87 SeaRay BR Innards

[pete44]

Re: 87 SeaRay BR Innards

Deja vu... reminds me of the two Sea Rays I've gutted.

Plywood sheets barely or partially covered in spray glass, questionable glass work all around, holes in the deck where foam was injected (and water can get in), plenty of places for foam to get wet and never dry.

Don't get me wrong, I like the hull styles from Sea Ray (at least the ones before about 1995) but they sure didn't build boats to last, they built 'em for cheap construction using cheap labor.

Erik

Erik,
I do agree..When I pulled off the sides just one side coated..Do you think I should rip out the foam? I have "tested" it with a clothes hanger stabbing around and is dry so far..I am just trying to save money..If I rip foam out someone mentioned you could use the "pink or blue" sheet foam from Home Depot and "stack it" to fill voids...Also, do you know of a good place to buy Epoxy resin at a good price?...I heard Epoxy resin "bonds" better then the polyester resin to existing resin/deck....And lastly, If I would have had enough since over the past 3 years I would have raised the boat/trailer as much as possible to keep water drained out through bildge..those trailer jacks do not raise it high enough for water to drain out. Should have placed tongue on a sawhorse (old school way)..This WAS a garaged boat until I moved...no room now in garage thus exposed outside with so-called cover on it....I say so-called because water still gets inside...You could see it drain out of bilge plug hole after a rain....Sorry so long...just venting I guess...This boat was in TWICE as better shape when garaged...Weather eats at it like cancer!

Thanks,Pete

 

[bankfisher]

Re: 87 SeaRay BR Innards

you have a PM

 

[erikgreen]

Re: 87 SeaRay BR Innards

Erik,
I do agree..When I pulled off the sides just one side coated..Do you think I should rip out the foam? I have "tested" it with a clothes hanger stabbing around and is dry so far..I am just trying to save money..If I rip foam out someone mentioned you could use the "pink or blue" sheet foam from Home Depot and "stack it" to fill voids...Also, do you know of a good place to buy Epoxy resin at a good price?...I heard Epoxy resin "bonds" better then the polyester resin to existing resin/deck....

You're not going to like my answer much, but yes, the foam needs to all come out if there was any rot or water under decks at all. From your pics, I'd say this is the case.

Water can enter foam at the top, sink to the bottom, and run down the hull over time leaving no trace of its passage unless it finds wood. It takes years to happen. Even though your hanger test shows dry, probably there's an area or two against the outside hull that's damp enough to squeeze water from... and if you leave it in, then the water can provide enough humidity under decks (especially in warm weather) to promote rot.

You can either replace the foam with pourable foam or chunks of the blue or pink insulation foam. You can also save larger chunks of the dry foam from your boat and re-use them... just put them back in the boat and pour foam around them.

You don't legally HAVE to put the foam back, by the way.. the law for that applies to manufacturers, not private boat owners.

The best place I've found so far for prices on epoxy and pourable foam is US Composites (uscomposites.com). Cost on their thin epoxy is about $50 a gallon including shipping, and I've never had problems with it wetting out cloth or curing. It's not quite as thin as west system, but paying 50% less is a good incentive to spend time working the resin into the glass.

They have good prices on glass too, but biaxial is cheaper elsewhere, especially if you need a whole roll. If you use poly resin instead you can save even more money.. don't buy the bondo stuff in home depot though, get some real boat resin from US Composites or a local supply shop.

Erik

 

[pete44]

Re: 87 SeaRay BR Innards

Erikgreen,

Yes you are right...I thought all of my foam was dry but found it wet under the fuel tank area and the ski locker board is about toast as well. I also found it wet on port side foam right at bottom where it meets hull....So, I will dig it all out.. For a 17' bowrider how much epoxy would you need?... I do not want to go with the polyester (I bought at Auto Zone) like you said gets brittle over time...I want to try and epoxy and glass everything. Is glass mat required with epoxy? or can I used the Polyester resin and glass mat from the composites place you talked about and be OK? Cheaper is better for me...

Thanks,Pete