How can I get rid of the water in the hull?

[Woodonglass]

Re: How can I get rid of the water in the hull?

Well BA,

Wate below Deck is NOT good. If the foam is saturated(which it probably is) then that will significantly increase the weight of the boat. The foam, if saturated , will NEVER dry out. It will HAVE to be removed. It has also probably compromised the stability of the stringers and they will probably need to be replaced. I KNOW you don't want to hear this but I believe you will probably need to remove the entire deck. However I suppose you could cut out several more inspection holes to get a better view. Use a circular saw and set the depth to 1/16 inch deeper than the thickness of the deck cut a 10 to 12 inch hole. I would do this about 6" off center of the deck about 18" in front of the transom. This should put you between the stringers. This large hole will let you really see what is below. It will also allow you to possibly get to the lower section of the transom. If you have that much water below deck then I really suspect the transom has been compromised. Best case you might just be able to remove the back 1/3 of the deck and sister in some stringers. We really need to KNOW what is going on down below. Can you post a pic of the back of the boat and also one looking down on the transom when you are standing in the rear seat??

 

[gettin_wet]

Re: How can I get rid of the water in the hull?

i just did a floor in my tri- hull boat.. i also had visible evidence of water in the hull but my foam was dry but there is a tube under the foam which had debris cleaned it out and replaced floor which was in placed in 3 sections... total time was 2 mos and about 300 dollars if you do it yourself.. good luck

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: How can I get rid of the water in the hull?

To check if your foam is dry take a core sample. To do this, take a 3ft section of 1 1/2" pvc pipe. Cut some "Saw Teeth" in one end and then Screw it into the foam all the way to the hull. See if the core sample is dry all the way thru if it is then what gettin wet says may be true. You may have a weep drain tube that has clogged. You might try running a drain plug removing wire up in the draintube from the outside and see if you can free it up. There HAS to be a way for the water below deck to get out!

 

[BoatAddicti0n]

Re: How can I get rid of the water in the hull?

Can you post a pic of the back of the boat and also one looking down on the transom when you are standing in the rear seat??

I will work on the boat Sunday....will post some pics.

To check if your foam is dry take a core sample ... You might try running a drain plug removing wire up in the drain tube from the outside and see if you can free it up. There HAS to be a way for the water below deck to get out!

I will get the water out of it! But there is no drain plug in this boat, its hull is sealed (..and the maker mentioned in discussion over phone, to not recommend drain plug at all).
I will cut open the deck, 18" from the transom as ya suggested, 12" holes. Will sample the foam, remove foam, pump water out, will do everything to save her, will not let her down!

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: How can I get rid of the water in the hull?

Ok, I did some researchin on sealed hull boats. It seems they are built with bouyancy compartments filled with foam. Hopefully the foam does NOT absorb water. Soooo... Since the boat is designed to be totally sealed and IF the foam is NOT saturated, you might just have to pump her dry, Give her some "Air Time" to dry out then Re-Deck and Seal up Tight. I am NOT familiar with a Sealed HULL boat so you MIGHT want to get the Yacht Doctors consult on this. He probably has a LOT MORE EXPERIENCE with this syle boat than me. I'm gunna PM him and have him come back on here and take another look.

 

[BoatAddicti0n]

Re: How can I get rid of the water in the hull?

The Skibsplast 17 TC (but not outboard as mine)
http://www.skibsplast.no/index.php?m=modell&m_action=vis_modell&p_id=41&meny=5

The maker
http://www.skibsplast.no/

My beloved

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: How can I get rid of the water in the hull?

YD's mail box is full!!! I tried another method. Maybe he'll respond soon. I really feel a little uneasy giving advice on this boat since I have never dealt with a sealed Hull boat before. Let's wait and see what he says.

 

[BoatAddicti0n]

Re: How can I get rid of the water in the hull?

But cutting the deck seems to be a common sense: both the maker and you guys mentioned. I will try with small hole, to remove foam, inspect etc. Cannot go wrong...

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: How can I get rid of the water in the hull?

I agree with that. And see if you can get some kind of Pump going to remove the water. For sure you can do that. I been researching sealed hulled boats and they have bouyancy compartments filled with foam but not sure if it is NON Absorbant. Should be. I sure hope so.

 

[gettin_wet]

Re: How can I get rid of the water in the hull?

sorry about that i did not know it was a sealed hull.... just a thought have you checked the underside of the boat for a minor hole? them things will get you...

good luck

 

[Yacht Dr.]

