thanks smoke. and sorry for the vague questions. guess i dont really know the right questions to ask, just trying to get an idea of what alls involved. and youre right, foam would be a lot more expensive, except for the +/- 30 gallons of resin and 100 gallons of isocyanate ive got sitting in my foam rig right now. its a little old but im sure i can kick it and its wall foam but there really is very little difference. and i think that even though i dont spray much anymore, just a side gig since the economy collapsed and i went into composites for a big company, i still have some contacts and might could get some "samples" from some of the manufacturers. they use to send me that crap all the time and it would just set in the shop and ruin.

theres always something new to learn about poly's and i dont consider myself a guru by any means. but i do know that the biggest difference between pour foams is the force they excerpt when expanding do to the different surfactants used. and trying something like i described could be a really good way to screw up a boat!. but overfilling and shaving, i dont think, wouldnt be as firm as cast in place under pressure

whats expensive right no, and has been for a long time, is resins!!! foam, fiberglass... it dont matter. if it says resin that ****s expensive! every time oil prices go up, resin goes up with it. but when oil prices fall do the resin prices fall with it? hell no!

thanks man, thats really helpful! so underneath the floor is just some wood bonded to the bottom of the floor? its not encapsulated? i was thinking it would be cored in with many layers on the bottom. this is good news from a budget stand point. doubt if my ole lady will see it that way but... good news, lol

thanks man

No, under the floor is wood between glass. Actually, lots of little plywood squares. You can find some pix here if you look around. What you want to do is save the outside deck skin and fix from the bottom.
If you take the cap off and flip it (easily said...) you can cut out bad wood from bottom. The cap is "glued" with a poly resin filler/adhesive. Much of it has probably already broken loose and is probably blocking the drains in the bilge.

Make sure your repair is not thicker than original because the cap has to fit when it goes back on.

The overfill and trim method is THE method used for all foam filled boats BUT I would do anything I could to avoid foam in a wood stringer boat...

No ventilation equals a rotten hull.


MAYBE you could use that spray foam for a couple side jobs to fund the materials to do the boat... Then you can tell the wifey it was all free!!!!

boy could i use a side job or two right now! or some overtime at the shipyard! how much you pay me to cut your grass man? frickin doctors bills... i use to have good health insurance but now, thanks to obamacare, i have expensive insurance that sucks. at least thats what the doctors tell me

thanks for all the good advise guys. im leaning more and more towards doing this, just gotta get past my fears of the unknown and of the time its gonna take

I suppose I could sell you my v..... I dunno what to charge tho... I have about $250 cash and about $10,000,000 labor and swap equity in it lol....

Plus you could mow the grass while ur here LOL

Yes, underside is just wood glued to the underside of the deck. No encapsulation. That's why it rots so fast. If Wellcraft has spent just a few more dollars and put a thin layer of glass over the wood it would have saved countless boats from premature deaths. Just remember to use irregular shaped pieces of plywood when you replace it so there's less chance of a structural weak spot like there would be with square pieces.
You're welcome

My personal opinion is that wellcraft did a absolute horrible job building these boats. On My 74 restoration i found some of the worst layups in my life. It almost seems like they were made to be disposable. I think you have answered your own question....the boat is in great shape with out a scratch correct? I say lift the liner...repair the sole ( floor core) from the bottom side..remove rotted stringers(grid) and replace with marine ply or comparible material and layup with resin.i built my boat with poly resin and have beat the crap out of it and it is soli as a rock. Im not gonna sugar coat it for you..its a long row to hoe but its so freaking worth. What ever you decide we are all here to help.

took a vacation day today so i cut my own grass,and it still might not get done!