06 maxum 1800 sr3 wet foam

[Captainfantasy]

Hi. I'm new to this forum and boating. I have owned all types of jetskis for years but this is my first boat. I bought it off a friend, he was having trouble getting it to plane. When I got it I did some research and found people talking about dropping the prop to a 14X19. When I put the new prop on it was a little better. I also saw that the hull's foam could be full of water. I pulled up 4 caps in the deck and when I pushed on the foam it was all wet. My idea was to remove all the caps covering the foam in the deck, use a plumbing snake in the holes to break it up. Then cut a hole under the seat on each side big enough to scoop/vacuum out the waterlogged foam. Once that's done re-foam it and patch it up. Has anyone here done this? Is there a better easier way? What am I about to get my self into?

 

[XiViperI]

Is there wood stringers and floor in that boat? You could be in a world of rotten hurt. If your not sure you may be able to contact maxum and ask. It is the norm to use wood construction in this class of boats. How are the floors ? Solid?

 

[tpenfield]

There is probably more foam than you can get at thru several deck hatches and holes. The foam will be fairly durable and tough to get out. If you check out some of the restoration threads here on iBoats, you will see that most folks are using pry bars and the like to break up the foam and pry it out of the hull.

I would assume that your friend left the boat out in the weather uncovered and water accumulated in the structure? The boat is only 8 years old, so water absorption is fairly pre-mature. You may be fortunate if the structure is not rotting. Not sure if Maxum got away from wood structures for your year & model; they may have, which will be better.

Obviously, you found the reason why the boat won't get up on plane.

Post some pictures of various places throughout the structure as those help with responses and advice.

 

[Captainfantasy]

My friend had an indoor cover he used when he stored it outside. He knew nothing about boating. He lived in a condo and only had a car. He had to rely on friends to tow it for him. I have re-foamed a jetski with a wire brush on a drill and it worked pretty well. If I can break it up info small pieces and vacuum it up it shouldn't be that bad. Right?

 

[greenbush future]

Wet foam is the kiss of death regarding the extra weight it provides and the rot it causes if there is any wood under the floor. I would be surprised if the foam would adsorb water because your boat is not that old, but I guess closed cell foam is only closed cell for a short period of time, then perhaps it starts allowing water to absorb. Most times, if the foam is wet, the floor will need to come up, to gain access to everything underneath it. It's a big job if this is what has happened to your boat. The water can even rot out the transom in back if it's not removed. You can check all these things and assess your situation before you spend a dime on the project. Let's hope your boat isn't saturated and all wet underneath. Remember to park the boat covered with the bow up and the plug in back out, so it drains well.

 

[Captainfantasy]

Is there wood stringers and floor in that boat? You could be in a world of rotten hurt. If your not sure you may be able to contact maxum and ask. It is the norm to use wood construction in this class of boats. How are the floors ? Solid?

I don't know if there's wood stringers or not. I'm hoping not. The floors seam fine. No soft spots or anything. I'm going to make a cording tool today out of pipe, cut saw teeth in one end and a drill on the other end. Then I can see how bad it is.

 

[Woodonglass]

Your maxum boat stringer for that year are composite so no worries there. Transom is wood cored. I seriously doubt you'll be able to remove the foam, via the hatches. I'm pretty sure this is a shot of your interior. If so, I see no way to get to all the areas containing foam. IMHO you'll need to decapitate the boat to do the job properly. The waterlogged foam will add up to 400+ lbs of weight to your boat.

 

[XiViperI]

keep us updated and good luck!

 

[Fastatv]

I agree with WOG and some of the others here. With an 8 y/o boat, best guess is that ur water damage is minimal but....if you really really like this boat, you might consider removing the deck, removing the foam, investigate as to why the water isn't draining correctly, rectify this issue, re-deck, re-foam, and have a much better boat, performance wise as well as dependability. Just a recommendation. Let us know what you decide to do and Good luck! Rick