Re: Need some help please
Re: Need some help please
Okay, looking at the hull (nice looking hull, by the way) I think it's a boston whaler type boat.
Basically the shallow hull plus low deck combine to make for very little space below the deck, so for floatation, strength, stiffness etc the manufacturer fills the void with foam that's dense enough to be structural. The 2x4s were probably meant to spread the deck load a bit, so the deck didn't flex enough to crack if it got pushed down in one spot hard, and to prevent crushing a crater into the foam.
As you might guess, this isn't a boat design that's made to have a bilge or to drain water once it's inside. It's basically supposed to be sealed. That can work, you just need to be careful about letting water get inside. If you have a bilge pump in the rear, it's probably just meant to drain the motor well or any water flowing off the top of the deck. You may even have scuppers for draining, better than a bilge pump any day.
Good news... if the foam gets wet, then it's heavier, but otherwise no big deal... if you look closely, there are in fact stringers installed already, no work on them is needed because they're not wood cored. (at least that's what it looks like. Check 'em, but I'm guessing they're either foam cored or hollow). Once the wet foam is removed, there's nothing else to rot or soak up water.
So... very little resto work beyond what you've done is needed. Basically to rework this boat to factory spec, you just need to get enough pourable foam to refill the hull.
You could install stringers and a couple ribs instead, but this boat was really designed to be completely filled with foam.
It's a design boston whaler's used for years... basically unsinkable, light, strong. I'd recommend going that way. Foam, level the top, put in some glass coated boards to spread deck weight, then a thin plywood deck coated with glass and you're ready to go.
Erik
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