I Hate My Trailer Please Help

[Outrage 19]

Re: I Hate My Trailer Please Help

The Wet Spot<br />

 

[Terry H]

Re: I Hate My Trailer Please Help

I've never been able to, nor have I seen anybody able to dry out the flotation foam in a hull. That doesn't mean you can't, if there is only a small bit of saturated foam , maybe. I would dig out the wet and refill with fresh foam before patching, using the new foam as a backing. Personally I would patch from both sides, but there are enough experts here that say otherwise, I'm not gonna argue. If I were gonna do a little foam in that hole I would (because I have the resources) drive the boat to a factory that uses 7# foam and have them spray the foam. It's not easy working with foam upside down, it tends to fall out. Grind the foam to where you wants it, then the first layup glues the foam to the patch which is glued to the hull. Finish the layup sand, prime and paint as necessary...Chief

 

[Outrage 19]

Re: I Hate My Trailer Please Help

Can I use the foam in a can that you find at Lowes?

 

[G DANE]

Re: I Hate My Trailer Please Help

If the foam is only wet in the corner you have marked, water probably didnt get far in. I would dig it out, mix a small batch and fill the empty void. Let it cure, and dig out again till you have a hole, looking like it is now. Mix a small batch of foam again, and poor it on a plastic bag on a piece of ply or something. When hardened, cut it in shape like the missing foam. Afterwards, mix a little foam, put it on top of foam patch, and lift patch up to the hole, Squezing the foam on top. Hold it there with a piece of ply with foam and a plastic bag on top, and a stick or similar beneath, to the ground. When it has cured, you can easily sand it and use it as support for the lay-up. If mat tends to fall down, same procedure with foam/plastic. Sand between layers.

 

[Terry H]

Re: I Hate My Trailer Please Help

I've never used foam inacan like that but I bet it would work just fine. Overfill the cavity then trim to fit. The same grinder you used on the glass hull should work just fine...Chief

 

[Outrage 19]

Re: I Hate My Trailer Please Help

Thanks for your suggestions guys. I’ve been reading a post on Continuouswave.com’s Boston Whaler forum about a fella who set out to prove or disprove weather or not Boston Whaler’s foam will or will not soak up water like a sponge. The conclusion was that Boston Whaler changed the type of foam they use around 1979 and that pre79 boats will soak up water. My boat, being 1976, has soaked up water, and like a sponge the water has settled to the lowest point, the keel.<br /><br />G DANE, I’d be willing to bet my foam is saturated from that point all the way down to the bottom of the keel so I’m going to dig out as much of the wet foam as I can and replace it.<br /><br />Chief 101, I know the stuff in a can is urethane foam so I will take a trip to the local Lowe’s and read the can to see what it says but I’m thinking, as you said It’ll work fine as a replacement.<br /><br />Again thanks for all the advice and I’ll post more pics as things progress.<br /><br />Outrage 19

 

[Terry H]

Re: I Hate My Trailer Please Help

Oh yea, don't forget to get rid of them rollers and put some bunks on that trailer of yours...Chief

 

[G DANE]

Re: I Hate My Trailer Please Help

And BTW you did a fine job sanding, but I would "V" the edges the first 1 - 1 1/2" from the hole some more, to get more layers of the new material there.

 

[Outrage 19]

Re: I Hate My Trailer Please Help

Chief 101 the trailer is in pretty sad shape so actually I'm in the market for a replacement. Unfortunately there are other things with higher priority.<br /><br />G DANE, I’m not sure I understand you. Are you saying to grind a V grove 1 – 1½” out from the edge of the hole all the way around the hole?<br /><br />BTW I contacted Boston Whaler through there web site yesterday and when I got home from work my wife says a fella from Chesapeake Whalers was calling for me so for now I’m holding off on digging out the wet foam until I talk to them.

 

[Outrage 19]

Re: I Hate My Trailer Please Help

OK I just got off the phone with the local Boston Whaler dealer. According to them there is no way to get the water out short of replacing all of the foam. Since the boat still rides great, and I say that having had the boat out in 3’ to 5’ chop WITH THE HOLE, I’m going to dig out the wet foam around the hole, spray in the canned foam, patch the hole, and enjoy the boat. The Boston Whaler man agreed this was a good plan. His only other comment was that I might want to weigh the boat to calculate how much water weight is there and subtract that from my MAX CAPACITY rating for safety.

