Water In Hull?????

bustermin

Banned
Joined
Apr 13, 2009
Messages
315
My brother has a boat (not sure of the mfg) and the hull has a "Sump at the transom for all the water to collect in rather than the water going under the floor. the problem is he had a small crack (about 2" long) on the floor that he just found and we had some pretty good storms the past few weeks, and his son put the plug in (God knows why) and he ended up with about 14" of water in the boat from the bow to the transom. he pulled the plug and the water came out, but he think some water might still be between the floor, but there is no way to remove it without ripping up the floor. is there a way to verify if there is water between the floor without drilling a hole or ripping up the floor? and if there is, how can he get the water out? let me say he does not know for sure there is water ther he is just trying to make sure. he put it in the water and it does not seem to draw any more water than it did before so if there is any water it is a minimal amout but we fear it could be enough to still cause water damage to the structure. thanks
 

fabrimacator21

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jun 28, 2009
Messages
286
Re: Water In Hull?????

First off what kind of boat is this? I/o? outboard? How long? Fiberglass or aluminum?

If he had 2" of water up over the floor I can guarentee theres water under the floor.....

I don't see any other way to get it out other then pulling the floor up...

When I bought my boat I found out I had a bulkhead in the middle of the boat which prevented the water from collecting in the back....

There was also no way to get to the gas tank without pulling up the floor, so I cut a square hole a few inches bigger then the tank(when I put in a new floor) and used aluminum extrusions to install a removable hatch in the middle of the boat.... I also drilled through the 1" bulkhead and 12" of foam then put a pvc pipe connecting from the front to the back of the boat and marinetexxed around the pipe. Used a bilge up front to get all of the water out at the flip of a switch.

I'd say he's either gotta wait for it to evaporate/soak into the floor or rip it up.
 

Lion hunter

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Apr 9, 2005
Messages
1,529
Re: Water In Hull?????

Alot of old boats with the sump in the back had 2 small holes on either side at the bottom of the sump. Raise the bow as high as it will go. I have even dug a hole under the skeg to get it higher. Then duct tape a peice of fuel line to a shp vac and go to town.
 

bustermin

Banned
Joined
Apr 13, 2009
Messages
315
Re: Water In Hull?????

thanks. he doesnt know for sure theres any water in there, he just wants to be sure. thanks again
 

Andy in NY

Commander
Joined
Oct 25, 2007
Messages
2,109
Re: Water In Hull?????

If the boat is older than say 10 years, chances are that there was water under there to begin with and may need a fair amount of work. go check out the restoration section, you will learn alot.
 
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