1962 niagara wet foam

[stretch8668]

I believe I have wet foam in my 1962 niagara is it ok to leave it in or can I drill 2 holes one on each side to help "dry" it out. Here's my build thread http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=540671 its on page 3 when start talking bout wet foam

 

[Jon Sob]

Re: 1962 niagara wet foam

It will never dry out. It has to be removed and replaced. You will have to remove the sole and dig out all of that wet foam. You should look for rot in your stringers ( if not glass or aluminum ) and your transom. Wet foam adds a lot of extra weight to your boat. You really should fix it and not put a band aid on it so that you know that you have a safe vessel. Good luck.

 

[sphelps]

Re: 1962 niagara wet foam

Ya know Jon my deck is made the same way as stretch's . And I'm not sure if the foam is wet or not . I poked a pole up into the drain hole and there is no foam running thru the middle section. It has never weeped water out and I don't think there were any open holes in the deck . I guess I would have to drill some small holes in the deck to find out for sure.

 

[stretch8668]

Re: 1962 niagara wet foam

Was told on resto thread that since its a one piece deck I'd have to cut the whole thing out to remover foam. Is this true or can I cut a 2 foot long hole that goes the width of boat to dig it out then replace it and use glass. And resin.

 

[*EdC*]

Re: 1962 niagara wet foam

Was told on resto thread that since its a one piece deck I'd have to cut the whole thing out to remover foam. Is this true or can I cut a 2 foot long hole that goes the width of boat to dig it out then replace it and use glass. And resin.

I wouldn't go crazy yet! West marine and others, sell round deck hatches in 4" and 6" diameters. You could use a hole saw and cut the deck somewhere inconspicuous, like, under the seat boxes. You might then be able to fashion a "hook tool" to see what you have going on.

 

[sphelps]

Re: 1962 niagara wet foam

Stretch I just checked out under my deck and there is no foam in mine at all . Are you sure there is foam under yours ? The only problem I see in taking the whole deck out might be that the floor skin may be bonded to the stringers. I,m not sure how the deck was applied. I know it would be kinda scary cutting it out along the edge of the strakes..

 

[stretch8668]

Re: 1962 niagara wet foam

I know there's foam in cause I have various holes from the sun n fun seats and pedestals. I shined a flashlight in few of them and pressed stick in foam. I'm going to use hole saw to drill bigger hole so can take core sample to see how much water is in foam. When I checked first time it had just got done raining so hopefully it was just on surface and not water logged.

 

[stretch8668]

Re: 1962 niagara wet foam

Sphelps where did you end up looking under deck. If it was threw drain hole on back there's a channel that goes length of boat but to the left or right of it there's foam ( at least that's how mine is).

 

[sphelps]

Re: 1962 niagara wet foam

This is from a 64 brochure.
http://www.fiberglassics.com/library/File:Mfgb64005.jpg
It appears that the foam is in the stringer system and not in under the deck. One thing for sure is they flat out made a strong hull.

BTW I drilled holes offset of the old seat mount holes . They probably planed the seat attachment right over the stringer placement. Tap on the deck and drill in the hollow sounding area,s..

 

[stretch8668]

Re: 1962 niagara wet foam

Then I wonder y I can see foam threw some of the hole. I'm gonna have to put coat hanger in some holes to find out how deep it is. Ill agree they made one hell of a boat.

 

[sphelps]

Re: 1962 niagara wet foam

You are looking thru the seat mount holes right? That makes since if the foam is placed inside the the bridge system of the stringers like the picture shows ..

 

[stretch8668]

Re: 1962 niagara wet foam

True and yes on the holes closest to the center of boat and its only those holes also the ones closer to the sides have fiberglas under them

 

[Mark_VTfisherman]

Re: 1962 niagara wet foam

I am a little wary of the idea of foam in that boat myself. With all the work, fixing, poking, replacing seats in mine as well as the transom repairs I have never come across any evidence of foam under the floor. The couple of times I have left the bottom plug out (by mistake) there is a hissing sound as the water displaces the air in the floor area. Not only that, but my understanding that part of the reason for the underfloor area is to allow water to be on-loaded as ballast to smooth things out in rough water. Plus, with several other MFGs at my hand over the years I have not seen foam.

All of this makes me surprised to hear about ANY foam in one of the all-'glass MFGs.

I am really curious to see what you find if you make a 6" inspection port...

 

[sphelps]

Re: 1962 niagara wet foam

Mark I think the foam is inside the stringer/ bridge system so just cutting the deck up would not expose any foam. I may be wrong but it kinda looks that way on the brochure..

 

[stretch8668]

Re: 1962 niagara wet foam

I have a 2" hole saw ill cut a hole rite above where I can see it and take some pics. And you guys can tell me what you think as I don't want to rip deck up.

 

[Mark_VTfisherman]

Re: 1962 niagara wet foam

Mark I think the foam is inside the stringer/ bridge system so just cutting the deck up would not expose any foam. I may be wrong but it kinda looks that way on the brochure..

WOW. That is new information. I still don't see evidence of that in my Niagara, however. But I certainly would never consider cutting out that bonded floor to check, nor is it enough foam (in my mind) to worry about. Further, in Vermont with the freezing climate I am supposing that if I had wet foam it would have blown apart something a long time ago...

I have a friend who picked up a MFG (can't remember the model- the one with the curved transom) and I am going to cut the transom from the outside to fix the transom (rather than disturb the nice splashwell which is integral with the hull cap). I will sure look carefully in there!

 

[SteveMFG_Oxford]

Re: 1962 niagara wet foam

I wouldn't worry about wet foam.

Good old gravity and preventing additional water from standing in the boat will eventually get rid of the water. Yes it is a slow process. But it will happen. My 61 Oxford had wet foam under the plywood floor but by keeping the bow raised and covering it with a ventilated cover it eventually dried out. Ripping up the floor just wasn't an option.

My boat is on a trailer and I park it covered and bow high. I haven't seen any water for months.

You could tarp the boat tightly with a dehumidifier inside. Run a tube from the dehumidifiers' drain out the boat drain. Catch the water to see if you are making progress. I doubt the foam could hold more than a couple gallons. Could take a week or so of solid running.

It's a cheap an easy solution. I would try it before cutting anything.

 

[mfgniagara]

Re: 1962 niagara wet foam

I don't recall ever seeing foam in those older MFGs. I parted out a 1962 Niagara a few years ago, in the end I cut the hull up, there was no foam to be found anywhere in that boat. None in the floor, none in the stringers. They used a system of trapped air for flotation, thus the double bilge drains. With that much air trapped in the hull its not likely to sink.

 

[sphelps]

Re: 1962 niagara wet foam

Mine had factory vent tube in the bow running down into the deck area . I may be wrong but it seems that would keep it from trapping air under deck..It was a small like 1/4" tube ..

 

[*EdC*]

Re: 1962 niagara wet foam

Mine had factory vent tube in the bow running down into the deck area . I may be wrong but it seems that would keep it from trapping air under deck..It was a small like 1/4" tube ..

My '68 still has one. Must be some kind of vent. Makes sense with all the flexing a hull does