Will a bowrider with wet foam crack the hull when it freezes?

[boatdude100]

Bought a bowrider with foam soaked and stringers wet, some rot. replaced much but cant get into wet foam in front section as it is under fiberglass floor. What are the chances it will crack the hull this winter? gulp...

 

[ondarvr]

About zero, but wet foam and rotten wood aren't good for other reasons.

 

[tpenfield]

Not a good idea to leave any wet foam or wood behind if you are restoring the boat. Typically, with foam, there is enough 'give' in the cells to allow for the freeze expansion. The wet wood will tend to delaminate when subject to freezing.

 

[Scott Danforth]

leaving the wet foam will mean that your new stuff will start to rot soon

 

[gm280]

If you are presently replacing other things do to rot, why not cut up the fiberglass section and remove all the wet foam and rotted wood?

 

[82rude]

Leaving wet foam in the front could also cause handling issues due to weight.I took a glass boat to the dump a few years ago and the weight was 1900 lbs.The weight of the boat was 1100lbs .Wet foam is very heavy!

 

[chevymaher]

Mine was soaked. It didn't hurt the hull. It gets down to 20 below here at times.

Oh you can get to the foam in the bow rider if you want to. It isn't fun or easy tho. I went from oh the boat is fine to starting a total rebuild in the course of 2 days because of the guidance on this forum. They were not wrong it was wasted.

Just do it and listen to them. They are the wise ones that will give you correct guidance.

 

[jbcurt00]

Wet foam is also no longer able to do what it was originally intended to do: provide flotation