Fiberform Foam Help Needed!

Cpt Crunch

Cadet
Joined
Jul 31, 2012
Messages
9
We just inherited a 1968 16' Fiberform boat with a Marc 500 50HP of the same vintage. This thing should fly across the water, but it's like a slug, never quite reaching plane. I now understand that the hull is foam filled. So, I drilled a hole in the bottom of the transom to see if there was water in there. Alas, it's been 3 hours and I now have about 3-4 gallons of water in the bin I put under it, and it looks like coffee.

Upon further investigation, I discovered a 8" x 10" FB patch 1/3 of the way back from the bow right along the keel, and it's ugly! Before I moved the winch post back so the stern would sit on the back roller, this is where the boat sat on the trailer roller. Whatever happened, it needs a better patch.

SS Keel Patch1.jpgSS Keel Patch.jpg

This is leading me to believe that only the center two spaces may be water-logged, and indeed, this volume of water would prevent the boat from getting on plane. From photos of the ribs, that space could easily hold at least 100 gallons in it. At 10lbs per gallon, ....there's my problem.

I'm looking for options of removing the water soaked foam, options where I don't have to replace the floor. I have a series of questions I'm hoping you people can answer.

I'm thinking about removing the patch and using a concentrated blast of water from the garden hose to remove the saturated foam. Thoughts?

Anyone know what kind of foam it is?

Anyone know how important the foam is, as in, should I replace it, or can I leave the space empty? The floor is new; 3/4" Marine Grade plywood heavily coated in a rubberized 'Sure-Grip' deck epoxy, so I don't really need support for it. Also, when I drilled the holes in the stern, drilling into the center keel showed a lot of solid wood still in it.

Any suggestions you can offer would be great!

Thank you in advance.

Kevin
 

Cpt Crunch

Cadet
Joined
Jul 31, 2012
Messages
9
Fiberform Foam Help Needed II!

Fiberform Foam Help Needed II!

Not hearing from this group, I bit the bullet and cut out the patch. Oh my! It's foam, alright, and it's loaded with water!

One thing I didn't see that I was expecting to see is a wood plank backing the keel. Now I'm thinking this foam may be far more integral than I thought, that I will have to put it back ...if I can even get it out.

I'm still needing ideas about how to remove the foam without tearing out the floor. Please post ANY suggesting you may have.
 

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