~How Wet, Is Too Wet?~

[albrown86]

I recently got a project boat from a family friend, Its a 70's Fiberglass Tri Hull and it came with Rotted and Saggy Decking. I ripped out all the Damp Wood, Checked to make sure the Stringers were okay (They are) and Ive ran into a debate... My Foam is Wet, About the Top two inches anyways, I havent dug allt he way down because to be honest, I only plan to run this boat for a few seasons at which point I will decide on an entire Deck restore, or Selling / Scrapping it. Im a College Student so money is tight riight now. Thjats why i have only planned on replacing the "Rotted" sections of wood for the time being and Im wondering if I can jus leave the Foam as it is. There doesnt seem to be much foam to begin with so If "Weight" Of the Wet Foam doesnt effect the Boat, and its just a "Rot Inducing" issue I want to seal this Deck up and get on the Lake. Any Advice?

 

[foodfisher]

Re: ~How Wet, Is Too Wet?~

There goes tuition. At least get rid of the foam. Weight issue. Cover it if you will, but the pics look a bit scary.

 

[albrown86]

Re: ~How Wet, Is Too Wet?~

I need to take some more pics of the work i have done since that initial "Pilot Hole" Unfortunately Its going to rain all weekend... I want to stress another point though.. Although the foam runs the length of the Hull, It goes from the inner stringers out.. Because of the tri-Hull shape, Its only a few inshes thick at it's deepest.. Is this really going to be a weight issue, I mean, when you consider 6 passengers is an average of 1000 lbs, Would a couple gallons soaked into the top layer of the Foam actually effect my performance!?!? Tuition CANNOT go unpaid, lol...

 

[Bifflefan]

Re: ~How Wet, Is Too Wet?~

Water weighs 8lbs per gallon. You can hold alot of water in the foam, thus alot of weight. If only one side is wet and is holding 30 gals, thats 240lbs of weight on one side of the boat and that is a problem.

Rip it all out and go to Lowes, Home Depot, what ever. Get the pink rigid foam and put that in, in place of the old stuff. this is closed cell foam and wont hold water in the future. Then put on your new floor. Use CDX 3/4 7ply plywood, and coat it completely with resin. Some say use treated but i dont, it can react with the fiberglass and resin.
Put it back in and your done. Then you dont have to it again later.

 

[BigBoatinOkie]

Re: ~How Wet, Is Too Wet?~

Are you taking the whole deck out? If you are, you might as well get the old nasty foam out, and go with foam like biffleman suggested. Some guys have just stuffed a bunch of foam noodles under the deck. Flotation foam is required by law in boats under I think 24', so you might as well get some that will float. Good luck.

 

[oops!]

Re: ~How Wet, Is Too Wet?~

my friend....welcome to i boats....

any wet is too wet .

the moisture left in the boat will eventually rot the entire boat....so its all gotta come out.

i know you want an easy way....but there is none...(actually its not that hard to do)
any water or moisture....it comes out

 

[albrown86]

Re: ~How Wet, Is Too Wet?~

My orignal PLan was to NOT replace the whole floor, Fact is If I do that I go form using 1 Sheet of decking / Wood, To 3. Triple the cost, Then figure in the cost of all the Glassing I will have to do at this point Im spending a "Boat Load" more cash (Pun Intended) then if I do the band - aid fix. Again I will stress because I think some people are posting and not really reading the words that im typing that if the Foam does rot the rest of the wood, (Which it will) and even destroys the new decking I am putting in I could care less. I will do a COMPLETE new deck in a few seasons when I have the finances to do such. again, I will re-iterate, I am a College Student that had a boat "Donated" to him that will cost a few hundred to get wet. THAT is my intention, to get the boat wet for a couple seasons. And as far as 240 lbs to one side goes, Ive seen women that weigh more than that with their Hubbies cruising through the lake without a Problem so I dont see how that will be an issue?!!?

 

[Ike-110722]

Re: ~How Wet, Is Too Wet?~

The issue is not the foam rotting the wood, although wood in contact with wet foam will rot. The issue is safety. Boats under twenty feet in length have foam as flotation, so if your boat swamps (fills with water) it will still float, and if the flotation is put in right, it will float right side up and fairly level. Leaving the wet foam will garauntee it will go down like a lead weight.

Bifflefan's suggestion was right on. I did exactly that with my boat. The pink foam is cheap, and does the job. And it could save your life. Look here http://newboatbuilders.com/pages/flot2.html.

Now, granted, those regulations apply to boat manufacturers, but it would be really smart to follow them. Not following them can make you liable and void your insurance.

Also, coating the ply with epoxy resin will seal it and keep the water out. However, I will warn you that epoxy resin is not cheap. It will be the most expensive part of your project. So be prepared for sticker shock. There are some cheaper brands such as MAS. Search the internet. If you plan to rip it out and do it all over again in a couple of years, just paint the wood with a good polyurethane paint, 3 or 4 coats and leave it at that.