Help with fitting slatted floor

[RetireewithSIB]

Hi folks, I've been attempting to assemble a slatted wooden floor in an old Maestral 1850 inflatable. There are 4 floor sections, 4 wooden sidebars and 3 non-wood joiners. I can get two sections in and fitted on the wooden supports/sidebars but then can't fit the next sections in. Any advice would be appreciated! (An instruction manual or link to a 'how to..' video would be brilliant! I've found several You Tube videos but none show how to assemble a wooden floor similar to the one I have.) Thanks!

[Alan]

Welcome to the forum

I had a 4 piece wood floor inflatable 30 years ago. This is what I remember.
The front and rear panels were attached to a 2 piece keel at the bow and transom inside the only slightly inflated tubes. The center 2 panels were inserted into the front and rear panel but kept slightly elevated in the center. Then the center joint was aligned and the panels were pushed down simultaneously to lock the center panels together at this joint. The 2 side rails were then slid between the soft tubes and floor boards on each side. Then with a little hand force they could be pushed over the edge of the floor boards to lock the sides of the 4 panels. I hope my long lost memories help.

[RetireewithSIB]

Thanks Alan, After 2 days of effort with 5 failures, I've made some progress. I managed to get three sections in place and slid the side rails underneath. but I'm unable to add the 4th to join the complete floor. (I need an extra few inches of boat or maybe I should just get a saw and shorten two of the floor sections!) Tomorrow I'll try your suggestion of installing the front and rear sections first and then the middle sections, though the rubber joining pieces don't seem pliable enough to permit being angled to be elevated (see photos). I don't think I have a '2 piece keel' that you mentioned but the elevated approach presents a possibility of locking all 4 sections in place.
I appreciate you taking the time to respond to my request for help.

[RetireewithSIB]

With the pieces in place like in your last picture, raise the edges until the meet, forming an upside down V. Then push the V down flat while pulling up on the ropes atop the tubes. This will probably require quite a lot of effort but will result in the floor being in good and tight. You should then be able to fit the other two side pieces.

[Shaun]

Basically like this video but have the sides in place as they wont go once the floor is down. you need to add them before pushing the 2 sections into place.

[RetireewithSIB]

Success! I finally got out on the water. The helpful hints from Alan and Chris regarding the elevation necessary for linking the two centre sections worked (much to my surprise) and the video link from Shaun suggesting using soap on the fabric to the help slide the side stringers underneath the floor (has to be done after the floor is in place on the Maestral) was a useful tip.
The inaugural trip was short as the exhaust became smoky and then the engine stopped so I got great exercise paddling and rowing back in. The engine restarted no problem when I tried it near the slipway. Must now read up on the Yamaha4AC 6EO. Life long learning.....! Thanks again folks, your responses are much appreciated.

[RetireewithSIB]

Great that you got the boat set up correctly, but it’s a shame you had engine problems.
Check that the water is going round correctly - there should be a “tell tail” water outlet which you can see when it’s running.

[warder54]

Sounds like trying to run with the choke on, tends to get smoky with unburnt fuel and oil before just dying.