HELP! waterlogged '78 Tom-boy S5W boat

[TerryMSU]

Hello:

Just before Father's day, I purchased a 1978 Tom-boy S5W (14ft). It has appeared to be a little on the heavy side, but I just assumed that it was old heavy fiberglass. The last time I launched it it was really sitting low on the starboard (right) aft (rear). It appears that the foam is waterlogged. The floor is fiberglass. (Who knows what is underneath it!?!) It appears that the floor is inserted in the outer hull as a liner. I suspect that the leak into the interior of the boat is under the driver's seat. (drivers seat base is fiberglass and part of current floor. Small hole under seat base appears to go into the bottom of the boat.) The area under the seat is questionable at best. This area appears to be wood with a little thin epoxy over it. The area where I place my feet as a driver is a little soft. I had considered trying to pull the whole floor piece, but the transom appears to be solid. So I am thinking about replacing the floor up to the rear of the fish well. Alternatively, I could either leave the fishwell attached to the port side of the hull or cut it out and then re-glass it in after I am done.
My plan is to pull cut the fiberglass floor out. Then I will remove any wet foam. Next I will put a partial sheet of marine plywood in and glass the cut-out section back in place. One issue is that the original owner had pulled out the carpet and painted the floor. How can I get the glass to bond to this? Any comments?

Terry

 

[Bondo]

Re: HELP! waterlogged '78 Tom-boy S5W boat

You'll be Much Happier with the results if you remove the Liner,+ do the Repairs to the backside of it.........

 

[strky]

Re: HELP! waterlogged '78 Tom-boy S5W boat

Not sure what's under your floor, but I have the same problem with my 1996 Wellcraft. Seems the previous owner let it fill with rain water and could not get the plug out (stripped it). They did not notice the 3 easy screws to remove the plug assembly either. Anyway, I talked to a tech at Wellcraft and he told me to try to tilt the boat up as much as possible and let it sit that way for a couple days to get out any possible liquids. Then he recommended that I put a de-humidifier on the floor (like for a home type) and cover the boat with plastic. They said I should let the de-humidifyer run for couple weeks and will have to empty the de-humidifyer a couple times as well. They have recommended this technique for many years they said. The only other option was to tear up the floor and replace the foam which would get really expensive. I am going to try the de-humidifyer first!! Good luck!

 

[TerryMSU]

Re: HELP! waterlogged '78 Tom-boy S5W boat

Please keep me posted. That might work in my case as the water has been a recent development.

Terry

 

[TerryMSU]

Re: HELP! waterlogged '78 Tom-boy S5W boat

Tried to use a shop vac to suck out any free water inside the hull. No success.

I also pulled off one of the corner castings to see if there were two layers at the top of the boat. No such luck. It looks like cutting away the floor will be the necessary option.

I am wondering about getting a different hull from craigslist (no or bad motor and/or trailer) and transfering the motor, etc to the new hull. That would seem to potentially be cheaper and certainly less work.

Thanks,
Terry

 

[TerryMSU]

Re: HELP! waterlogged '78 Tom-boy S5W boat

I was checking for books at the local book store and found an interesting (but scary) suggestion. The book I was looking at was "The Fiberglass Boat Repair Manual" by Allan Vaitses. I I understand him right, he is saying that putting some acetone into the soaked foam will dry it out. Supposedly, the acteone will mix with the water and the water will disolve in the acetone. The acetone will then evaporate taking the water with it. I also found hints on the web that the same trick with pure alcohol would have the same effect.

Heres another thought... What about antifreeze used the same way?

My concerns with acetone are extreme flamability and the potential that it could damage the fiberglass or some other interior part of the boat. Alcohol would be somewhat less so, and antifreeze would seem to be safer yet.

Anybody had any experience with any of these of know first had of any experiences (no urban legends please!)?

Thanks,
Terry

 

[RotaryRacer]

Re: HELP! waterlogged '78 Tom-boy S5W boat

Don't use antifreeze.

It won't evaporate the way acetone or alcohol will.

 

[TerryMSU]

Re: HELP! waterlogged '78 Tom-boy S5W boat

More info...

I pressurized the suspect leak (with a vacuum cleaner in blow mode) and found that I can blow liquid water out into the drain sump at the back of the boat. As a result, I tilted the boat even further up and I am waiting to see what happens.

I also think I uncovered the real cause. My sump has two inlets that drain from under the floor. One of the inlets has a good hose connection. The other does not and is clearly leaking. Both inlets appear to draw from channels that run under the floor.

I am seriously thinking of replacing the floor (or perhaps more accurately the sub-floor) on the boat. This will require cutting off the livewell from the boat, removing the steering station, and then pulling up as large as a 4by8 sheet of fiberglass flooring. I would then put down a trimmed sheet of plywood (or is there a better solution out there).

Obviously I will need to get rid of the wet foam and possibly add new floatation foam. Does this stuff foam up to fill an area? Does it self-level? In short, how do I make sure that I don't end up with either unsupported voids under the plywood or needing to trim out excessive foam?

I live in southwestern Michigan, and I will be doing the work in an unheated (or semi heated) garage. I hear that the foam should be done at 70F or even 80F. I suspect that means that the job can be started in the winter, but not completed due to the temperature requirements of the foam chemistry.

One final issue... The transom is mostly solid, but the lower port side is a little soft. Rather than try to rip out the transom, it was sugested to get a sheet of either aluminum or stainless to bolt/glass along the inside of the transom. Will that work suitably? (Boat is 14ft rated for 35HP and carrying a 35HP Johnson of the same era.) I know that the preferred answer might be Seacast but that would require more demolition than I want to get into. I have also heard that there is a thin slow setting epoxy that can be poured into the transom. That would seem to require drilling a few small holes down into the questionable area. It would certainly be easier to implement.

Thanks,
Terry

 

[ray estep]

Re: HELP! waterlogged '78 Tom-boy S5W boat

I used Tashasdaddy's advice and drilled a hole from the floor of the bilge area to the hull. I found that the foam floated. The boat sits level so I'm going to weigh it and if its close I'm good. the floor is also solid. I may store it in the desert for a while. I had to have taken off several hundred pounds of water of the boat.