X-ray vision?

[Destroyer]

Originally Posted by phatdaddy

Hmmmm... As I recall water is approx 8.4 lbs per gallon, so your point is even more valid

Yep. 8.34 lbs to be exact. You are 100% correct, and I must admit to poor vision and making typos... That 6.34 I quoted should have been 8.34. Ahhh... the joys of growing older.....

That being said, add another 70 lbs (2 lbs x 70 total = 140, then divide that by 2 (half on each side of the centerline) = 70 lbs) more to the 225 already there and you get 295 lbs extra on one side of the boat. Might be enough to cause a noticeable list. Since we haven't seen any pics of the list it's hard to tell exactly what we are dealing with in this case.

But here's the one thing we all know.

Foam, even closed cell foam like the type used in boats, when constantly exposed to water will eventually get saturated, loose it's buoyancy, and add weight to the boat. Sometimes by hundreds of lbs. Additionally, it's insidious because it gradually happens over time, not suddenly, so it's hard to notice. This is the main reason to keep the bilge area and all below deck compartments as dry as possible at all times. Seal cracks, put caps on rod holders, etc etc,. In short, do everything in your power to keep the below decks area DRY!!! (Oh, it also will extend the life of the wooden stringers and the underdeck flooring too).

[SkunkBoat]

8 pounds/gallon of water....pint is a pound the world around

[phatdaddy]

Does it list at rest with nobody in it?
How far above the waterline are the deck drains, equal on both sides?

[jvitiel]

Ok, so here is a mini update. Thank you for all of your insightful comments..

The area marked "C" in the photo is wide open - no foam. There is indeed a bulkhead aft of the tank and a full height stringer between (at least) "B" and "C".

Nearest I can tell, there is about 4" between the deck and the hull where the rod box is. I'm thinking that I will go in there and attack the exposed foam with a mason's trowel and/or garden claw and see what I see. If I can't get far maybe I will use a long auger bit straight through the deck to get a deep core sample.

I would love suggestions as to what process or tool would be good for pulling the foam out through the gap by the rod box. If the foam was a little less dense, I feel like I could almost pull it out with my hand (but I doubt it). They should have used closed cell shipping peanuts. :-)

As an aside, a marine surveyor stopped by today for an unrelated issue and he didn't think the lopsided batteries were weighty enough to cause the list I described. He said maybe live with it but at lease know what it is...

[jvitiel]

The list is there both at rest and while running. It is such that the port chine is at water level and the stbd chine is maybe 3.5" to 4" under water. If I sit on the port hatch I can get it to a little less than level.

The deck drains are mounted at the same height on each side of the hull but the stbd one is at water level when in the water and at rest. I assume, but don't know if there is a leak in that plumbing - another thing to check..

The forward rod holders drain into the cockpit but the aft ones drain onto the foam on both sides. I don't have covers for them. The boat now lives under a carport next to my house so thats a non issue going forward but I don't know its storage/exposure history.

The hull strake on the stbd side has been repaired. It looks like it kissed the ramp at some point. It appears to have been well sealed with a hard, semi clear epoxy of some sort although I haven't inspected it closely. That may be the old (or ongoing) culprit - TBD

[SkunkBoat]

Take the helm pedestal seat off the post. down in the post there is probably a hole in the deck where you can get at the foam. dig out some foam , on trailer--- tilt bow down for a day and see if hole fills with water

[jvitiel]

Originally Posted by SkunkBoat

Take the helm pedestal seat off the post. down in the post there is probably a hole in the deck where you can get at the foam. dig out some foam , on trailer--- tilt bow down for a day and see if hole fills with water

Excellent suggestion! There is no hole under the pedestal but there soon will be. Do you think the moisture in wet foam will migrate? I hadn't considered that.

[Destroyer]

As far as your rod holders go, go to home depot, plumbing dept. and buy as many 1 1/2" rubber pipe caps as you need. They come with a stainless pipe clamp but truthfully the fit is so snug that it's almost not needed... but use it anyways. Remove your rod holders or the rod boxes on the gunnels and put the caps over the bottom of the rod holders, thus sealing them off from any water getting into the boat from that source. If/when they fill up just use a turkey baster (steal your wife's or go to Dollar store) to remove the water. Cheap, fast KISS solution to the problem.

[garbubba]

Two things,

If you keep your boat under cover don't sweat the rod holders, a turkey baster, really? If you plug them up it's no biggie to put in a drain line from the bottom of the holders running to the bilge.

The other is like many of you, I'm still amazed at the different layouts of these boats. I have an '83 and an 87, both have identical decks, big tank in the rear, long box in front, but nothing in front of that. They do have differences, the rod boxes are very different, and the '83 has a wooden door on the transom, my '87 has plexy.

[jvitiel]

Ok, rainy day so I decided to poke around. I probed the foam in the three compartments on the stbd side and all I could really get at was the stuff down to the chine. It all seemed fine. There was very slight moisture at the bottom of the foam in the forward most compartment (forward of the bulkhead in front of the gas tank) but still it was really just moisture on my finger from between the hull and the foam, not wet foam.

I guess I'm going to drill through the deck to see how the deeper foam is. Will start under the pedestal seat as Skunk suggested and then move to the more exposed compartments. As much as I would like to use a 7/8" auger bit to get a good sample, I'm thinking about a 1/2" bit through the deck and then a long 3/8" bit down into the foam.

I also looked at placing one battery in the port transom locker and that seems problematic. The bait well is glassed in and I don't want to destroy it. Cutting a hatch in the front face of the locker is also problematic as there is very tight clearance and the drop to the tray below the deck would make dealing with the battery difficult. It was a great idea but I think I will stick with moving them to the forward fish box if it comes to that.













And here is a photo that I saw mounted on the wall at Louie's Oyster Bar in Port Washington Long Island. Thought it was neat...