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Hey gang Brian 62 here,I stopped work on my boat for a few months but i"ve been working on it quite a bit lately.I repaired the transom and floor framing with new mahogany wood.I am now taking the deck off(its toast)I just bought the wood today for it.My question is what precautions do i need to take so the sides don"t bow out on me(if they even would).I put 2x4 braces up on the outside and also threaded some rope thru 6 ribs on each side and tightened it up with very little pressure.I think its safe to remove the deck but as always i like to make sure i did"nt over look anything.The old floor is removed as well as the back bench seat so the only original support is the front bench seat wich is still in place.The wood that the dash connects to is rotted away on the port side. There is no support braces under the deck running side to side only from bow to stern.well thank you for any suggestions or comments.....Brian

Just add some temorary braces side to side to keep the shape. If the dash is not tight, you may have to tighten the boat's width to get her tight to the dash framing.

Make sure everything is fairly symmetrical.

Andreas

Thanks Andreas,I'll brace it up with some 2x4's. Its still tight to the dash on both sides but the port side wood there is shot.Well here i go...

Well,i got one side of the deck off fairly simple.The hardest part was cleaning out every screw of varnish.I did find some more rot under the gunwhale and dash area.I have to replace those pieces and replace a section of gunwhale and a section of the top plywood side piece.This was the good side. The other side is a little rougher.The original wood is still good enough to use as patterns.The sides didn't move at all.I took some photos with my new computer and i will post them as soon as i learn how.Im actually enjoying this boat project even though its more than i thought it would be.Well ill' keep you all posted...Brian