 

[JasonJ]

Re: I Hate My Trailer Please Help

I don't think you are going to have as much water as you think you do. The old foams were more prone to water absorbtion, but still not as fast as a sponge. It takes a long amount of continuous exposure to water for any real absorbsion to take place, like if you kept it in the water for weeks on end. You have to figure that the boat was not in the water that long, it is doubtful you have absorbed enough to make a real difference. Its too bad you don't have a before damage weight of the boat to compare to. Either way, dig it out, set a heat lamp under it to at least dry the exposed foam, apply the new foam, patch, and enjoy!

 

[G DANE]

Re: I Hate My Trailer Please Help

What I ment about grinding more, was to grind the edges of the F/G around the hole thinner, to make the new patch go further over the old laminate in more plies. Grind 1 1/2" or 2" from edge of hole. http://www.fiberglass-repair.com/about.html

 

[Outrage 19]

Re: I Hate My Trailer Please Help

Thanks for the input Jason J. I think your right as I said before I’ve had this boat out in what I feel is some pretty rough stuff, for a 19’ center console, without any fear of swamping. My feeling is if I get real energetic after I winterize her I might cut a hole just above the keel at the bow and with the stern plug out blow hot air in there for a couple of days then patch the hole in the spring. That way I can say I’ve tried everything I can think of to get the water out.<br /><br />G DANE I follow ya. That’s what the instructions from Continuouswave.com said. It’s hard to see but in my “DIG OUT 1” OF FOAM” pic you can see where I’ve feathered the edge back as you suggest.<br /><br />I’m looking forward to finishing up so I can be in the water by July 4th. All the advise from everyone is greatly appreciated. Thanks a million.<br /><br />Outrage 19

 

[Outrage 19]

Re: I Hate My Trailer Please Help

I heard back from the folks at Boston Whaler. They say do not blow air into the hull as this might lead to the foam separating from the hull. So I guess it’s best to live with whatever water is in there.<br /><br />I dug out the wet foam about 8” back and filled the area with urethane foam in a can, BTW I found both urethane and latex foam so if anyone else needs to do this read the can to make sure you get the urethane foam, which worked out so well I decided to fill the whole area, to reduce the amount of filling I would have to do with resin and mat, and reprep the edge of the hole as instructed by the directions from Continueswave.com.<br />

<br /><br />While at the hardware store buying the foam I saw they carried West Systems products cheaper than the marine store so I also bought ½ gal of 105 Epoxy, 206 Slow Hardener (since I was working with temps in the 90s), 406 Colloidal Silica filler, and 1 sqyd of chopped mat. My neighbor had 2 sqyds of woven cloth left over from work he had done on his boat that he gave me.<br /><br />I mixed up some epoxy, hardener, and filler to fill the 1” gap created in the prep work, which started expanding over the feathered edge of the hole. This was not the expected result so I let it harden and sanded it down to recreate the feathered the edge. I than applied the fiberglass in layers as follows chopped mat, woven cloth, chopped mat, woven cloth, and woven cloth. The next day I sanded everything down smooth.<br />

 

[JasonJ]

Re: I Hate My Trailer Please Help

Looking good. I hope you sort your trailer issues, I would hate to see a re-occurance of this again. Is it relatively safe to assume you will be repainting the bottom?

 

[Outrage 19]

Re: I Hate My Trailer Please Help

Thanks Jason. The trailer issue will be worked out as soon as I can afford it. I will either do a rebuild because this trailer has some rust and I want to convert it to bunks, or I will come across a better trailer at the right price, FREE. I passed one up last week, the add said free trailer must take boat.<br /><br />I put a coat of bottom paint on the patch last night and will put a second coat on tonight. I didn’t know the paint covered so well. I bought a pint of paint and barely put a dent in it after the first coat. I’ll bet I could do 2 coats on my whole bottom with 1 quart, but that will have to wait till after the trailer since it was over $30 for a pint.<br /><br />Thanks again for everyones advise.

 

[Terry H]

Re: I Hate My Trailer Please Help

You went thru all the hoops, I hope it works well for you...Chief

 

[Outrage 19]

Re: I Hate My Trailer Please Help

Thanks Cheif I think it will.

 

[Outrage 19]

Re: I Hate My Trailer Please Help

Ha fellas<br /><br />I put the boat in the water on Saturday and didn’t pull it out until Tuesday. When I pulled the plug I got no water at all from the inner hull. I did a close inspection of the patch; it looks to be holding with no problem. Through out the weekend I’d say I ran about 10 hours, nothing real rough waves 1’ or less. I got to say it one more time Thanks for all the advise.

 

[Terry H]

Re: I Hate My Trailer Please Help

Congrats, another satisfied customer. By the way, your 4 day warantee is done for. Chief