Wet foam

[woody]

Okay guys , I need some help . My 1996 175 has always listed to starboard , not much , but it bothers me . I transferred weight (batteries ,tools ,misc )to offset the list . Still sets cock-eyed . After looking into the starbd bilge area I found exposed foam . Probed it with a screwdriver and it is very wet . So the weight is from wet foam . This area doesn't drain into the bilge due to the stringer . So water from washdown or rain will hold in the area and seep into the foam . There is no way for the water to drain out of the foam so;  how do I drain and dry the wet foam and how do I prevent the water from getting to it once its dry ?

[fitz73222]

Hi Woody,

Are you talking about a delamination of the stringer and exposed foam? That would be rare on a newer hull like yours. First determine how its getting in there. You could try fabricating some kind of mesh screen, using a piece of filter material from a reusable home AC filter and cable tie it to the end of a shop vac pipe and try sucking the saturated foam until the water is out. This will allow air to pull from the sides of the filter media and draw the water out without clogging the hose. Just leave the shop vac running in an area you can get the pipe into and let it suck.

[woody]

No delamination , just wet on the bottom of that particular bilge area . There is only about 1 -1 1/2" of foam there . Pictures are coming ,I'm not sure but that should be closed cell foam as well . Maybe its not as bad as I think ,but why is it heavier on that side ?

[GoneFission]

You can use an auger/bit to drill drain holes in the foam and let it drain to the bilge if you can get access where you can get a 30-40" bit under the decks.  Otherwise, if foam is soaked, you either live with it or take the deck out and re-do...  

Sorry if this is bad news... But maybe you could use a vaccuum and suck the water out over several hours - this can be done...

[woody]

Thanks , I'll drill some test holes where I can reach and see what drains out .  

[woody]

Area of problem.

[gran398]

Woody, I'm with the boys. Would be great if you could drill some long holes, then put the shop vac in there, Try and get the bow as high as possible...would be good if you could get her at 45 degrees or more, let gravity help and get the water to the rear.

Wonder why/where the water is getting in....on that side only? If we could get her dried out, and the deck seepage located, we'd be good to go.

[woody]

Thanks again fellas for the input . Until I solve the mystery of how the water gets into the area and fix that problem , I suppose there's no use trying to drain and dry the foam . So one step at a time .

[woody]

Problem #1 solved , I put a heavy duty rubber weatherstrip around the aft storage hatches , tested it with a hard spray from the water hose , no more water in the bilge from rain or washdown now  !  Drying out the foam is the next step  .

[Jay R.]

I worked at a shop that used to drill holes in the bottom of boats attach shopvacs with duct tape and funnels and place heat lamps under the boats. I don't think you need to drill holes through your hull, but I am thinking funnels matched with the previously mentioned filter material and some heat lamps or space heaters and you will probably get it dry pretty quick.

[woody]

Sounds like the vac is the next step . Jay ,I'll pass on drilling holes thru the hull ,but if I had a hoist or davits where I could raise the bow a lot higher ,I might try one in the base of the transom . ? Anyway thanks everybody for helping me . Right now I'm gonna put her back in the water for the weekend and see what's biting ...

[GoneFission]

I hooked my HD drill to one of these to drill holes in the foam on my boat:

http://www.lowes.com/pd_109435-46916-61 ... facetInfo=

[gran398]

That should get 'er done.

[CTsalt12]

Hi Folks,

Reviving this thread from the dead; I want to avoid the issues OP mentioned.  I have an older 175, 1989.  The foam is actually not yet wet back there as far as I can tell, which I don't fully understand (waterline has not changed more than possibly 1/8 inch in my 6 years of ownership and foam doesn't feel soggy), but I want to keep it that way.  The foam is surrounded by fiberglass, but not on the stern facing area the OP pointed out.  Doesn't make a lot of sense to me they would built it that way, anyone know why?

Anyway-what would be the best way for me to protect this stern area from getting wet with bilge water?  I have little fiberglass experience beyond injecting epoxy into screw holes in deck.  Is glassing in some kind of cover a bad idea in first place?

[mshugg]

You could paint the exposed foam with epoxy or other resin.  If you want to you could even add a layer of chopped strand mat to provide a bit of structure.

Even more important would be to keep your hull deck seam well sealed.  Short of boats that always have standing water in them, I’m convinced that the hull deck seam is the biggest source of water entering the foam.  Any water that makes it past the hull deck seam has no where to go but into the foam, and gravity helps do the deed.