TOPIC: '57 Bellboy Deck

Let me just say what a great site this is. Without the suggestions here, I would be lost. I am a new member in the process of restoring a 1957 16’ Bellboy hardtop. I have replaced the stringers, keel board, and transom (Whew! – the hull is well braced) and am now getting ready to focus my efforts on the deck. I had a couple of questions on proper setup. It looks like the original deck had a gutter arrangement along the sides which channeled water to the back of the boat and over to the drain plug. This seems like a nice arrangement, as it would keep water off the deck. The deck is sloped towards the sides of the boat. It also looks like the original deck was not completely sealed – there was Styrofoam under there for flotation, but the water also drained into the back. The stringers have a bevel cut in the ends to allow for drainage. I would like to keep this arrangement, but I was thinking of sealing off the underside of the deck by placing braces between the stringers at the rear and sealing them against the floor. I was also thinking of stopping the floor 1”-2” short of the transom to allow access to this area to remove debris, etc. I was planning on cutting a square area for a bilge pump. This whole area will be covered by the splashwell which will also have access ports to get to the bilge pump etc. I have attached a drawing of what I am describing – the floor outline is in red, the braces/sealing boards are the green scribbles, and the water flow is the blue arrows. Does this seem like it would work ok? How are others finishing the deck? Where should I direct the bilge pump outlet?



I guess I could extend the floor to all the edges and just seal the whole thing. I was trying to keep the original arrangement. Let me know what you think. Thanks for any help/suggestions.
-John

Looks good.... That's somewhat similar to what I did-

www.agott.com/glasspar/rest6.html

The floor itself is slightly 'bowed', higher in the middle than on the edges... The edges of the floor form the channels that send water aft.

My bilge area was originally sealed off- With only a drain plug in the transom. That was BAD, there was no access to it at all. I left a cutout area so I could get to it, as you'l see. There is also an opening in the bow, with the hopes that some air will be able to move down there, and let it dry out a bit...