just opened up a can of worms ! ! !

[franklinjefferson]

hello all,this is my first post to this site,and have been looking through it for days,and have been finding great info all throughout it,and decided to register and introduce myself and my dilemma.my name is Brian,and i am from Rhode Island.Last monday me and my girlfriend decided to buy our first boat together,so we searched ad's and found a 20' bayliner.we went and looked at it and after negotiating a price we were happy about we bought the boat.well now we have tooken the carpet up and the floors need to be replace,but we did that today,it was actually pretty easy.the help I need is how do I get the foam out??? we are going nuts with saw-zalls,crow bars,grinders,and it feels like it will be 3 weeks before we get all thos SOGGY foam out...can anyone PLEASE steer us in the right direction on how we can get all this soggy foam out? thanks so much for any info anyone can give,we are so sore from today!!! lol

 

[KnightWolf]

Re: just opened up a can of worms ! ! !

The best way to get the foam out is with Sawzalls, crowbars, and grinders. A flat end spade shovel works if you have room. sharpen the end like a blade just watch the hull.

 

[franklinjefferson]

Re: just opened up a can of worms ! ! !

thanks for the quick reply KnightWolf,I was afraid that was going to be your answer,I guess there isnt going to be an easy way out of this one. I read somewhere getting a wire hot and cutting through it with that. Has anyone tried this method? I saw a program on the History channel,maybe Modern Marvels how they were doing some project with foam and used a hot wire to cut through it, i am wondering if this would work?

 

[KnightWolf]

Re: just opened up a can of worms ! ! !

They do make a hot wire "knife" it is electric. usually a wire strung between two standards Never tried just heating a wire though seems it could be more hassle than its worth to keep a wire hot. But maybe you are on to finding a way to make all rebuilders happy. Mine came out pretty easy but there was not much there. I wonder if an electric bread knife would work they have a more aggressive tooth.

 

[mtnrat]

Re: just opened up a can of worms ! ! !

I used a sharp shovel and went after the remainder aggressively scrapping with a crowbar end, finally using the grinder to get the bits. If the foam is that soggy, better drill into the stringers to see if they are wet, and while your at it check the bottom of the transom as well. If one is gone, chances are the othet two are there as well. A hint for the floor is to not replace the carpet. Just paint it with crushed wallnuts or silica to add traction. Easy to clean and does not stay wet and increase the chance of rot. Use a marine enamel like marine rustoleum. I even used a good quality garage floor enamel and it has stood the test of time.

 

[retiredfornow]

Re: just opened up a can of worms ! ! !

We used a hot wire to cut 3" pink styrofoam that was used as a bulkhead for concrete placement on the curve of a dam. It was used to shape the curve on the foam. It was a taught wire between 2 brackets, one guys held that, the other heated the wire to a cherry red with a propane torch. Went thru the foam like a hot knife thru butter. Good luck.

 

[Cadwelder]

Re: just opened up a can of worms ! ! !

Shovels, prybars, heavy duty putty knives....and lots of elbow grease. Its just one of those nasty tuff jobs. Not really an "easy" way to remove waterlogged foam.

Be sure and check all your stringers good once the foam is out...rotten stringers generally go right along with rotten decks.