Found saturated wet foam inside hull, and ideas if this is ok?

Just got a 10 year old Starcraft - in good condition. Been cleaning it up - and checking it out only to find when I took the swivl-eze posts and bases out, the closed cell foam along each side of the hull - is totally water soaked. Is this normal? The open hull center is totally dry. Just the foam is wet. Is it from the swivl posts? Won't the wet foam loose bouyancy? The flooring is vinyl and everything is in good shape otherwise...any ideas?

Re: Found saturated wet foam inside hull, and ideas if this is ok?

Welcome to iBoats?
Is this a Tinny or Glass boat?

Re: Found saturated wet foam inside hull, and ideas if this is ok?

Welcome aboard, Starry. Wet foam is never good, it is not normal. Finding and fixing the problem is different for aluminum and fiberglass boats. Hint - fiberglass is a lot more work. Do you have any pics and as asked by Woodonglass, is it aluminum or fiberglass?

Re: Found saturated wet foam inside hull, and ideas if this is ok?

You will need to dry out existing foam or remove saturated section. I bet the boat did not have a proper cover, probably without proper ventilation. this is a example of why not to buy the cheapest cover. As for repair I suggest cuting vent holes in the deck with a hole saw and using a fan to dry out foam, and it may take weeks. Then replace the plugs with resin and a couple layers of fiberglass. I assume this is a plywood deck.otherwise you will have to tear out everything and rebuild the deck. there are many old posts with projects like this. I suggest reviewing them for ideas from others like myself who have gone through this a couple of times.

Re: Found saturated wet foam inside hull, and ideas if this is ok?

From what I've read on here, you'll never dry that foam out. Wet foam also adds a heck of a lot of weight.

Re: Found saturated wet foam inside hull, and ideas if this is ok?

retiredfornow said:

From what I've read on here, you'll never dry that foam out. Wet foam also adds a heck of a lot of weight.

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That's right. My boat was not on the water for over 10 years. It was full of wet foam. Need to find out why the foam is wet and fix the problem.

Without more information and pic's, its really hard to say what you will need to do.

Welcome to i-boats.

Kent

Re: Found saturated wet foam inside hull, and ideas if this is ok?

All boats expierience foam soak occasionally, usiually from bilge water. Drying can be done if you power ventilate over a long period of time. The use of halogen lights also will help to slowly evaporate the water. It will not dry out if you let it sit in the yard or closed up in the garage. I have done this a couple times. You have to determine how much of the foam is soaked. If only a small area, then it can be dried. If the whole foam core is saturated, it may be easier to tear it out. This process takes weeks, you have to determine if you want to rush and rip it out or try to dry it out. patience is the most dificult part of the process, how much effort is involved in tearing it out and redecking.

Re: Found saturated wet foam inside hull, and ideas if this is ok?

If it's as wet as Starry said it's not drying out. Been there, tried that, not gonna' happen. Even if the surface of soaked foam appears to have dried out it's still waterlogged just a little bit further into it. A lot of us who have been through rebuilds certainly wish we could somehow will wet foam to dry out, but it's not happening.

You need to figure out how to gain access to the affected areas and determine what's going on. If you're lucky it might just be a small area that's soaked (but unfortunately I doubt it). Yes, post photos and there will be plenty of suggestions on how to proceed.

Won't the wet foam loose bouyancy?

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Well, yes, of course. However, let's be clear about something. The only reason foam is used is to keep boats afloat if they fill with water. It has nothing to do with buoyancy when the boat is floating normally. What matters then is how much water the hull displaces vs. how much weight is in the boat. ANYTHING inside the hull (even foam) will add weight and make the boat sit lower in the water. Soaked foam happens to weight a LOT more than dry foam (in reality you've got many gallons of water inside your boat), so it's not going to float as well.

