water under floor

[diaric]

This has probably been discussed umpteen times before.I have a 1961(or about) 14' fiberglass runabout with a wooden floor. Transom and floor appear very solid and loks like floor was redone at one point by patching seam in front of transom. I have suddenly developed some water under the floor ( probably from screw holes or floor edge seam). If i tip the front of boat down on trailer I can hear it run to the front. There is a plug in the floor at the the front edge of it and if i stick my finger in I can feel the water. I don't think there is any foam inside by how fast the water runs back and forth. I'm going on a major fishing trip in a couple weeks so i need to figure out how to get the water out and keep it pumped out. any bilge pumps i've seen are designed for a mounting base and a hole of this size would be difficult to cut through the floor under the splash well. What is my best plan for right now? Ripping up floor and foaming it would be a winter project.

 

[oncebitten]

Re: water under floor

Just an idea, but for the time being, get a round inspection hatch and a hand pump.

http://www.iboats.com/mall/index.cg...=239533729&list_time=1156526162&view_id=39787

http://www.iboats.com/mall/index.cg...=239533729&list_time=1156526193&view_id=20395

Those should get you through the trip, and then you can figure out a permanent solution. As long as you're not taking on huge amounts of water.

 

[diaric]

Re: water under floor

Dumb question, from rookie. When I redo it all, should I have a bilge pump mounted under there? Or if I use foam, is it done upto the floor level not allowing any space for water to enter?

 

[oncebitten]

Re: water under floor

Never a dumb question. Maybe a dumb answer- d. I would put in a bilge pump and I would make sure that any water that enters the cavity under the sole has a drainage pathway to the pump. I would do this by making sure to drill drainage holes in all bulkheads and stingers at the lowest points, so all water can drain back to the pump.

Foam is an excellent idea for three reasons. First, you get the added emergency bouyancy in case of a capsize. Second, if there's no volume of air under there, it won't contract and expand as much over the life of the boat- which can cause air tight compartments to explode at the seams. Third, it displaces water- two objects can't occupy the same volume at the same time. Therefore, your under-sole compartments, if they are filled with closed cell foam, can't hold water- ideally.
It's up to you how much of an area you foam or don't foam. I have a small boat- 13', and it has four stringers and at least four bulkeads. I filled all chambers except the center chamber to allow water to move freely down the keel-line and back to the motorwell for easy removal. The other day, the marina swamped her with water during repairs to the motor and after some mopping up above decks, I simply angled the boat, pumped out the water that ran into the motorwell and that's it.

Now, I say ideally above, and this is why I include drain holes, because realistically, you may get some water in there someday, so why not have the back up system in place and save yourself major headaches. If you go through all this work, I strongly suggest you look into epoxy resins, rather than polyester resins because they're more waterproof.

These are just suggestions, but I think they make sense and in my experience, people who have gone about repairs/new construction like this have been happy with the results.

 

[rottenray6402]

Re: water under floor

A hole cut or drilled into the deck and a hand pump that the suction side will fit down in the hole should work until you redo the boat this winter.

 

[rottenray6402]

Re: water under floor

Sorry bitten, I didn't see your first post saying the same thing. 8)

 

[diaric]

Re: water under floor

thanks for the all the advice. I have a bilge pump sitting here uninstalled, which i got for above the floor. So I guess my quick fix should be to cut a hole and sit the pump in it.