Saturated foam on my Tracker

Hi All,

Well after trolling around this site trying to diagnose my non-planing, "heavy" feel problem, I dug into the boat last night and discovered what guys on here suspected, the foam under the decking is saturated with water. It appears to be mainly the rear deck (Tracker bass boat). I ripped up the carpet and plan on popping the rivets off the aluminum deck to gain full access of the area tonight. It's the 2 part expanding foam, anyone have a creative/easy way to remove it? I was using a filet knife and wonder bar last night and it wasn't going so smoothly. I fear I will cut into wiring, I have never done any restoration work on boats before - Is there anything else I should head caution to?

Thanks,

Gary

Re: Saturated foam on my Tracker

A wire wheel on a 4" grinder makes short work out of it. But it really makes a mess.

Re: Saturated foam on my Tracker

Cut a slot around the primeter with a handsaw, then stick a flat shovel in the slot and pry the foam out in big chunks. Scrape off what remains with a wide flat scraper and clean up with a wire wheel or cup on a drill or grinder.

Re: Saturated foam on my Tracker

Thanks for the tip, sounds like it'll work!

Re: Saturated foam on my Tracker

I took the boat to a certified scale over the weekend then called the marina, turns out I'm 460lbs over weight even after taking out roughly 50 lbs of foam the night before. Amazing how much water that crap can hold!! Some areas reminded me of cutting open an apple, same look and feel.....The front deck plywood looks fine so I think I'm OK there.

I'm just hoping the carpeting goes a little easier... My hands are cut up and sore!!

I used a tip I saw on here to test for wet foam that worked awesome. Take a wood dowel (I had an oak one and put a dull point on it) hammer it down to the bottom of the hull, let it sit there for a few minutes and pull it out - If there's water present it will wick into the wood.