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1998 Sunsetter floor access door replacement


Jerrybrown931

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The floor access door above the exhaust is getting weak and needs replacing. I thought it would just be a board but turns out to be a special aluminum hollow core material. Any ideas on where to find this material or another replacement idea for this access floor door?

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It is honeycomb aluminum, same squishiness is present in my inlaws response. If it were me id use a piece of king starboard to replace it with, but the exhaust running right under that plate might be why they don't.

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I used two half inch pieces of marine plywood that I construction adhesived and screwed together. Still has a small amount of flex, but it does work pretty well.

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My current malibu is a v drive so this is actually above the gas tank, no exhaust under it. However I did do this on my old mastercraft over the exhaust. no heat shield and never had a problem. that portion of the exhaust was made out of fiberglass and had water already in it so it never seemed to get that hot (could touch it without burning yourself). Not sure what the malibu would be like but you might be alright without it. Maybe get an infrared heat gun (can get pretty cheap at harbor freight) and measure the temp after warming up your engine.

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I replaced mine with 3/4" Hdpe, had extra carpet around that matched for the most part, and just put heat/sound dampening mat on the bottom to protect from any heat issues...

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I am 100% sure that heat is not an issue. If it were, you would have some melt/scorch marks on the fiberglass that the exhaust hoses are laying on as they travel from the engine to the transom.

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@JerryBrown: you can do an internet search for "aluminum honeycomb" material, try places like Online Metals, McMaster Carr, etc. Alternate materials have been used for that panel on same boat / different year. Construction methods include a core material (corecell, divinycell, starboard, marine ply) and fiberglass overlay. If weight is a concern, use carbon fiber over the core and you will get a nice lightweight and very stiff panel. When I was making my own lightweight panel, I thought I might need a support brace in the center and planned on making a threaded rod with plates on each end for center support (never needed it as the carbon wrapped core is super stiff by itself). Simply glue carpet over the panel and it works great and is a very easy DIY project.

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Thanks for the replies. Rebuilt using 2 1/2 marine board, a thin sheet of aluminum and then insulation . Its over kill I think but weight is not a factor for me.

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