Waterlogged styrofoam

[Battleman1]

Hoping some of you "Old Salts" can help me.
I recently bought a 94' Bayliner Rendezvous about 2 weeks ago. It seemed to run fine and didnt feel "heavy" on the water. I didnt notice where it set in relation to the waterline when i had it on the water but am checking it this weekend. This weekend I found the two access hatchs on the port and starboard catamaran hulls and opened them to find that there were bilge pumps in there not working and each was full of water. Think I may have been bamboozled but my ignorance for not knowing about the type boat I was buying.
I plan to remove the top of the boat and anything that is water logged.
My question is what type of styrofoam goes back in the hulls and could you line the hulls with a heavy mil water proof barrier prior to encase the new foam and keep it seperated from the water should there be any further intrusion.
Thanks,
Swabbie

 

[smokeonthewater]

Use two part pour in closed cell foam and no don't try to use a barrier

Before you tear anything apart make sure it really is waterlogged... Weigh it.... Just because there was water around the foam doesn't mean anything.

 

[dls322]

Why would the foam be water logged? Aren't the access ports sealed and the bilge pumps are standard? I looked at one of these a long time ago and know a little. If there is damage and the foam is accessible i would then be concerned.

 

[gm280]

Absolutely remove all the water. And then sample the foam to verify if it is soggy or not. If it is soaked, it has to go, no if, ands, or buts... It isn't providing any floatation capability and is adding a lot of useless weight lugging the engine. So sample it and see first...

 

[tpenfield]

The foam that goes into boat hull chambers is usually urethane foam ( closed cell) and not styrofoam.

 

[GA_Boater]

Why would the foam be water logged? Aren't the access ports sealed and the bilge pumps are standard? I looked at one of these a long time ago and know a little. If there is damage and the foam is accessible i would then be concerned.

Bilge pumps may be standard, but they have to be in working order. As the OP said, they were dead. Foam isn't meant to kept submerged and after a few freeze cycles, the little bubbles break leading to waterlogged foam.

 

[oldboat1]

Why would the foam be water logged? Aren't the access ports sealed and the bilge pumps are standard? I looked at one of these a long time ago and know a little. If there is damage and the foam is accessible i would then be concerned.

not to pick on dls322, but think people underestimate the amount of water that finds its way in from the top. Better assumption is that it all goes down under somewhere. Bilge pumps and angled storage (trailer boats) helps, but think it's inevitable that water gets in there in quantity. I've put "storage compartments" in a couple of hulls for access. The first boat I owned (15' Chrysler) was badly waterlogged, and the dealer took it back and opened a four or five foot area along the keel, set it at a radical tilt for about a week, and used fans to dry. I took his word for it, but think it was probably still waterlogged (but with a neat storage compartment!) I get a little spooked when a first move on a used hull is to slap in a new floor and seal it all up.

then there was the old Cobia with water logging and apparently a long standing fuel leak.