To foam or not to foam..that is the question..

[Destroyer]

Originally Posted by RidgeRunner

That is some fugly stuff there Destroyer. I like foam. It always amazed me how dry the foam was in my boat. Not much water absorption at all. If the foam was installed correctly I don't see how it got under the foam? I mean why didn't the foam bond to the hull and just fill the compartments to the top? Then why black water? was that contributed to by the rotten wood in the sole?

Yes, I think you're correct on the wood staining the water. It smelled like a cesspool when first opened up... (UGH) As to how it got there... all I can think of is the PO never opened the hatches and let the poor thing air out over the winters. Once removed, if you look at the compartments that the foam is in you can see that they are all sealed from each other, so there's no bilge water that can flow from one compartment to another.... and I'm pretty sure that the hull was never submerged... so I just don't know.

One thing I'm going to do though is install a storage locker in front of the fuel tank. There's a big open area under the deck...just begging to be used.. so I'm going to put a hatch into the deck.... probably about 24 x 30 or so... (haven't taken any measurements yet). It will make a great place for an anchor locker or anything else I might care to put into it.

Anyways, my plan is to change all the hoses for the fuel tank... (they look good, but while it's open now it the right time to change them), install a new bilge pump and whatever else needs to be done, then fill the compartments with foam, reattach the deck, and then put down a rhino liner type of coating over the entire cockpit area. (It comes in white now). Then attach the radar arch, bimini, electronics, gauges, and engine and that should just about do it...