This boat is unbelievably heavy, could there be another drain plug?

[1923waterbug]

I had a Lund double hull once and there was a second drain plug between the hulls that was full of water and nobody knew it until my cousin found it.

I'm wondering if this 19 might have a plug between the double hulls somewhere and it's holding water.

The bottom drain on the outside is open and I reached in there with a long screwdriver and it seems clear and unobstructed.

I jacked the boat and trailer up yesterday to change a tire and the jack that picks up my little car easily could hardly lift it it was so heavy.

 

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Re: This boat is unbelievably heavy, could there be another drain plug?

maybe it just need to be adj. on the trailer. could be tongue heavy just by how it sits on the trailer. i know, just adding a spare tire to mine increased my tongue weight quite a bit as i put the tire close to the hitch.
nope, there's only the one drain plug hole..

so when ya got yer boat. was it sitting bow high and the drain plug free to allow water out?? if so. i'm gonna guess your probably ok. some tests are the only way your gonna know one way or the other though i'd think... ya might try the restorations forum here on iboats. lots of folks fixing up boats over there. many good ideas how to repair and test too.

a side note. i read in one of the aristocraft threads that replaceing the foam is less of a chore than folks that gotta replace stringers and transoms. so that's good news. not that i want to go replace my foam though...

 

[1923waterbug]

Re: This boat is unbelievably heavy, could there be another drain plug?

From what I gather looking this forum over this morning is that foam rot and water getting into the foam of these old fiberglass boats is a common problem. -- I see where you have been dealing with this for a long time yourself.

My impression is that it is a big and common problem and especially with boats that have been left outside in the elements like so many have been.

I'm guessing that millions of boats are junk because of this.

That's the first thing a guy should look at when looking to buy a boat that has sat out.

The newer foam does not saturate like the old.

It's a great big deal!

I will never buy a boat with the old foam again and I am going to try to back out of this one although I have already payed cash.

 

[1923waterbug]

Re: This boat is unbelievably heavy, could there be another drain plug?

Re: Waterlogged Foam

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your opening a can of worms with that question.

It is up to you if you want to replace the foam!

REASONS FOR FOAM:
It is required by the coast gaurd for manufacturers but not for rebuild.. some may agrue..

Foam is only there incase you get a major hole in your hull or your boat flips over. .. isnt really argued..

REASONS AGAINST:
All foams wil eventually absorb water if they are sitting in it for a long time.
Drainage is key if you replace the foam..

Water logged foam wieghts more

foam traps water which leads to ROT


this was a very quick summary.. search foam for complete can of worms..

 

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Re: This boat is unbelievably heavy, could there be another drain plug?

another thought.

in your ski locker/ fish locker. there's a hole in the back of the locker. it drains water to the very back of the boat, in the bilge, if you can call it that. but maybe. you could see if the tube the connects the ski locker to the bilge area is intact. it's just a cloth tube if it's like mine. so i would assume possible for the cloth to deteriorate. if it's deteriorated. you might be able to access the foam to see if it's wet from there. if the tube is intact though. i'd not poke a hole in it as that's how the water from the ski locker gets to the bilge area. so you can use a bilge pump to extract the water... it's just a thought..

ways that i can think of water getting between the hulls is through that tube. under the gunnels where the cap is glued to the boat. so ya might look at the seal under the gunnels to see if it looks mostly intact. short of that. i can't think of anywhere water might breach the inner hull liner..



i have wondered if i'm waterlogged. but since i perform satisfactory. i must not be. yes, wet foam is certainly a boat killer. scott noted it in one thread i think. i still wouldn't assume it's waterlogged 1st, especially if the boat was stored bow high and the drain plug hole was open. though it's certainly something to consider. i'd be looking at the trailer though to see how it's sitting 1st.. weighing it would be my next option.. personally, i don't know how much my trailer dry weight is though. but i suppose it could be found out..

i've not been fighting wet foam. i just have considered it as a possiblilty. i've done no testing. like i said. my boat performs satisfactorily. so i must not be wet. or if i am. it's of no consiquence at this point. i've no intention of investigateing further till something don't work right. like can't get on plane, or takes more effort to obtain plane. i go out in pretty tall lake surf and it handles like i think it should..

 

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Re: This boat is unbelievably heavy, could there be another drain plug?

boat weights by iboats...

http://www.iboats.com/Aristo_Craft/bp/20br1021

don't say what engine package though. i'd think there'd be a difference between a L4 and a L6 by a little bit anyways..

interesting too. the 1980 version says 1950 lbs. for my 75 it says 1650. i wonder where the extra 400 lbs came from? i don't know..

 

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Re: This boat is unbelievably heavy, could there be another drain plug?

ya snuck a reply in on me.

foam traps water which leads to ROT

we don't have that problem as we don't have wood in our boats. however, my feeling is that the foam is structural to the boat, since we don't have stringers.. so, i think we need the foam for sturcture..

if i get water logged, i'm gonna talk with scott and see what the preferred method is for replacing foam in an aristocraft. somewhere along the lines, i got the idea it's a matter of cutting some of the sole out so you can scoop all the old foam out. then reintroduce new. don't sound like fun to scoop the old out. but sure sounds easier to put the new back in instead of replaceing and glassing in new stringers.. if, that's how it's done..

