water in hull???

[mrolp84]

hey all
last year i purchased a 1990 omc sunbird swl150 side console boat with a 1990 johnson 40 hp outboard. the hull is in really great shape no cracks or nothing just a little stained up. after rebuilding the seating area and making it run i noticed that the floor has tons of holes from the last guy mounting all kinds of stuff. then after further inspection i saw some holes filled with water. now my question is does anyone know anything about this type of boat? i was told it was foam injected and it has a splash well with two holes in the transom that i have to plug with rubber plugs in order to keep water from covering the deck. should i drill a hole in the hull an make a drain plug since i dont have one, and are there any drain plugs kits so i can do it right? i can post pictures if needed thanks. -matt

 

[jonesg]

Re: water in hull???

No one wants to touch this one...

were it mine?

I'd pull the floor ( and ditch it)
it probably needs new stringers, gut the foam if its wet.
Drill a hole to test the transom.

Redeck it.

The 2 drain holes in the transom leak because the stern is probably sitting too low due to waterlogging = a stern heavy condition.

You can order brass or plastic drain tubes right here on iBoats, I would install a bilge pump too, sounds like it needs some work to get it straightened out again but ,,,I enjoy messing with boats so to me its not work.

 

[mrolp84]

Re: water in hull???

i am sorry i may have described my type of boat wrong. what i have is a utility boat as said by sunbird. it is kinda like a skiff. its not a bowrider or cubby its all open like a center console is. the floor and hull are a molded piece i cant remove nothing with out distroying the boat. it has a splashwell with holes in the transom to be like a self bailing cockpit? there is no drain plug what so ever. i know this does not make anything any easier but that is how things go for me. i guess i will install a drain plug kit and just enjoy it till i can get my mako 212. thanks

 

[Moody Blue]

Re: water in hull???

Sounds much the same as a Boston Whaler construction. Foam core laminate construction. I had a similar boat with the same water soaked core.

The water can add hundreds of pounds of weight if there is alot of it. That can affect the safe load carrying capacity of the boat.

If there is water in there, there is NO WAY to get it out other than removing all the affected foam. Not a small task.

Drill a number of test holes and check for wet foam. Decide what to do after that.

Good luck.

 

[mrolp84]

Re: water in hull???

well after re-wiring the console and getting the nav lights to work i am just going to wait till the weekend and install a drain plug with the flange and try that for now. i am trying to make this boat into something and i am sure my weigh is spead evenly over the boat and it only has a 40hp so i truely believe there is some water in there. is the foam pretty much distroyed if water is in there? thanks again.

 

[mrolp84]

Re: water in hull???

okay i pulled the motor off the boat and removed the plastic cap that covers the transom. the wood at the top looks pretty solid and when i drilled a hole the shavings were dry. i did notice some small fractures at the corners like the transom is flexing. i plan to make a 1/4 inch alum plate cap to help stiffen that as well as some fiberglass work. i plan to install a drain plug kit that i purchased from this site later this week. i am curious to see how much water comes out. now i know i was told that the foam is toast if it is soaked but if i leave the plug out and patch all of the topside hole will it dry out some? also will the spray can of foam that is used for home repairs work to seal up some areas that i can gut or can you recommend a foam i could use. thanks for any help i know some may think this is a waste of time but it is all i have for now.

 

[ondarvr]

Re: water in hull???

Even if you let it sit for a couple of years the foam won't dry out, so if its wet you'll need to dive in and dig it out. Do a search here on "foam" and you'll get many views on what to, or not to do, with foam.

Its not fun work, but once you start its not so bad.

 

[Moody Blue]

Re: water in hull???

2nd what ondarvr said. Nothing you do (short of physically removing it) will dry that foam out. If you put a drain plug in as you mentioned, water will seep out a few drops at a time but will have NO overall impact on the wet foam.

There has been many discussions about this topic. Do a search for water soaked foam and get comfortable. There is alot to read

 

[mrolp84]

Re: water in hull???

sorry for being stubborn i really do appreciate all the help and advice. After removing the motor and cleaning the grime from the transom i found a crack and also the screw hole that held the transducer in place was not sealed and when removed guess what, water came out. so i have done some reading and being an experienced mechanic, my father and i are going to install the drain plug,cut out some of the floor and remove the foam and replace it. i will try and post pictures if possible since this problem seems to be common in this style boat. thanks again -matt