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Restored boat need help

WIS FISHERMAN

New member
Hello All I am new to the forum and hope i am posting in the correct catagory..

I have a 91 sylvan 15' aluminum deep v fishing boat. Ive had the boat for many years, and for many years it was stored outside. last year I decided to replace the rotted out wood floor and carpet. I went even futher and stripped the boat all the way down to the hull removing all of the saturated expandable foam, from the factory. I replaced the foam with a closed cell styrofoam and stacked the made to fit sheets vertical to create support for the plywood floor. I used hardwood plywood just under 1/2" thick and treated it with a resin epoxy paint to seal the wood for years to come. recarpeted and painted the hull inside and out. it turned out beutiful. like a brand new boat...

Until I put it in the water.......
I dont know if I changed the buoyancy, or the center of gravity or what i could have done to change the way the boat rides.. the boat at rest will lean with me sitting in the side consul driver seat. I have to fill the 50 gal livewell on the pasenger side just to get the boat to balance out . i had to move the batteries to the passenger side as well. and the gas tank to the driver side. this helped to ditribute the weight a little. if you step just a foot off center the boat starts to lean to that side and the closer you get to the edge the worse it is. Its almost to the point of being dangerous. if you have another person in the boat and move to fast you could throw the other person out of the boat. The boat may be a little lighter than it was by removing the waterlogged foam. but it does seem to be sitting a little higher in the water. i was thinking the foam being at or below the water line has created more buoyancy and physics tells us that the foam wants to be on top of the water not held under the surface. but im not sure . I was going to cut a access panel down the center of the boat where there is no foam and just experiment with sand bags to add some weight to bring the center of gravity back to normal. the boat was never this tippy and trust me i know the boat is not going to tip , just feels dangerous and scares my friends when they go fishing with me... anybody that can offer some sound advise please let me know what you think or if you have experience in this problem.

thanks again
 
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Assuming the new stuff you put in was comparable to what you took out, you shouldn't have changed the designed operating points of the hull...I'd suspect you removed some mass that was never "designed in" (the saturated foam) and made the boat more responsive to external forces (weight shifts, etc). In my experience, most 15' deep v boats are unhigh undamped and a sudden move by a 200# passenger can scare the dickens out of another passenger and with the boat just sitting. The weigh redistribution reinforces this theory.


Your invocation of physics is incorrect in that the foam is inside the hull which isolates the foam from the water - ie no added bouyancy produced by the foam inside the hull....assuming the hull doesn't leak and isn't swamped.


I'd suggest going around and finding a similar sized (newer) boat at a ramp or marina and see if the owner will let you walk around on it so you can see how it reacts....it may be your perception of 'normal' from years of using a waterlogged boat...
 
Thanks for your thoughts. the foam taken out was the expandable marine foam from the manufacturer and the foam i replaced it with was a closed cell styro foam 6'x8'x3" sheets cut to fit the full open space between the bottom of the boat and the floor of the boat. very light compared to the weight of the expandable foam. sorry i was not clear. and yes i thought of the fact that when i got the boat 15 years ago the foam may have already been waterlogged and thats where i got the feel of stability. there is definately a huge difference , like i said it will throw a person around in the boat if you move too fast. i named the boat "Blood sweet and beers" my buddy renamed the boat " blood sweat and fears" lol i fish in it because im used to it. im just not sure if adding weight to the center below the deck would give me more stability by lowering the boat in the water just a inch or two. its is currently sitting 2 to 3 " higher in the water than it used to. any more thoughts?
 
Thanks for your thoughts. the foam taken out was the expandable marine foam from the manufacturer and the foam i replaced it with was a closed cell styro foam 6'x8'x3" sheets cut to fit the full open space between the bottom of the boat and the floor of the boat. very light compared to the weight of the expandable foam. sorry i was not clear. and yes i thought of the fact that when i got the boat 15 years ago the foam may have already been waterlogged and thats where i got the feel of stability. there is definately a huge difference , like i said it will throw a person around in the boat if you move too fast. i named the boat "Blood sweet and beers" my buddy renamed the boat " blood sweat and fears" lol i fish in it because im used to it. im just not sure if adding weight to the center below the deck would give me more stability by lowering the boat in the water just a inch or two. its is currently sitting 2 to 3 " higher in the water than it used to. any more thoughts?

Really seems to be a weight issue, and not a foam issue.. thanks again
 
the older i get the more stable i want the boat...how many years did you say since you used the boat?
 
the older i get the more stable i want the boat...how many years did you say since you used the boat?

Ive owned it for 15 plus years and use it all the time. Its just had this issue since i retored it last year. I would like to just trade it in on a new boat. But thats just not a possibility right now. I either have to fix it or use it the way it is.
 
you could add a wheel in it if you do not already have one...it would not add to the stability but would add greatly to your control....i did that to my first boat after someone moved very quickly on me and set the boat on its side while i was running...the real danger is having someone in the boat that dont know what could happen on a sudden move...
 
yes, you can add ballast to lower the hull...should add some stability.....I've seen the tube draggers and some ski boats do it...I think most use sand and in bags so it can be removed when needed....I'd suggest checking one of there web sites to get some details....just remember the ballast will cut into the capacity that the hull can carry...if you are careful, you should be ok...
 
Just to pipe in since I've been off line for a while. I agree that adding ballast sand bags would be a good idea. I would try to build in a hatch or two (fore & aft) where I could experiment with the amount of ballast needed. Try to find some of those sand bags that don't rot or deteriorate over time.
 
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