with four strokes, so I was already prepared to repower...), at a crazy low price. I walked around the boat, checked for soft spots, and crawled under the hull; lots of little dings, spider cracks, and aging, but nothing that seemed structurally unsound, so I pulled the trigger. I must not have inspected well enough, because when I got the boat home, I noticed a soft spot underneath and just behind the leaning post. It's a roughly 1.5' X 2.5' rectangular soft spot. There are eight small screw holes (with screws still in them) from the leaning post that existed prior to the current one; I'm worried that these holes let water in, and caused the soft spot. I've read a fair amount about the construction of Sport Cabins and Special Editions, and I'm assuming the Big Bay is built in a similar fashion with the same materials, right? Of course everybody around town is telling me that wood construction is trash and my boat's probably completely rotten, and I'm getting all freaked out reading about rot on the internet... If anybody has any experience with repairing a soft deck on a Parker, or has any info on these Big Bays, I'd love to hear about it. Ease my worrying. Thanks guys!

Here's the boat. I've ripped up the rubber flooring and plan on sanding and applying nonskid, after I get the soft spot figured out.





THE RED BOX OUTLINES THE SOFT SPOT, THE GREEN CIRCLES OUTLINE THE OLD SCREW HOLES/SCREWS

 

[warthog5]

Id say your think is sound, as to what caused the problem. That is a simple fix in that spot. Draw your lines square. Make accurate cuts.

Then Rabbit the existing deck.

Cut the new piece as big as the outside edge of the Rabbit. The Rabbit the new piece.

Glass the underside of the new piece and then Glue the new piece in. Glass over the top.

Use Drywall screws temp clamps...Then Remove the screws once the Resign kicks into a Green state. Do NOT leave the screws in there.

Look at the top 4 pix's on this page.

http://www.classicmako.com/projects/xshark/bw1.htm

Here is The Large rabbit [3in] when installing a whole new floor.

 

[Megabyte]

As Bobby said... easy fix. Just follow his instructions.

Congratulations on the Big Bay and welcome aboard!

 

[Brent]

Thanks
Very informative
What features makes it a big bay model?

 

[gw204]

I personally don't think the rot is from those screws. If it were, I would expect to see more circular areas of rot center around the screws.

What's with the line running across the deck just in front of the leaning post, and the hatch/access panel in front of the console? Are those factory?

 

[Megabyte]

What features makes it a big bay model?

The biggest feature is it's shallow draft.
Spec's here: http://parkerboats.info/blog/2300t-big-bay-new/

 

[Brent]

Thanks Mb
Ten " Draft would be great in skinny water

 

[HOTPURSUIT]

I've ripped up the rubber flooring and plan on sanding and applying nonskid, after I get the soft spot figured out.

This is just a thought, I don't have any experience with this produbct but I saw an episode on ship shape tv where LINEX is using a marine grade spray liner for non skid areas on boats and jet skis. One of the pluses is that it hides stress cracks and resists cracking because of its flexability, It might be worth looking into to seal your deck and provide a nice non-skid floor in one shot. Actually I would be interested to know if anyone looked into it. Again just a thought, Mike

 

[Reelysalty]

Very unique Parker, dedicated bay boat, low sides, tunnel hull.

Casting decks front and rear.

Entire front of console lifts up for access inside which includes a head.

Also available as a 21'

 

[ColtH]

Thanks everyone for the feedback, Warthog you make the job sound a whole lot easier than i would have have imagined, thanks for the thorough instructions. Hopefully fix this issue, then move on to the hundred other things i've got to do to her before the tarpon show back up in the summer. repower with Yamaha F250, add flush mount rod holders, replace exisiting cleats with flush mounted ones, patch old gauge holes in the console, install new GPS/fishfinder unit, new trolling motor, fix jackplate, fix trim tabs, etc, etc, etc... I'm sure y'all will hear from me soon! Thanks again