 

[1923waterbug]

Re: This boat is unbelievably heavy, could there be another drain plug?

ya snuck a reply in on me. we don't have that problem as we don't have wood in our boats. however, my feeling is that the foam is structural to the boat, since we don't have stringers.. so, i think we need the foam for structure..

if i get water logged, i'm gonna talk with scott and see what the preferred method is for replacing foam in an aristocraft. somewhere along the lines, i got the idea it's a matter of cutting some of the sole out so you can scoop all the old foam out. then reintroduce new. don't sound like fun to scoop the old out. but sure sounds easier to put the new back in instead of replacing and glassing in new stringers.. if, that's how it's done..

I think you would have to completely separate the three layers, just like in manufacturing, and then remove the rot and wet foam. -- A large project, more than the average person can or would do except for a very valuable boat.

 

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Re: This boat is unbelievably heavy, could there be another drain plug?

man, i sure missed the boat. now i catch on...

I jacked the boat and trailer up yesterday to change a tire and the jack that picks up my little car easily could hardly lift it it was so heavy.

looking a little slow at reading on my end. oops...

yep, that don't sound good. and it cant be anything else hardly, other than water, if it's that heavy.
if it were me, i guess i'd take it to a scale and confirm overweight. or maybe splash it and see if it floats and if so, does it look like it floats right. just like i've done, i based if i floated proper by looking at the arsitocraft ads.

I think you would have to completely separate the three layers, just like in manufacturing, and then remove the rot and wet foam

i suppose that would be the proper repair, but i bet that foam is pre cut to fit, like in the pic http://www.aristocraftboats.com/fiberglassbrochures/Incomparable19page4.pdf, be pretty hard to find that. i suppose scott is gonna be a good sorce of what to do. find out any alternitives, if there is any... hope what you suspect to be happening, isn't...

 

[1923waterbug]

Re: This boat is unbelievably heavy, could there be another drain plug?

OK, I got that guy I'm buying this boat from to work with me. -- Were just going to take the proper steps and see how this thing works out. He's 100% straight up and he doesn't want me to buy it if it's too major a thing to get it back up and going.

The nose is up and it's dripping. -- Scott says try that for a week and if it's still dripping we got problems. -- He also said to look under the seat and see if we can get at the foam and have a look. There is only the fiberglass under the seats, it is distressed and broken and a chunk could be busted off but I'm waiting to hear from Scott first.

They are drilling holes in an area like this and if the foam that rises up on the drill is soggy and wet then that tells what you have.
-- Some drill 1/4 to 1/2 in holes, very carefully say about three or four inches deep, being careful not to go to far. -- Some use one inch drills or hole saws so they can get a little better look.

I think that is what Scott may tell me to do.

We found a scale we can go to so that is another option.

We will weigh it on the trailer and estimate the trailer weight. -- The total should be around 2000#

If it's 2800# or 3000# we will know we are in trouble.

I am an amature without a shop so if it's soaked like it very well may be, he will then let me out of the deal.

Restorations without a shop and a lot of time and money should only be carefully considered.

Thanks for your help and encouragement here.

We get through this hurtle and then it's the 120 and the Mercruiser, I'm pretty mechanical and I think I can handle that. I'm hoping nothing majorly wrong shows up there.

It's supposed to just peripheral stuff and the impeller and carb and ignition and starter and wiring and all that.

I know how to deal with all that.

In the end I could have a great boat here that will last me the rest of my life nicely and then leave it to the grand kids.

Tom

 

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Re: This boat is unbelievably heavy, could there be another drain plug?

sure sounds like your on the right track tom.

i've not dealt with the issues your inspecting so can't be of much further help in this area.
i agree though. i can see foam behind the starboard rear seat on mine. so thats a good suggestion i'd think from scott@aristocraft. a real good place to look i'd think. i believe, w/o going and looking, you can see the foam from the underside of the deck all the way to the bottom of the boat. i think?

don't know if this idea helps or not. but i store my 19 over the week with a half paper towel stuffed into the drain hole. if there's enough water, it will saturate the paper towel and as long as the paper towel hangs below the bottom of the boat on the outside, it will wick water out of the hull at an accelerated rate.

I am an amature without a shop

yep, me too. i work in my white rock driveway.

sounds like the po is a real good guy.... very respectable of him to give you the option of backing out...

hope all goes well...

 

[1923waterbug]

Re: This boat is unbelievably heavy, could there be another drain plug?

I couldn't at first sight see anything from the back seat area but I will look harder now, may even remove the plastic fuel tank to get a better look. Thanks

I want this boat to work and it might. -- I hope the 120 is soupy enough. -- It is supposed to be.

As far as the 1968 Aqua and White goes, Scott says it's rare. -- There is no hand rail on my hardtop.

 

[1923waterbug]

Re: This boat is unbelievably heavy, could there be another drain plug?

I have a 1972 230 GMC inline six motor that is like new in an old rotted out pick up truck. -- It bolts right up the same as a 250 Chevy. -- I don't think it would mount in my 120 space but I bet it would mount right in in the 165 Models.