wet foam

I found that the foam under the deck of my boat is wet
The boat is Robert Ives Seaskate 16ft (Similar to dell quay eurosport/ boston Whaler). What do you think are the chances of splitting the 2 halves of the boat to get old foam out and refill.... only seems to be riveted together?

Re: wet foam

welcome to iboats! yes you can remove the two halves. be prepared to replace stringers and transom as well . if your foam is wet the likelihood that your stringers and transom are rotten as well good luck with the rebuild and read other threads to find out everything you need to know .

Re: wet foam

Thanks very much.... would it be obvious to see if these are rotten, and is it a big job for a novice to do? I dont really want to refill with foam but maybe balls as the foam could get wet again, but worried that the foam added strength to the structure...... is this a good idea or not?

Re: wet foam

sometimes it is structural but as for a novice doing it it is not bad if you have any mechanical skills at all you can do it. you will probably only be able to tell when you start pulling some of the foam out.
if it is black and mushy like mine was than yes if it is not obvious then you will have to drill some small exploratory holes to find out.
search rotten stringers or rotten transom and you will find what you need.

Re: wet foam

and is it a big job for a novice to do? I dont really want to refill with foam but maybe balls as the foam could get wet again, but worried that the foam added strength to the structure...... is this a good idea or not?

Click to expand...

Ayuh,... I'd bet that the foam is probably structual, 'n there's no, or little, wood in it...

I'd rate the task on a scale of 1 to 5 at about a 12 or so....

Re: wet foam

Really a 12!! can you explain why please?

Re: wet foam

husker199 said:

Really a 12!! can you explain why please?

Click to expand...

Because a scale of 1 -5 is 3x harder than a scale of 1 -10
so 3 being the Common denominator
3x5 = 15
15-3 = 12

Just guessing

Re: wet foam

why is it so hard?

Re: wet foam

To Restore one to such a professional level that it looks like its showroom New requires alot of hard work & attention to detail, & most folks here strive to attain that level whether its for personal or professional reasons without ignoring any structual safety issues.

Just Guessing



By looking at your pictures you have more going on than just replacing the foam with new pourable A&B
It can be done if you have the time, money & desire to see it through

Re: wet foam

Do a search on here for replacing transom, stringers, and deck. It's quite a job but if you want to take the time to learn and get the right materials and tools and listen to the great folks on here that know what they are doing (what you are doing), it's not something that is impossible to do yourself.

If you end up digging in and fixing, a lot of people use either the pourable foam, or the sheets of foam from the hardware store (if it's not structural). Don't just assume that you can dig out the wet foam and replace it and all is good.. you HAVE to check if the stringers and transom are rotted. If that wet foam has been sitting against them for a long time, chances are that they are soaked and rotten as well.

As you said, you'll have to "pop the cap"... drill out all of the rivets holding the two halves of the hull together so you can take the cap off. There is soooo much good info on this subject here on iboats.. you could literally read for months and months (ie. the hull extension thread!)..

Good luck..

Re: wet foam

Thanks for all the replies....
Looks like it will be hard work. Do you think if I used play pit balls to fill the hull, strengthen the top piece (deck) and added ribs that this would work?

Re: wet foam

Did you ever get a reply about using pit balls to replace non-structural foam? I recall seeing a picture on the forums of a hull with colorful balls in it, but searching for "pit balls" does not find it. The balls sound like a great idea, as any stray water would run right through to the bilge pump. I'd love to hear about this idea.

Re: wet foam

petertay said:

Did you ever get a reply about using pit balls to replace non-structural foam? I recall seeing a picture on the forums of a hull with colorful balls in it, but searching for "pit balls" does not find it. The balls sound like a great idea, as any stray water would run right through to the bilge pump. I'd love to hear about this idea.

Click to expand...

This thread is over 3 months old and shouldn't be brought back up by anyone but the OP (board rules).

Start your own thread on this subject and I'm sure you'll get a few replies.