replacing wet foam

If you are curious about foam status, drill a hole in the floor; under the driver's seat is a good spot. Drill just outboard of the main stinger. Push a wood dowel down to the hull & see if it comes up wet (it will). Then caulk the hole shut, put the seat back in & go skiing. If you tear into it now, you will miss the summer fun.

Just don't drill thru the hull!

Backfoot100, No we have not done any major testing on the engine. We have rebuilt the carb, new cap and rotor, points and condenser, new plugs, replaced fuel filter also. It fires up INSTANTLY when its cold so by that sign compression is still good, BUT it might be a little lower than what it should be. It runs perfectly IMO but it might not be putting out the power as it should.

There is a bit of debate for this but the foam is there for a few reasons:

1) For floatation: if the boat was to capsize, the foam would help it stay afloat instead of sink to the bottom. If occupants were trapped in the boat as it capsized, that could mean the difference between life and death.

2) For a more solid structure and strength

3) For sound deadening properties

At a certain year, the USCG mandated foam based on the length and weight of the boat. I believe it is for vessels longer than 20 feet so it technically isn't required for 19' ski boats.

While anything can be done, I would not say that you can "just remove the floor" to inspect for wet foam. It is no trivial task to remove, and even less so to put a new floor back down. It is not a matter of unscrewing the old floor and bolting it back down afterwards. The floor is an integral part of the boat, and is fiberglassed down- most of it consists of just fiberglass over the foam. It's a pretty big job to replace (properly). Pulling the wood under the glass in the front section is even more involved.

A stringer job is not that much more work so id be prepared to go that far if you tear into it. I would not tear into it without a good reason, and "just to check" isn't enough in my book!

Mark,
I would be real surprised if your stringers are in good shape if you have wet foam. Pulling the sole always produces surprises!