Welded aluminum hull with wet foam

[blimp]

I'm at a bit of a loss here, I have a welded aluminum "AlumaWeld" H51, its a 17 foot welded bass boat, now made by Xpress, but in 1992 or so, it was still called "AlumaWeld"

I have noticed it is heavier than it should be and recently felt the foam under the deck by the drain plug, and its soaked.

All the decks are welded in place, is there any way to dry out the foam or am i stuck cutting ALL the welds off the decking and tearing it all out? Or is it time to get a new boat?

thanks for looking.

 

[ghamby]

Re: Welded aluminum hull with wet foam

You could cut access hatches and root out the foam.

 

[blimp]

Re: Welded aluminum hull with wet foam

should i try an replace it if i am able to get it out? Put some 'fun noodles' down there or something?

full disclosure: it DID sink a few weeks ago (engine mounting holes were leaking badly) making for an exciting camping trip, and the foam did its job, the boat stayed bow up, on top of the water.

 

[Vanover]

Re: Welded aluminum hull with wet foam

do you have insurance???

 

[blimp]

Re: Welded aluminum hull with wet foam

nope, cheapo fix-er-uper from craigslist...

thanks mostly to knowledge gained on this forum, i was able to get the motor started immediately and get her to the dock

 

[drewpster]

Re: Welded aluminum hull with wet foam

Its a boat, not a bobber!??

I agree with the access hatch idea. But if you have to swiss cheese it to get to all the foam, you might as well cut a big portion out and have it welded back in.
You can use pourable expansion foam. Thats what they probably used originally. I have heard about guys using foam panels and coke bottles. Good ideas I suppose, but I would go with the factory stuff.
Some dont put foam back in at all. I would be reluctant to do that because without the foam noise may be an issue. I bet it would sound like running around in a oil drum. maybe.

 

[fshngho]

Re: Welded aluminum hull with wet foam

Its only my opinion and not meant to step on anyones toes, but why go back with "factory" when you know it will soak up water? I would go back with "noodles" or blue/pink closed cell foam. I wouldn't want to do it twice.

 

[blimp]

Re: Welded aluminum hull with wet foam

I'm going to have to cut off the back deck to even get to the sub floor, but that sounds like the way to go. It'll allow me to take advantage of some dead space around the live well to make some storage too.

Thanks for the suggestions, better than dismantling the whole boat...