Re: How can I get rid of the water in the hull?

Hello again BAO ..

Your plan seems sound to cut the floor in sections ( 12-14 " like you said ).

Make sure your cuts are NO deeper then the deck..and at least 5-8" away from the hull.

Dig that section out and feel around for stringers or members. Your next cutout if needed should be at least 3" away from any underside support ( because your going to have to add plywood strips underside of the deck before you put your squares back in ).

Get a section out and lets see what you got.

YD.

PS. take a long rigged sawzall blade and tape the large end to make a handle..helps sometimes with foam removal .

 

[BoatAddicti0n]

Re: How can I get rid of the water in the hull?

I have only had time to open one section beneath the rear seat. The general state is not so bad as I imagined, nothing is root or dumped, there are not gallons of water. But there is serious humidity ...some details as I inspected the boat further:

The wooden part of the floor is soaked. There were 2 small holes allowing the water in the wood and foam.


In general, the foam seems dry close to hull, BUT it is wet close to above mentioned hole, and humid close to the keel, which has fiberglass protection. The keel has its surface humid but seems healthy ( a bit more brown than the other element, in the left, what might be a sign of problem). As I dug towards the transom I had impression to see a bit more humidity in the foam, digging close to keel, probably could say soaked. How should I proceed in this area?


The deck is fluffy in the red marked area and it is easy to suspect the wood is soaked there also, and the fiber is loose. How should I proceed in this area? Should I open another section to inspect the foam and the keel state ? Could it be smaller, like 5" ? Maybe many smaller sections to inspect in different places. Or remove all the fluffy fiber to allow the wood to dry (would it dry?).


There is a crack in the front. This I will take in a further stage, when I start fixing with fiberglass.


Comments, suggestions ?!

Thanks a lot!

 

[BoatAddicti0n]

Re: How can I get rid of the water in the hull?

This is what I got. Should I remove the entire fluffy fiber, would it ever get dry ?
Should I make another section and inspect in the area red marked in picture#4 above post?
I will remove the entire floor if needed, but would try to avoid, it seems a lot of work.

 

[rickryder]

Re: How can I get rid of the water in the hull?

If it were me I would be removing as much of the deck that was wet,soft,fiberglass delamination etc. I wont take any chances that I missed some bad wood and have to rip up the deck again..... Just my 2 cents....

 

[Yacht Dr.]

Re: How can I get rid of the water in the hull?

I dunno..its hard to tell. Everything looks ok.

This fluffy stuff your talking about here

http://forums.iboats.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=90103&d=1303083968

Is this just the surface glass ? or is it a location that the deck has swelled up ??

And yea..better take care of that member/hull .. tab that puppy back to the hull.

YD.

 

[BoatAddicti0n]

Re: How can I get rid of the water in the hull?

Thanks a lot for all the input, it has been a great help so far!

I dunno..its hard to tell. Everything looks ok.

Everything looks OK, I agree, YD, but it's a bit humid/wet. I will let it opened for some days and see it dries around. (Regarding the pic http://forums.iboats.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=90106&d=1303084143 )

...
This fluffy stuff your talking about here
http://forums.iboats.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=90103&d=1303083968
Is this just the surface glass ? or is it a location that the deck has swelled up ??
...YD.

Yes, YD, that is just surface glass, most likely. If I remove that glass, I am quite sure the plywood will be wet/soaked, as it was soaked some 20-40 inches away.

If it were me I would be removing as much of the deck that was wet,soft,fiberglass delamination etc. I wont take any chances that I missed some bad wood and have to rip up the deck again..... Just my 2 cents....

I wouldn't mind to replace the deck, RR, making sure everything is great, but with such layout, many seats all around, seems like more work than build it from scratch. UNLESS anyone comes to say that I can replace the deck without removing the seats/bases, I will try as much as possible to NOT replace the it.

This will be my plan:
1) using a 3" hole saw, open only the surface glass in the "fluffy" area AND evaluate the plywood state.
2) IF the plywood is wet, using a 3" hole saw, open it and inspect the foam AND
3) IF the the foam is wet, find a way to check the keel (which I do expect to look as good as it was in the stern)
4) repeat the procedure along the keel, all way to the bow, to have an overall assessment of the deck/foam/keel.
5) IF the plywood is wet, remove the "fluffy" fiberglass layer in the deck.
6) let the plywood dry for weeks, months, years...what, not recommended, would never be good?! ...please, let me know.

Comments/suggestions ?!

Thanks again.