Boats For Sale:
replacing wet foam |
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74SkiNautique 
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Joined: July-29-2008 Location: Lynchburg, VA Status: Offline Points: 228 |
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 Topic: replacing wet foamPosted: May-28-2014 at 2:49am |
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Hi all, My 74 Nautique is in great shape for its age and hours (1600). My question is if the stringers are not damaged, can you just remove the floor and get to the foam to see if its waterlogged? I have been wanting to replace my carpet for a few years now and just wondering what would have to be done in order to replace the foam.
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74SkiNautique
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8122pbrainard
Grand Poobah 
Joined: September-14-2006 Location: Three Lakes Wi. Status: Offline Points: 41045 |
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Posted: May-28-2014 at 6:20am |
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Mark,
I would be real surprised if your stringers are in good shape if you have wet foam. Pulling the sole always produces surprises! |
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ny_nautique
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Joined: June-01-2011 Location: Albany NY Status: Offline Points: 1215 |
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Posted: May-28-2014 at 8:51am |
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But yes, in theory you could do that. You can remove the floor and the foam without further damaging the *main* stringers. Chances are that it would affect the secondary stringers though.
I'd be willing to bet that once you get in there, you will find stringer delamination or rot. |
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- Jeff
1999 Ski Nautique |
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TRBenj
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Joined: June-29-2005 Location: NWCT Status: Offline Points: 21184 |
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Posted: May-28-2014 at 9:16am |
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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! |
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74SkiNautique
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Joined: July-29-2008 Location: Lynchburg, VA Status: Offline Points: 228 |
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Posted: May-28-2014 at 3:12pm |
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I know quite a bit about the mechanical side, and car mechanics, engines, the whole 9 yards. But I have a lot to learn about the structural part to this old boat. I just have a feeling that it is sitting a little low in the water, and feels heavy when driving.
Why is the foam there? Can someone elaborate on this a little more for me? At some point in the future I would like to restore the boat fully. The engine mounts in the stringer are still good and I don't see any delamination on the main stringers, but there is one spot on the starboard secondary that is bad. If I did want to redo the stringers, I doubt I could do it myself, I don't have much carpenter experience. |
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74SkiNautique
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ny_nautique
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Joined: June-01-2011 Location: Albany NY Status: Offline Points: 1215 |
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Posted: May-28-2014 at 3:32pm |
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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. |
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- Jeff
1999 Ski Nautique |
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backfoot100
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Joined: January-03-2007 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 1897 |
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Posted: May-28-2014 at 4:49pm |
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If you know of a bad spot on it that is bad, the chances of the rest of it being bad is well over the ninety percentile. The fact that your engine mounts are good is encouraging but the damage is already done. Just have fun with it until you don't have a choice any more.
How is the alignment? If you've never checked that chances are pretty good it's off which is a given once the structure isn't where it's supposed to be. Also if it feels heavy in the water it might just be getting tired. It does have 1600 hrs. on it. The engine might need a mild tweaking to gat back to where it should be, i.e. valve job, cracked heads, major tune up, etc. Have you done a compression and/or leak down test at all? |
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When people run down to the lake to see what's making that noise, you've succeeded.
Eddie |
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74SkiNautique
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Joined: July-29-2008 Location: Lynchburg, VA Status: Offline Points: 228 |
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Posted: May-28-2014 at 5:37pm |
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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.
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74SkiNautique
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gun-driver
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Joined: July-18-2008 Location: Pittsburgh, Pa Status: Offline Points: 4127 |
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Posted: May-28-2014 at 7:30pm |
That could be the prop making it feel that way. What prop are you running? |
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SNobsessed
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Joined: October-21-2007 Location: IA Status: Offline Points: 7102 |
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Posted: May-29-2014 at 1:29am |
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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! |
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74SkiNautique wrote: