On another note, when I first got the boat. I had 2 soft spots/deck rot between the captains chair, and the mates chair if you will, center line of the boat. I ripped the seats out and started digging and shop vac'd the rotten crap out. I probed the stringers and am pretty sure they are foam and they seemed solid and not mushy or full of water. Being this is a 1976 boat, I am thinking it has foam stringers in it, which it looks like they did on many in that time period, and even patented? They are defiantly not wood.
So overall I have a decent size section 5 x 4 if that cut out of the deck in the center of the boat. I have cut out all the rot to hard wood and treated and will move forward from there.
Tonight on a crazy whim, because things I read make me wonder, and drive me crazy with doubt. I decided to cut out a 8" x10" section of foam down to the keel at the center of the hull.
It was bone dry down to about a 1/2 to 3/4 inch of wet foam at the keel. Some water from the angle of the boat was moving aft. I may dig back under the solid deck a few inches off the keel and see what I see. I may have side stepped a land mine here from what I have read. I know they are built in sections like a big dbl H like look? I am thinking of drilling a hole just forward of the engine, forward and tight to the keel and let any water flow down to the drain hole. While I know that is not the cure-all. It would allow much of any water that is there to flow aft. The amount of wet foam left, is what it is. There is a small amount of fiberglass covering the actual keel maybe a 1/2 if that. I cannot see ripping that down to the bone at this point. Forward and down towards the keel/ deep bow portion, I have no idea? Again I am not going try and rip into it. The deck forward of the wheel is rock solid, and honestly not that much of it exposed to water. and any deep probes I can do have been dry.
Okay now I a done for the night.
So overall I have a decent size section 5 x 4 if that cut out of the deck in the center of the boat. I have cut out all the rot to hard wood and treated and will move forward from there.
Tonight on a crazy whim, because things I read make me wonder, and drive me crazy with doubt. I decided to cut out a 8" x10" section of foam down to the keel at the center of the hull.
It was bone dry down to about a 1/2 to 3/4 inch of wet foam at the keel. Some water from the angle of the boat was moving aft. I may dig back under the solid deck a few inches off the keel and see what I see. I may have side stepped a land mine here from what I have read. I know they are built in sections like a big dbl H like look? I am thinking of drilling a hole just forward of the engine, forward and tight to the keel and let any water flow down to the drain hole. While I know that is not the cure-all. It would allow much of any water that is there to flow aft. The amount of wet foam left, is what it is. There is a small amount of fiberglass covering the actual keel maybe a 1/2 if that. I cannot see ripping that down to the bone at this point. Forward and down towards the keel/ deep bow portion, I have no idea? Again I am not going try and rip into it. The deck forward of the wheel is rock solid, and honestly not that much of it exposed to water. and any deep probes I can do have been dry.
Okay now I a done for the night.