HOORAY!!! I think I have Wet Foam

It's becoming a right of passage. We'll see you over coffee!

I pulled up part of the floor yesterday. I'm not surprised that the foam was wet, the floor is in 5 pieces just sitting on the stringers, nice fit, but not water tight. There are 2 center access panels over the rear bilge area and under the back seat(not a problem), 2 side panels from the transom to the ski pylon and a front section under the drivers seat. I'm definitely replacing the stringers, re foaming (if I use pool noodles no one will ever know because I won't post photographs!!). I have attached photos of soaking wet foam with a puddle at the bottom of the foam and rotten stringer / floor supports. I am not very smart because I'm actually looking forward to cleaning up this mess so that I can have trouble free boating in a cool boat (my opinion) next year. Next step is to gut the interior, pull the engine and trans and get out my sawzall.

Cavity next to the exhaust

Floor support over exhaust

Floor support around pylon

Floor at front of bilge in battery box area under drivers seat

Did you make sure you put the plug in before you launched? Had to ask because i've never seen a CC sit that low in the water!

You will be more proud of your boat than anyone who buys a new one! Enjoy the process, we'll be looking forward to pictures!

Two questions that can't be asked enough:

1. Is my drysuit zipped?
2. Is the plug in?

wwchevy wrote: It was a mad scramble to find the plug and get it in the hole (my specialty)

Well played sir! Well played.....

wwchevy wrote: I pulled up part of the floor yesterday. I'm not surprised that the foam was wet, the floor is in 5 pieces just sitting on the stringers, nice fit, but not water tight. There are 2 center access panels over the rear bilge area and under the back seat(not a problem), 2 side panels from the transom to the ski pylon and a front section under the drivers seat.

Interesting- got any better pictures? Based on the way youre describing it, that does not sound like the original floor. Originally, your boat would have had a fiberglass skin over the foam and stringers, and then another (~1/2") layer of non-sealed wood floor above that. The second (wood) layer would have been for impact resistance and cosmetics (it would have been wrapped in vinyl or carpeted) only- it was not a seal. That was the job of the glass layer below it. If you didnt have that layer of glass, I wonder if a previous owner had replaced the floor and failed to seal it back up properly? That may explain the extensive amount of water your hull must be holding in order to be sitting in the water that low!

The only other boat Ive seen sit so low in the water was Roy's Ski Tique.

Mike,
I have tremendous respect for your opinion. I read your thread on foam removal and stringer repair (and quite a few others) a couple of times already and I'm sure I will read it more. You did a great job, I hope that I can occasionally lean on your experience in the future. I figure that if I pace myself over the winter I will get done by spring.

Wes

"15 garbage bags full of water and foam are in your future"

You are where you need to be. Looks like you have
a good start. Now come the many trash bags.
From the looks of your "laboratory test",, I would bet
that stringer is no better under that glass.

wwchevy wrote: Tim, I wanted to thank you for a thread somewhere in the past where you provided links to about 6 different foam /stringer jobs. That saved me alot of searching time. I read all of those links especially Keegans and Wakeslayers since their boats are close to my vintage and style. I think mine sits a little lower in the water than Roys, but it is close. The floor does have a layer of glass over the stringers and foam and half inch carpeted non sealed wood over that. It may have been replaced, I'm not sure. You can kind of see the fiberglass jagged edges in the first photo next to my hand. I pulled it up with my hand and snapped a piece 3 inches wide and 10 inches long off to expose the foam. The glass floor extended partially over the exhaust cavity. There are cracks in the fiberglass where it meets the main stringers next to the bilge next to the engine. I will take better photos this weekend and post them. Picked up some Chineese food and this was in my fortune cookie I think it should have said "Boats FULL of Water"

Or water in your boats.
I really like your mustang. Same color scheme as our southwind. I've slowly been tearing into her to put new stringers in. Its a labor of love, but the guys on this site are great support!
You thinking foam or no foam??
Scott

the patch job you refer to looks remarkably simailar to the floor of the marauder 19. when i saw mine i thought is was an isolated incident when they installed the turbos. maybe not?

if you look at it this way, the USCG requires foam in new boats under 22ft, which necessarily does not mean in a rebuilt boat, it is a necessary evil, it has nothing to do on the engineers table to where they said we are going to use foam for structural integrity, what happened is the coastie's said to new boat manufacturers that it must float if sunk under no other conditions without taking into account that these boats are primarily for inland lake and river use, they dont take into account that on a ski boat, most operators are ex-lifegaurds and were born with fins and duck feet. now I cant remember in the last 5 years on this site of a boat sinking and someone dying, if so it would be under very unusual circumstances and yes accidents do happen and if your in a life threatening situation the last thing you should care about is your precious boat going under, and I think thats the persona, save the boat, not save the lives? maybe?
you do have physical evidence of what foam does to a boat many times over, and if you re-engineer your boat the way a boat should be built it will have air tight pockets that will not fill with water quickly, you will add re-enforcements to make the boat structurally sound so you can wash away the fear of a solid piece of fiberglass going across flat water cracking in half. its been a debate for years, and I think if you took a poll here you would see the ones with a high amount of postings and have been around these boats for quite some time opt not to re-foam. it does not de-value the boat, no one is telling you that you have to re-foam, really, I would love to hear all the pros/cons on your personal reasons for foaming a boat and the here are some of my feelings on why not to re-foam.
1. you can build a more solid/lighter structure without it
2. i no doubt traps water
3. it saturates with water with no evidence that it does not
4. its expensive
5. without it, there is not much chance of the boat ever rotting again

That "patch job" is most likely a result of a previous owner replacing the exhaust hoses. Most of the foamed boats prior to '73 had their exhaust hoses sealed up below the floor. To replace them, you needed to cut the glass out around them and remove the foam. Looks like whoever replaced yours put the foam back in but didnt seal the floor back up!

You can almost make out the sealed exhaust cavities on my '71 Skier in this pic:

My boat went roughly 20 years with the original foam. I figure to get at least that out of the work that went into my re-string. No?

Definately going to last longer with CPES, Epoxy and 5200.

Is this insulation under the gas tank?