The floor you walk on is important, but on a boat, it’s even more critical. Out at sea, a boat is constantly moving, so having a solid, reliable surface to stand and balance on is essential.

This Tabs centre-console tinnie came to us with some major flooring issues, including rotten floorboards and previous DIY repairs where timber supports had been installed in an attempt to extend the life of the existing floor. Once we began stripping the boat, we also discovered that the locker floor beneath the casting deck was rotten and needed to be replaced.

All of the floorboards were remade using Coosa composite panels, providing a strong, lightweight and long-lasting solution. The first step was to remove the T-top and raise the console to allow access to the areas underneath. We also added reinforcement pads beneath the aft T-top mounts, as they had been loose for some time and had worn out the screw holes in the framing below the floor.

While the boat was with us, the owner also asked us to tidy up some of the paintwork. This included repairing damage to the port-side hull and several areas of significant corrosion. One of the major corrosion areas was beneath the bait tank and bait board across the aft wall of the cockpit, as well as corrosion that had started to work its way behind the hull drain fittings in the transom.

We selected the more pressing areas around the boat and repaired them to give the hull a much-needed tidy-up. Once all the work was completed, the boat was looking the part again, with a strong, quality floor ready to provide many more years of service.