So, I am attempting to rebuild a 1994 Alumacraft Lunker V16 and I have pulled the rotted wood floors. My assumption has been that I will be replacing the buoyancy foam. My brother and my dad took turns mistreating the boat for several years and after I found the boat filled with a foot of water during my last visit, I brought it home with me.
The boat has been under cover for at least a year now and I have finally found some time for the rebuild. The pictures show how dirty the foam is. I chunked off a piece or two and the foam is completely dry to the touch, but there is very thin layer of dampness on the side that was touching the aluminum skin of the boat. I tested a few spots of the foam and it appears to be consistently dry except for a small amount of either residual wetness or condensation on the underside surface (or very thin layer).
I would not have started chunking off the foam had I believed it would possibly be salvageable....and that is my question...has my foam gone bad? I do know that there were several occasions that the foam was underwater for up to a week or more (rain). But again, it is essentially all dry to touch. This is not a 'to foam or not to foam' inquiry. My boat will have flotation foam, either old or new.
As an aside, if I end up keeping the foam in place, I do have some two-part pour in foam that I will be using to seal over the spots where I did testing and to fill in other gaps. Your thoughts are appreciated.
Cheers - Dan
(Snohomish, WA)
The boat has been under cover for at least a year now and I have finally found some time for the rebuild. The pictures show how dirty the foam is. I chunked off a piece or two and the foam is completely dry to the touch, but there is very thin layer of dampness on the side that was touching the aluminum skin of the boat. I tested a few spots of the foam and it appears to be consistently dry except for a small amount of either residual wetness or condensation on the underside surface (or very thin layer).
I would not have started chunking off the foam had I believed it would possibly be salvageable....and that is my question...has my foam gone bad? I do know that there were several occasions that the foam was underwater for up to a week or more (rain). But again, it is essentially all dry to touch. This is not a 'to foam or not to foam' inquiry. My boat will have flotation foam, either old or new.
As an aside, if I end up keeping the foam in place, I do have some two-part pour in foam that I will be using to seal over the spots where I did testing and to fill in other gaps. Your thoughts are appreciated.
Cheers - Dan
(Snohomish, WA)
Last edited:
