Wet stringer foam question

[bigeasy1]

I'm replacing the transom in my Tsunami,and have all the plywood out,and most of the grinding done.I cut the box stringers back,and found the foam in the starboard side nice and dry.

Unfortunately,the foam in the port side,however,was dry on the top,but wet on the bottom.
The deck on this boat is very solid,and i spent lots of time looking for rotted core.we have not found any serious rot problems with the exception of the hatch covers,and transom.

I really don't want to have to cut out the deck to get to that stringer.Is it necessary to remove the wet foam in the stringer,or can i just leave it?

I thought about(for 1 second) cutting the top of the stringer out,removing the foam,refoaming it,and reglassing it,but i don't think there's enough foam in these boxes to float this boat anyway.

I really hate the thought of having to do all this,if i don't have to.So what do you all think?,leave it the way it is and just finish the transom,(along with lots of other stuff)or do the "ugh,i hate to think of it" work,and replace the foam?

Thanks for any encouraging words

[oldbluesplayer]

John - how wet was it ? are you pulling out the gas tank ?

I'm going to suggest that you pull the tank, and check the condition of the tank platform - when you do that, you will also have exposed the sides of the stringer boxes - the one that is wet, you could then drill a series of holes into the stringer box, and allow it to drain, then glass over those holes, before you (probably) replace the gas tank platform - this would be a whole lot easier than taking the top off the stringerbox and replacing the foam - a move which I would highly Not suggest, as it interferes with the structural integrity of the stringer box - not that that can't be done, but it requires a much more strenuous fiberglass layup to correct.

just my .02

by the way - where in western Mass ? I'm in south central NH, would be a fairly easy day trip to pop down and check in and see what you're up to ?

Bill

[Bigshrimpin]

I'd just drill a few holes in the base of the stringer and leave them wide open. A few little holes aren't going to cause any structural issues and it will allow water in the stringer to escape and foam to dry out.

[bigeasy1]

Bill,we already pulled the tank,it's in good shape,and the platform underneath it is solid.It's funny, as we were just saying last night,that maybe we should drill a few holes in the box,and let the water drain out as much as possible.It's hard to tell how wet it is,because it's frozen right now,but the dry foam is soft,and the frozen stuff is a little less than halfway up.

I have the boat completely enclosed, in a tarped in scaffold enclousure,that is 12'high x 15'wide x 30'long.I run a couple heaters in it when i'm working on it,but shut them off when i'm not,so it freezes up at night.
I can get the inside up to the mid to high fifties when its in the high twenties to low thirties outside.


I have a friend in the fiberglass and resin supply business helping me out with the technical info,and hands on lessons with the glass work,so thats a huge help to me.If this boat isn't as great as everyone says,his head is on the block,because he's the guy responsible for making me have to put on that dreadful tyvek suit,and work my a-s off.I'm kidding of course,but he was the guy who kept telling me that i should try to find an old Seacraft,because they're so good.

Hey,sure bill,it'd be great to have you pay a visit,i live in Wilbraham Ma.,it's a little bit east of springfield,near Ludlow and Palmer.I'm about 40 miles west of Worcester 10-15 minutes off I-90.Feel free to give me a call at 413-596-8091,if i'm not home, leave a message i'll call you back.

[Bobv]

John,

Do you know how the stringer foam got wet in the first place? When I took off the floor of my boat, both stringers were saturated. On the port side, where the fuel fill line crossed the stringer, the glass had delaminated and was letting in water.

I was thinking like you are and drilled holes to allow the foam to dry out. Two MONTHS later, water was sill coming out of the holes.

I finally decided to cut out the tops and completely re foam. It is impossible to describe the weight difference between the still saturated foam and the dry. I couldn't believe it.

It was time consuming and expensive, but I'm glad I completely fixed the problem.



This foam looks dry, but it wasn't, and it weighed a ton.

[oldbluesplayer]

John - I did a mapquest thing, looks like an easy 1.5 hr ride - I'll definitely have to drop down this spring.

all I'm gonna say, and you won't grasp it till you get out on the water, is that your friend was right - I'd had 5 boats before, and was intimately familiar with several more boats that my brother has had - when I was shopping this time, and encountered my Seafari as a possibility, several people I talked to, knowledgeable boaters, when I said, "70's SeaCraft" simply replied... "Buy It !" It was such an abrupt and overt reaction, repeated several times, I found it very hard to believe.

2 years later... I Believe. And I know, after gathering with the SeaCraft clan herein, last summer in Cape Cod Bay, that my 20' Seafari has nowhere near the capability, that your 23' Sceptre has.

I know you're useage thinking is headed towards the Great Lakes for salmon, but you're gonna have to join us this summer in the Bay, as I expect there will be another CSC Gathering.

Bill

[Ed]

OldBluesPlayer-

Don't be so fast to underestimate your 20' Seafari. I've been out with CSICKNICK on his Seafari in large seas during November and the boat was fine. I wish I could say the same for me....I was so nervous, I made him head back in.

[dcobbett]

John123,

Bonefish's comments about the cuts in the stringer for the fuel hoses letting in water made me think about the hull I'm working on. Have you ever crawled under your hull when it was thawed out and tapped on the bottom along the panel under the stringers? If so, was the sound different than what you heard when you tapped on the adjacent panels?

[Bigshrimpin]

OldBluesPlayer-

Don't be so fast to underestimate your 20' Seafari. I've been out with CSICKNICK on his Seafari in large seas during November and the boat was fine. I wish I could say the same for me....I was so nervous, I made him head back in.

Gotta second what ED is saying. 20 is very nimble and seaworthy. The old owner of my 20MA used to fish 70miles offshore at guide and pioneer seamounts in nasty pacific ocean.

BoneFish is probably be right, but I'd still try with the holes first. Hit the stringer with a line of holes every 12" to 18" with a 1" hole saw . . . . save the plugs. It's not going to dry out overnight, but using a fan and heater you could probably get away without pulling the boat apart . . . Especially b/c it's just one side and just the very bottom of that one stringer.

[1bayouboy]

You can also tape the end of the hose from a small wet vac
to the holes and use a little vacuum to get out standing water....it dries faster when it's down to just damp.