Foam in hull?

[noah4009]

I have a 1977 Starcraft, 15 FT, open bow, tri hull. Fbglss. Has a 1971 55HP O/B. Does this boat hull has foam in it? I know this boat was in the weather for 2 years. Not covered. Runs fine now, Has good deck. Doing apolstery work on it now. If there is foam in it and its been in the weather for 2 years not covered, how can I find out if it full of water? Is there a way of drying out foam without removing floor? I'd hate to tear off a good deck and find nothing wrong inside. Also would not want to get myself into something I may not be able to handle, like replacing the deck.
thanks

 

[bowman316]

Re: Foam in hull?

Drill a small hole and see. If it is fine, just fill the hole

 

[noah4009]

Re: Foam in hull?

Drill a small hole and see. If it is fine, just fill the hole

Do you mean drill a hole in the bottom to see if it has foam? Or drill to see if water drains from it? I read where boats had foam that was saturated with water. The hole on the transom, where you plug, has no water coming from it. So I do not think it is full of water. But can foam absorb water where it won't leak out hole but still hold the water? Does my 1977 Starcraft even have foam in it?

 

[5150abf]

Re: Foam in hull?

Drill a hole from the deck down in an out of the way place, not through the hull, and see if the foam that comes up on the bit is wet.

Be carefull that you have enough clearance to drill and not jab a hole in the hull.

Alot of guys use a 1'' hole saw so you have a little room to investigate and no once foam is wet it will never dry, needs to be removed.

 

[CATransplant]

Re: Foam in hull?

Be very careful with a trihull. On a lot of those, the deck is right on the high points of the hull. Check twice to make sure you're drilling in a place that doesn't have hull right underneath it.

Most of those have foam under the deck. It's partly flotation and partly structural. It tends to stiffen up the whole boat and keep it from smacking quite as hard in rough water. You may also find foam up in the space under the cap (top half of the hull).

 

[bowman316]

Re: Foam in hull?

I figure why put foam in, when that is the reason you are tearing up the floor in the first place.
All foam does is hold water and rot wood.

 

[ziggy]

Re: Foam in hull?

All foam does is hold water and rot wood.

it does have a bennie or two though. at the very least it provides..
sound deading and flotation.... http://www.aristocraftboats.com/fiberglassbrochures/Incomparable19page4.pdf

i understand why you say that though. i've got a boat with rotten stringers in my back yard.

 

[bowman316]

Re: Foam in hull?

I believe that risk is inherent when out on the water, you can sink at any moment, and I am willing to accept that risk. And If I sink, I sink to the bottom, and put on a life jacket. I don't need the foam, I can survive a boat sinking without it, considering I do not go offshore.

It may be taking a slightly higher risk, but that is boating.

 

[Chris1956]

Re: Foam in hull?

Bowman, A lot of boats use the foam for structural purposes. it stiffens the hull between the stringers and frames. If it is removed, it is likely the hull will crack. If the floor is properly waterproofed with FG cloth and resin, the foam will stay dry, support the hull and help keep from sinking. I therefore think it is worthwhile.

Another thing, today's foam is closed cell, and does not absorb water.

 

[ziggy]

Re: Foam in hull?

A lot of boats use the foam for structural purposes. it stiffens the hull between the stringers and frames. I

the example of the aristocraft is perfect. it don't have stringers. just hull, hull liner and cap. foam between the hull and liner as shown in the link..

 

[Biggems]

Re: Foam in hull?

My rig is slightly different. I have a 14'6" aluminum V-Hull fishing boat with a carpeted deck in it. I know it has foam in it, but only on the sides. The boat has stringers under the deck but they run the length of the boat rather than the width. So the center of the deck from front to back in between those stringers or ribs is clear. However on the outsides of those stringers or ribs is full of foam. (Or at least I am assuming it is because there is one spot in the center where some foam spilled over and there is just a little chunk there).

I went out to the boat last week to check on it after some nasty weather and the tarp didnt hold up and the boat had a good amount of water in it. I drained it all out but now is the foam ok? how long does foam need to soak before it's ruined?

I now have a good boat cover on it.

 

[Biggems]

Re: Foam in hull?

here is a picture that I took of the foam.

 

[Chris1956]

Re: Foam in hull?

Biggums, I would presume the foam in your boat is closed cell, and doesn't absorb water. You might push on the overflow foam and see if it has absorbed any water.

 

[MrPhotographer06]

Re: Foam in hull?

i just finished replacing my boats floor..stringers and all.. and i left the foam.. because i was adding a casting deck so i wanted to be safe with the floatation foam.. the original floor had an inspection hole built at the back of the deck that allowed you pull it out and clean out the hole that allows the water to run to the bilge bowl at the back.[i assume anyway]

i did not put this hole back in my new floor but if i think i am having problems i guess i can always put hole down in it.. but back to your topic, check around to see if you have a service hole like this. look under everything and all before you cut a hole in it, but with a tri hull try and do the hole in the middle of the boat or on the very side so you dont hit the crest in the curves.

if you save the piece that comes out, you can fill around it and keep the same piece.

if you do end up tearing the floor out, its not a hard job.. i'm 16 and i did it pretty much myself.. i did most of it last summer and i had a cast on my hand from a boxers fracture, so u put it up and by the time i got it off, it was almost through the summer, so i finished i put another month into it and got it water ready mostly yesterday. i've got some motor work to do this week/weekend and i'll be on the water. its not a hard task, just time consuming

 

[Biggems]

Re: Foam in hull?

The problem is that that peice of foam is like a quarter of the way down the length of the boat from where the little opening is in the back of the deck at the transom. I was able to reach it with a stick through the plug opening and probe it a little and it made a crunching sound. So I dont know what that means.

Also, that was before all the water go in it over this past off season.

 

[oops!]

Re: Foam in hull?

empty the boat of stuff.......put the boat on a trailer.....drive down to a self weigh scale.....and weigh it........if the foam is wet you will know

 

[bowman316]

Re: Foam in hull?

a crunching sound would tell me that is is dry.

 

[Biggems]

Re: Foam in hull?

yeah it felt almost as though I was poking a potatoe?

In regards to taking it to a weigh station; I was out there last weekend with my Fiance to put the new cover on (replaced a tarp) and once we got some of the water out of the hull, I grabbing the tip of the trailer, lifted it up to head level (I'm 6'2) so that the rest of the water would drain out the plug hole in the transom. Would I be able to do this if the foam was soaked?

 

[Wee Hooker]

Re: Foam in hull?

Biggems, I have a similar aluminum boat. From my research it takes YEARS if not decades of constant wetting to get the foam to absorb any significant water. If your foam is in the sides, and never soaked for days in h20, you'll likey never see significant saturation. That said, even if the boat sunk, water in your foam is not likely to rot the boat/floor if it's well built/name brand. ( For instance, my Mirrocraft has Pressure treated ply everywhere and has a lifetime warrenty on the floors.)

 

[Biggems]

Re: Foam in hull?

I got the boat used last year. I think it was built in 1980? So I have no idea of the conditions it was in before I had it. I know the boat was re-riveted in 2000. To do that, I'm assuming it would have needed the deck and foam out? So is it safe to say it has a new deck and foam as of 2000? I also dont know if it was professionaly done or not.

Since I've had it, alot of water has gotten in the boat. This past winter I only had a tarp on it and had to constantly go out there and drain water out and re-rig the tarp. So suffice it to say it's had alot of water in it over this past winter but I dont know about before that.

Also, there aren't any soft spots in the deck, even where most of the water came through the tarp.