23 CC SeaCraft 1979 Rebuild questions

[armandozx]

Hey guys, first of all I want to thank anyone and everyone who comes across my thread and gives me suggestions. I am in the process of restoring a 1979 SeaCraft 23 CC and my stringers are "busted" or better yet compromised. They are leaking water from underneath; the stringers will be cut, re-foamed, re-glassed and brought back towards the transom.
Next to the stringers I have old foam which will be taken out.

My fiberglass guy said to leave it unfilled because foam absorbs water and that's not what he would like, basically just clean it and leave it unfilled. What do you guys think? Would this decrease the boats buoyancy, would it affect the ride or integrity. Should I re-foam and glass?

Boat has an enclosed transom with bracket and the goal is to mount a single 250hp engine in the back.

Thanks in advanced.

[shine]

My fiberglass guy said to leave it unfilled because foam absorbs water and that's not what he would like, basically just clean it and leave it unfilled. What do you guys think? Would this decrease the boats buoyancy, would it affect the ride or integrity. Should I re-foam and glass?

Without foam your boat will no longer have upright flotation, a huge loss in safety. The newer USCG spec foam does not absorb water unless its exposed to gas/chemicals, then the foam cells can be busted and it can soak up a small amount of water. So that the safety reason, another reason is vibration/sound dampening, the boat will "feel" hollow, more vibration when hitting waves.

On my 23, I even filled the spaces between the outside of the stringers and the hull side with foam, no just for added flotation, but for dampening.

My store happens to sell 2 lb buoyancy foam, cheapest place on the net to buy it too.

Should I re-foam and glass?

Best to glass the stringer back to the hull "re-tab", then fill them back with foam. If you can post some pictures of the stringer damage, i can be of better help.

Boat has an enclosed transom with bracket and the goal is to mount a single 250hp engine in the back.

that is my set up as well, I love it


Joel

[TunaMeltdown]

Originally Posted by shine

On my 23, I even filled the spaces between the outside of the stringers and the hull side with foam, no just for added flotation, but for dampening.

My store happens to sell 2 lb buoyancy foam, cheapest place on the net to buy it too.

Joel

Do you remember how many gallons you used on your boat?

[armandozx]

Ok, this is what Ihave so far and yes I am referring to the stringers and the space on the lateral sides Left and Right. How much foam do you think I will need for those sides running from the front step all the way down including stringers which will have to be gutted.

I noticed that under the foam it was wet. When the deck is fully taken out I will determine where the water intrusion is coming from to prevent this from happing to the new foam.

I manage to snap some pictures of today’s work not much but that's what I have at the moment.

[shine]

Dont know for sure, but it was a lot. Not counting the stringers, I think I used around 6 gallons of foam (side spaces, plus foaming in tanks). I

[parrott]

In my restores I pulled out all the foam except for what was in the stringers. There I dug out the foam where the factory fill holes were and drilled holes on the inside of the stringers and let it drain and dry out. Replaced what foam I dug out stringers and glassed up the holes. Be careful if you are going to be foaming your gas tank in. Especially if its aluminum. I would not suggest it. I never noticed a big difference in ride or sound in my 20' or 23' w or w/o foam. It really just there if you capsize to keep your boat floating. I would also glass a couple kness from the transom to the hull

[armandozx]

Thank you all.
Plan is as follows. Everything will be cut and dug from bow to stern. Stringers will be foamed and glassed, they will also be extended and joined to the transom, similar to Shine's work (awesome work by the way). When that is done I plan to move to the fuel tank which will be sitting on a fiberglassed piece of plywood maybe ½ or 3/8 not sure what the glass guy said at the moment. I would also like to put a couple of stardboard pieces there to avoid any corrosion in the future. Tank will be sanded and gelcoated 2 layers.
How does that sound up to now guys?

After that is done I will run my hoses for all my electrical stuff to run through and sealed the sides to further prevent exposing water to the new foam and foam at the level of the stringers or basically below the floor level.

[Ryan]

Coal tar epoxy is reccomended for the fuel tank. Sounds like you're on your way definitely keep us posted!

[Bushwacker]

[QUOTE=armandozx;213307]. . Tank will be sanded and gelcoated 2 layers. . . QUOTE]

Gel coat is a waste of time! It's just polyester resin with some pigment in it, so it's brittle, porous and not totally waterproof, and has nowhere near the bond strength of epoxy. And whatever you do, DON'T foam in the tank - that just traps moisture against the tank, causing crevice corrosion! Check out Dave Pascoe's article on the right way to install a tank: http://www.yachtsurvey.com/fueltank.htm

[pelican]

Originally Posted by armandozx

Thank you all.
Plan is as follows. Everything will be cut and dug from bow to stern. Stringers will be foamed and glassed, they will also be extended and joined to the transom, similar to Shine's work (awesome work by the way). When that is done I plan to move to the fuel tank which will be sitting on a fiberglassed piece of plywood maybe ½ or 3/8 not sure what the glass guy said at the moment. I would also like to put a couple of stardboard pieces there to avoid any corrosion in the future. Tank will be sanded and gelcoated 2 layers.
How does that sound up to now guys?

After that is done I will run my hoses for all my electrical stuff to run through and sealed the sides to further prevent exposing water to the new foam and foam at the level of the stringers or basically below the floor level.

i've typed on a few occasions,the correct,accepted method of installing/protecting aluminum fuel tanks - search my information,you will find it

attempting to coat aluminum with a polyester product isn't a very good idea...