wet foam in stringers

[bibijawa]

After grinding the inner sides of the stringers to prepare the area for the new fuel tank slats I'm going to glass in, I noticed water leaking out of a couple of areas where the woven roving was delaminating. My stringers apparently have wet foam. Since I'm not removing the deck I won't have access to the stringer tops. Will it be structurally safe to remove the sides of the stringers to remove the foam then glass those same skins back on?

[flyingfrizzle]

I might would try to cut out some oval or square holes in the sides then patch over them. if you cut the sides out you will loose the structure and could warp the hull. If you cut the holes you can remove it threw them by digging in out and the material left will keep the shape. Then once done glass over the holes and cut small ones at the top edges to refill the pourable foam threw.

Here is what I am talking about:

[FAS]

frizz, you're a smart man,good way to fix that,support, cut ,fix and reglass...really like your illustrations...

[shine]

I think it might be less work overall if you remove the sole and do it all from the top.

[bibijawa]

Can this wet foam cause hull blisters? I don't know how long this foam has been soaked, but most likely it's been wet for years.

[flyingfrizzle]

Originally Posted by bibijawa

Can this wet foam cause hull blisters? I don't know how long this foam has been soaked, but most likely it's been wet for years.

Most hull blisters are from water coming in from the outside and getting in the fibers in the glass and puckering out the gel coat causing the gel coat to blister. I could do it from the inside out I guess but the main troubles with wet foam is the extra weight that you are carrying in the hull. Water logged foam is heavy!

[martin]

Originally Posted by shine

I think it might be less work overall if you remove the sole and do it all from the top.

I would hàve to agree with shine , but then again after seeing my build I definitely made a lot more work for myself..lol

[flyingfrizzle]

Shine dose have a good point,

[bumpdraft]

I don't know what model you have, but I cut a 1" hole in the stern end (stringers) of my 23. Inserted a piece of pvc pipe through hole and was able to pull samples from the foam. After about 1 foot, the foam came out dry. I plugged holes with rubber plugs. If I would have continued to get water, I would have probably kept going.

[bibijawa]

I have an 89 20sf. I already cut off the last 6" of both stringers to rebuild the transom from the inside. The starboard stringer was soaked but the port was pretty dry. But both stringers are leaking towards the center under the console.