drying out flotation material in hull?

[depaul]

first i want to say thanks to this forum we have found out what might be causing our 1987 27 ft sea ray sundancer to lean to the left. but i wasnt able to find any topics on how to check this out . are we needing to drill holes in a certain area to find out if this is indeed our problem and if this is our problem how do we dry it out? we just recently purchased this and noticed it while it was docked that it was leaning. when we looked over the boat it was on a lift so we didnt notice then. when asked the previous owner if he knew why it leaned he said he noticed it too when he was docked somewhere and didnt know why. if anyone can help that would be great thanks. debbie

 

[tmcalavy]

Re: drying out flotation material in hull?

never heard of a way to dry out flotation foam, not on this board anyway. usual cure is to pull up the floor, then pull up and discard the wet foam, replace with new closed-cell foam, replace the floor. the how-tos are often discussed on the project boats forum on this site. wet foam means water got in somehow, and this must be cured/stopped before any remedy is attempted. i've often wondered if you could cut a small hole in the floor, insert a duct pipe connected to a leaf blower or large capacity fan, and dry the foam out. guess its easier to just gut the floor and foam and replace it altogether.

 

[depaul]

Re: drying out flotation material in hull?

is getting new foam easily accessible? or do i need to contact a sea ray dealer?

 

[tmcalavy]

Re: drying out flotation material in hull?

most folks use the 2 part liquid mix for closed cell foam, available at the big hardware stores...ie home depot, lowes, etc.

 

[SS MAYFLOAT]

Re: drying out flotation material in hull?

I have used a wet/dry vac to help pull some of the water out of the foam. Cut a hole (in the floor) the size of the nozzle on the vac. Just put the hose in the hole an turned it on a let it run for about an hour. In that time it pulled about a gallon out of that one area. Then I drilled a hole about 2 foot away from that one and repeated the procedure. I ended up with 6 holes on the one side, but removed about 18-20 gallons of water. Then used rubber expansion plugs to fill the holes in the floor. I spent about the total of 30 hours of running the vac to get that much out.<br /><br />It doesn't get all of it, but some is better than none. It did make a differince on my 27 footer.<br /><br />Just a thought to share.......SS

 

[AndyL]

Re: drying out flotation material in hull?

As discussed in the previous threads getting entrapped water out is a real nuisance. Once the foam gets water logged it will continue to act as a sponge. Dell quay dories are foam filled and having owned one for years which got heavier and slower I cut a hole through the transom, pushed a copper pipe through to the bow, pulled out a foam core then stood the boat on end for 5 months, and still water seeped out. Replacing the foam is the best bet. However I believe that closed cell expanding foam expands quite forcibly so if you pour in too much you stand the risk of deforming the enclosing structure. Check with boat manufacturer for and advice and volume. It would be good policy also to ascertain from where the water got in or you could wind up back where you began after an awful lot of work.

 

[coolblue1152]

Re: drying out flotation material in hull?

I read where this guy was wrapping the boat in plastic and using a dehumidifier. He claims to have removed hundreds of pounds of water this way. I think this should work. You have to make sure you keep the water out after that. Not sure how long this would take. I guess you stop when the water stops coming out.

 

[bhalsdorf]

Re: drying out flotation material in hull?

I have seen many posts about drying out foam. The one thing it seems everyone tends to over look is that if it got wet once it will get wet again. The closed cell foam sheds water. Thus if the foam is replaced with closed cell, it will not absorb water again. As long as you have a bilge pump or a plug to let any water out you will be ok after replacing the foam.

 

[BillP]

Re: drying out flotation material in hull?

You need to make sure the boat is not out of trim just from onboard gear. It could be that simple. Fuel tanks same level, etc.. Next you could contact SeaRay and see if they have a file on your boat...which they used to do on every boat from 30'up. They can tell you what the construction is, weight as left the factory and other details that may help. I've seen the folders and every part of the boat is weighed and described as it is installed. Very well documented. A friend of mine has a late 80s 34' Sundancer and the SeaRay factory on Merritt Island, Fl had lots of info. They just sent new owner's manuals and equipment paperwork that originally came with the boat...for free. I'm not sure how your Sundancer is made but some of the larger Sundancers had balsa core.<br /><br />As already posted, a boat can drain for months (or years) and still be wet. Clearing 100% water from foam or balsa core is almost impossible to do. Tiny cells trap water running one way and let it drain the other way. This means you have to drain at different angles to get all the water out. Pulling a vacuum is the best I've seen but it needs to be done systematically for the draw to work right. I've seen leaking fuel tanks saturate the foam and then eat it away too.

 

[loredo]

Re: drying out flotation material in hull?

I also own a 83 Searay sundancer, which had a list to the port side, I drilled thru the side hull, below motor,3/4 " hole, installed a drain plug, actually did both sides. I used a shopvac and started sucking out water, it took days, but finally got it all out, or most of it.<br /><br />I found where my side wimdows were allowing water to leak inside sealed side compartments. Now when the boats not in use, it,s parked on a trailer, nose high, all plugs removed,,,Godd luck