Has it ever been done?? Well it’s about to happen.

[Destroyer]

Yep. That last 1-3 inches of foam is usually where the water is the most. It's amazing how much extra weight just those few inches can add to the total overall weight of the boat.

I'm in the process of removing the same thing (saturated foam) from my 16.5 Airslot. I've already removed over 350lb of saturated foam. I think I'm going to try something a little different this time. First, I'm going to use solid foam noodles (think of the ones used in swimming pools) instead of foaming in place to fill the voids.. This way I'll always be able to remove and replace them easily and cheaply if they get waterlogged. Second, instead of glassing the deck back into place like I did with my V21, I think I'm going to secure it back down with SS screws and seal the edges with silicone caulk so I'll always be able to remove it easily. The whole idea is to make it as easy as possible to remove the deck again if I ever have to replace the fuel tank or bilge pumps or filler hoses or.... well, you get the idea. I'm all about convenience on this project.

[3 Squids]

Originally Posted by Destroyer

Yep. That last 1-3 inches of foam is usually where the water is the most. It's amazing how much extra weight just those few inches can add to the total overall weight of the boat.

I'm in the process of removing the same thing (saturated foam) from my 16.5 Airslot. I've already removed over 350lb of saturated foam. I think I'm going to try something a little different this time. First, I'm going to use solid foam noodles (think of the ones used in swimming pools) instead of foaming in place to fill the voids.. This way I'll always be able to remove and replace them easily and cheaply if they get waterlogged. Second, instead of glassing the deck back into place like I did with my V21, I think I'm going to secure it back down with SS screws and seal the edges with silicone caulk so I'll always be able to remove it easily. The whole idea is to make it as easy as possible to remove the deck again if I ever have to replace the fuel tank or bilge pumps or filler hoses or.... well, you get the idea. I'm all about convenience on this project.

I like the pool noodle idea. And the boat I was going to fix up for my nephew had a removable deck like you speak of. Seems like an ok idea as long as it’s done well (his wasn’t). I’m going to seal this one up good. I didn’t get to work on it today as my mouth is hurting a lot worse then I though it was but I’m my blank mind of a day thought of something. I noticed on this boat at the top of the foam there is a hole through the stringer into the center of the boat to where any water that gets on top of the foam in theory will go into the bilge before saturating the foam.

I seriously doubt this worked but I can’t really rule it out with this boat because the floor has been cut open to the elements for over a year so there’s no way that much water could of ran off quick enough. But my thought is what if I re-foam the compartments then put a couple layers of chop strand over the foam then make weep holes into the bilge area. It may be a complete waste of time but is there any reason anyone here thinks I’d regret doing it?

[Destroyer]

The saturated foam does not come just from standing water on the bottom of the bilge. When I redid my V21 I had to do so because the wood under the deck was completely rotted. No water was ever standing on that wood. I was all because of humidity. The PO never vented the bilge area after use or during the winter. SO my thought is that if humidity is enough to rot wood it might be able to be absorbed into the foam in the same way. Understand, this is just theory with no proof on my part. If I was going to seal the foam in the voids I'd make sure that it was, indeed, a seal. No weep holes, no top holes, no penetrations of any kind. If there's no way for water to get in then there's no way for water to saturate the foam.

[3 Squids]

Well got some time today to play with the 21. I started digging out the foam with a spade shovel which worked very well. It came out in large chunks which made it easy to bag up. My plan was to do as little work with the shovel as possible and use my pressure washer to do the rest. Well that didn***8217;t go as planned. On areas where the foam is a thin layer it worked great. However in areas it was thick like in the corners and the bottom of the spaces it didn***8217;t work well. I have a 3100 psi washer and tried all the tips, even a turbo tip.

So it looks like I***8217;m going to go back through with the shovel and maybe a thin pry bar and try to get the majority of it out. Then with a thin layer hit it with the pressure washer. The washer does a great job of getting it clean off of the glass.

Also I noticed while using the stringers and bulkheads as pry points for the shovel that they are relatively strong Very little flex even with a lot of weight being put on the shovel but there is one spot that concerns me. The port stringer, right beside the fuel tank is soft. A lot of flex and hollowness. At the bulkhead forward of the tank the stringer turns in a bit so I***8217;m assuming there is a break there. I***8217;m guessing I can replace the stringer from there back. I***8217;m still going to inspect more areas and if I find more soft spots around the hull I guess a complete stringer/bulkhead job may be in order.

This is going to be a very time consuming project which is something I do not have much of. I***8217;m hoping to find someone who might take on this job and not completely screw me over. But I***8217;m having a hard time even finding anyone to give me an estimate. Seems everyone is stupid busy. So I guess I***8217;ll keep plucking along on it and maybe someone will come along and help me out. If not this could turn into a couple year project as between work and another project I***8217;m taking on (fill y***8217;all in on that in a couple weeks) I***8217;ll have very little time to work on this one. But it***8217;ll get there.

[bradford]

I admire your determination Squids, I'm not sure about yours, but some of those Palm Beach hulls had reverse chines like a Seacraft, not sure on whether or not they had variable deadrise though. Bgreene might want it.

[draglink]

Hey Squids, did you get that down at Glo Pt? I think it was my bro in laws project....hope all has been well, I've been turning 6200

---peace

[3 Squids]

Yea Troy was telling me you guys had it at one point t. He said he had it at one time. I got it from a guy in Callao. Why did you guys let it go? Something scare y’all away?