Re: Found saturated wet foam inside hull, and ideas if this is ok?

im betting this a tinny. an 01 glass boat would have to have a thru hull to get that wet. but a few bad reevits will soak the foam......

cant advise on how to fix it till we know what he has

Re: Found saturated wet foam inside hull, and ideas if this is ok?

kmarine said:

All boats expierience foam soak occasionally, usiually from bilge water. Drying can be done if you power ventilate over a long period of time. The use of halogen lights also will help to slowly evaporate the water. It will not dry out if you let it sit in the yard or closed up in the garage. I have done this a couple times. You have to determine how much of the foam is soaked. If only a small area, then it can be dried. If the whole foam core is saturated, it may be easier to tear it out. This process takes weeks, you have to determine if you want to rush and rip it out or try to dry it out. patience is the most dificult part of the process, how much effort is involved in tearing it out and redecking.

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power ventilating usually wont help unless it is a very very long period of time....the wet foam is in enclosed compartments where air usually does not flow freely.....and the wet foam is usually at the bottom closest to the hull.....yes, there may be some standing water on top of the foam that will evaporate in short time....but that is not where the problem is....its the wet stuff at the bottom of the hull you cant get at till you rip the deck.
even if you did get the foam dry.....the second it comes in contact with any moisture....it will soak it up like a sponge as the closed cells are now ruptured.

the other thing is the op must find out why the foam is soaked.....it just didnt get that way in 10 years all by it self......
im betting this is a tinny with leaky reevits.......if its a glass boat.....that means the hull is compromised. very very rarely will a 10 year old boat get fully waterloogged to the point the op is talking about

Re: Found saturated wet foam inside hull, and ideas if this is ok?

It is a aluminum boat. Starfire 160SC. I discovered it when I moved a couple of the swivel eze seat posts in the plywood floor. Floor is solid as a rock. I believe that the water got in thru the seat post holes and may only be saturated in that immediate area (hope). foam appears to run down each side and center is empty cavity for bilge. Center of the boat hull is dry as a bone and the outside hull appears to be flawless. Dont really want to start tearing things up only to find it is isolated and not needed. Wouldnt the water be seeping into the center cavity if all the foam was wet??? Can this type of boat not be exposed to rain when fishing or at the dock without this constantly reoccuring? I thought foam in boats was of a type that would not absorb water.

Re: Found saturated wet foam inside hull, and ideas if this is ok?

Welcome to iboats Starry, sorry to see you with wet foam. I found the same thing in my fiberglass boat . Hopefully it is isolated but I found all my wood to be damp and I tried everything to dry the wood out after I got the foam out. I even ran a dehumidifier. I just gave up waiting for it to dry out and started with new . Plus the weather we have up here is very humid . So i had nothing working for me.

Good luck and I hope you the best

Jack

Re: Found saturated wet foam inside hull, and ideas if this is ok?

Starry said:

It is a aluminum boat. Starfire 160SC. I discovered it when I moved a couple of the swivel eze seat posts in the plywood floor. Floor is solid as a rock. I believe that the water got in thru the seat post holes and may only be saturated in that immediate area (hope). foam appears to run down each side and center is empty cavity for bilge. Center of the boat hull is dry as a bone and the outside hull appears to be flawless. Dont really want to start tearing things up only to find it is isolated and not needed. Wouldnt the water be seeping into the center cavity if all the foam was wet??? Can this type of boat not be exposed to rain when fishing or at the dock without this constantly reoccuring? I thought foam in boats was of a type that would not absorb water.

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any time there is a penetration such as a screw or plate in a deck....there is a possibility of a leak. all screws and plates must be sealed with a proper marine sealant like 3m 4200 or 5200.

boats with foam can absorb water if the cells of the foam are ruptured. this is caused by expansion and contraction of air in the closed cells. as well as freezing expansion and contraction of water around the foam cells.

if you are certain the intrusion is from the plate of the seat post....and not leaky reevits. (rivits...spelled reevits in the restoration forum) the seat base can be removed....wet foam dug out thru the hole....and replaced with new pour in foam. if the wood is rotten around the base.....you can cut back the wood around the hole.....and screw a backing plate under the existing floor. then crew a new piece of plywood in the cut out hole.