99 285 PE- soft spot in front of in floor cooler

[okstatebass]

Has any one else experienced a soft spot in front of the in floor cooler accompanied by a squeak similar to walking on wooden stairs? The boat is 20 years old but I want to make sure that I don’t have any issues, hoping the composite materials would mean no rotting just normal wear and tear

[ethand]

I have a 1999 javelin renegade 19 dual consol.Most of the flooring between the dual consol is like walking on a trampoline.Very soft flooring.The cooler is between the drivers seat and passenger seat.I very seldom use the cooler because of the flooring being soft.I have been told and have read several times there should be no wood in the 99 models and newer.Give the other guys a couple days and I am sure they will chime in.There are a couple of guys on this stratos/javelin forum that are very knowledgable.Thanks and good luck

[JR19]

All 1999 Stratos and Javelin were 100% composite construction. What exactly does that mean I have no idea. I was always lead to believe that meant there was no wood involved in the construction process but I have nothing to prove that. What I have found through research is late in 1997 there were a few Stratos boats that were 100% composite. This only applied to a couple models so in essence there is very few 1997 Stratos boats that are 100% composite. In 1998 all models of Stratos were 100% composite. In 1999 Javelin released the Renegade series and this was the first year for Javelin being 100% composite. If my memory is correct Alan Stinson can confirm this. He was Earl Bentz's lead design engineer when Stratos and Javelin were owned buy OMC and manufactured in the same building.

As for the comment of not using the cooler on your 1999 JR19 because the floor is soft I don't understand that statement...The cooler is located between the seats. The area where the seats are mounted is solid fiberglass. Open the lid of your cooler and look at the lip, it's an all fiberglass frame that is part of the entire top cap assembly. All they done was cut a hole in the fiberglass when the top cap was removed from the mold so there would be an opening for the cooler. Then the cooler itself is a plastic insulated shell that sits down inside the same fiberglass frame the seats sit on. If its soft when you stand on your cooler it would it be soft when a person sits on the drivers or passenger seat. Hence the reason why it puzzles me when you say "I very seldom use the cooler because of the flooring being soft"...now it is possible your lid has been cracked or become weak making the cooler feel soft when you stand on the lid. If that's the case then all you need is a new lid but I can't see an issue that would cause me not to use the cooler because of flooring being soft. Maybe if I saw your soft spot I might better understand your statement.

[ethand]

Thanks jr19,you have educated me on the cooler.I was thinking when the ice started to melt that if the cooler was cracked,the water would soak into the plywood flooring making it more soft causing it to rot.I guess we will find out what the problem is when we take up the carpet.Thanks again Jr19 for all your comments.

[okstatebass]

I guess in summary if the floor is composite material rather than straight up plywood, a little bounce here and there isn’t the end of the world. My boat has bee garage kept for its life so it isn’t like water has been ponded up there for years.

[JR19]

Thanks jr19,you have educated me on the cooler.I was thinking when the ice started to melt that if the cooler was cracked,the water would soak into the plywood flooring making it more soft causing it to rot.I guess we will find out what the problem is when we take up the carpet.Thanks again Jr19 for all your comments.

I will be interested to know what you find if you remove the carpet. Please keep this post updated...pictures would be nice if possible

On a side not and you may already know this but when ice melts in your cooler there is a drain hole in the bottom of the cooler where water just simply drains into the bilge area.

I see in your profile you list KY as your state...do you mind sharing what town your in?

[ethand]

I will be interested to know what you find if you remove the carpet. Please keep this post updated...pictures would be nice if possible

On a side not and you may already know this but when ice melts in your cooler there is a drain hole in the bottom of the cooler where water just simply drains into the bilge area.

I see in your profile you list KY as your state...do you mind sharing what town your in?

The carpet is in fair shape and as long as the floor doesn't get any worse I will probably wait a couple years before I do anything.The OP said his boat has always been garaged kept.My boat also has been garaged kept since it was new.I do know when I bought my boat 5 years ago the original owner told me his garage would sweat in the winter after a warm up.So if the floor is wood this probably explains the soft floor.If there is no wood I guess it's a mystery until I pull up the carpet.To answer you about my location I live in Pike Co,Pikeville Ky.Thanks JR19

[mactlman]

i believe all of the strato boats have a weird spot in the floor area that looks like bondo. I have seen many post about it, guys ask about it doing carpet jobs. this might be the soft spot you are feeling?