Overweight Robalo

[joeturse]

Weighed my 1980 20ft CC Robalo yesterday,and she is almost 900 lbs over the listed weight.
The boat is listed at 2130,and the trailer at 575.She weighed 3600.I was told that Robalo has closed cell foam,and will not retain water.
Anyone have any experience with this boat?

 

[jspano]

Re: Overweight Robalo

are you taking in consideration for the outboard and any other equipment??
900 lbs would equal 112.5 gals(plus) of water. there has to be something else overlooked

 

[joeturse]

Re: Overweight Robalo

Motor is off the Boat,and all the equipment has been removed.

 

[cheesegrits]

Re: Overweight Robalo

Have you weighed the trailer by itself? Is it galvanized or aluminum? Mine is a tandem galvanized and it weighs 1100 lbs. Unless yours is really light that could be some of the difference. Also there could be some difference in weight from hull to hull.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Overweight Robalo

Closed cell foam.......... CHECK IT!! Even closed cell will absorb water or you may have water trapped in the hull.

 

[reelfishin]

Re: Overweight Robalo

I just got done shoveling up about 600 lbs of that closed cell foam, it came out of a boat that was over 800lbs overweight. The foam degrades and will soak up water over time. See if you can get to an area below the deck and take a core sample of the foam.

I do find it hard to believe it's 1100 lbs of water weight, but I've seen worse.
Has the boat been stored outdoors uncovered much?

What trailer do you have under that boat? The weight you list sounds like a Load Rite 192500 or similar going by the listed weight. That would be a single axle roller trailer. I'd weight the trailer alone if possible to be sure. Take into account things like larger tires, heavier tires, winch weight, tie downs, etc.
It all ads up fast.
I just sold a larger single axle Load Rite roller rated at 2500lbs, it weighed in at just over 730 lbs, and that was only rated for a 19' boat. Your Robalo would take a much heavier trailer. The original brochure listed my single axle Load rite at 575 lbs. as shipped. The 730 weight was even without a winch. It also had no brakes.
My old tandem axle Highlander trailer weighed in at just over 1200 lbs without a winch. That was good for about a 20' boat. This trailer also had no brakes from the factory.

Have you had your boat in the water? How does it sit in the water? That much overweight and your bound to notice a lack of freeboard in that boat.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Overweight Robalo

I was told that Robalo has closed cell foam,and will not retain water.

Ayuh,... ALL the boat manufacturers use Closed Cell Foam, that don't hold water,...
Atleast when it leaves the factory...

 

[thrillhouse700]

Re: Overweight Robalo

Man we pulled out about 200 lbs of soaked foam, an 80 lb stringer, 200lbs of deck, and prob 50lbs of transom. Might also want to check if the wood is holding extra weight, if the boat has wood.

 

[basspirate]

Re: Overweight Robalo

i have a 1975 robalo 20cc and the foam is soaked right now. foam will eventually absorb water after years of being wet. mine has an inspection port infront of the console and another one in the console. open one of the ports and break off a small piece of foam then squeeze it if water comes out its time for replacement. i'm in the process of replacing mine right now. so far its not too hard although the way i'm doing it is diffrent than what most people do.

 

[joeturse]

Re: Overweight Robalo

basspirate,
I am real interested in how you are going to take care of the wet foam.
The only thing I can think of is to remove the deck.What is your method.
Thanks
Joe

 

[basspirate]

Re: Overweight Robalo

i took off the console then mine has a floor section covering the fuel tank which is held down by screws. i took that off then took out the fuel tank. the fuel tank is held in a fiberglass coffin. i took a rotozip and cut the front panel and back panel out of the coffin. i'm now in the process of digging out the foam. i dont know how its all gonna go back together but i'm gonna use a pourable foam so i have to wait for the weather to warm before i put the foam back in. i was warned by several people not to remove the entire cap as A. the foam can really be glued to the cap and it can be next to impossable to remove the cap and B. if the cap does come off the hull may settle and the cap will not go back on.
my tank was foamed in place and the foam holding the tank was soaked also. where a 60 gallon tank probably weighs about 40 lbs empty mine with the wet foam feels like it weighs over 100 lbs.

 

[basspirate]

Re: Overweight Robalo

hey joe by the way i know you redid your transom with nidabond which i'm pretty sure is heavier than plywood. if you had a slow boat before your new transom may excercibate the problem

 

[mikezohsix]

Re: Overweight Robalo

water weight build up.... are you retaining water?
they have a pill for that, or for your boat, pull the foam...

 

[reelfishin]

Re: Overweight Robalo

hey joe by the way i know you redid your transom with nidabond which i'm pretty sure is heavier than plywood. if you had a slow boat before your new transom may excercibate the problem

While the Nida Core is heavier than plywood, I'd figure that the average pour would be anywhere from 90 to 130 lbs or so depending on the transom size. I would guess that a 20' Robalo would be about a 100lb pour figuring on an 8' wide transom, 2" thick.

 

[joeturse]

Re: Overweight Robalo

While the Nida Core is heavier than plywood, I'd figure that the average pour would be anywhere from 90 to 130 lbs or so depending on the transom size. I would guess that a 20' Robalo would be about a 100lb pour figuring on an 8' wide transom, 2" thick.

Actually my transom is 1 1/2" thick,and the weight of the Nida Bond is 36lbs a pail,of which I used 2 and 1/2 pails(90lbs).I have not figured the weight of two pieces of 3/4" exterior plywood,laminated together,but it has to be at least 50lbs or more.

 

[basspirate]

Re: Overweight Robalo

joe just a few things. i know that people have taken rebar and forced it up the garboard drain to create a weep hole to let the foam drain. i've heard sometimes this works and sometimes not. i tried to do that to mine but once the foam reaches a certain point it will not fully drain. the other problem with this method is if you keep your boat in the water once it rains a few times the foam will get wet again and your back to square one. i wouldent try my method yet until i've gotten further along in the project as my way is an experiment that i've never read about but it seems like it might work. i dont know what obsticles i might run across and i dont want to screw up someone elses boat until i know my way will work. its gonna be a few months before i finish because to pour the foam the weather has to be above 75 degrees or if i can find someone with a heated garage. i figured out that i need about 36 cubic feet of foam which is i'll need a 80lb kit available from us composites for $244. the guy in farmingdale sells it also although i havent called him yet to see what his prices are

 

[reelfishin]

Re: Overweight Robalo

Wet foam won't just dry out, there's just not enough air flow below deck and even if you were to get it dry, the fact that it soaked up water in the first place means it's no longer worth anything as flotation. If it were still a closed cell foam, it wouldn't be saturated in the first place. Age has turned it from flotation foam to a sponge.