Floating home help

[showroomd2301]

The floating home I live on is approx. 22 years old. The bottom is fiberglass over wood. It has never been cleaned but has been inspected by a diver and seems to be in good shape. Inside from the flooring to the actual wood bottom is 2'. The draft below the water line is approx. 10". The overall size is 35' x 20'. There are wood joists running forward to aft from the very bottom to the flooring at 30" on center. I have many peer holes and have created hatches to view the bottom and it currently does not leak any water. I do not want to take the chance for haul out since our marina uses straps and this is two-story am afraid it will not hold up...for ease of mind and to get more life out of it, I would like to apply something to the INSIDE that would act like fiberglass on the outside and basically give me another layer of protection. Something I could pour or spray. The electrical and water lines are attached to the joists and are obviously above the bottom but I would be willing to take out my wood flooring and do the job right to extend my boats life for as long as possible! Any suggestions...The boat does not move and is located at an endtie in a marina. Thanks.

[ted655]

I'm going to advise, NO. For all the effort & expense, you will gain little, (none), in keeping water from entering from the outside. Physics are simply against you.
IF...., you are afraid of "rot" from inside, then there are products that can be applied. Which is it?
.
2 story or not, get a beam, or beams, that will keep the straps away from the sides of the shanty. Once hauled & cleaned, I would coat the hull with coal tar epoxy & get another 10-20 years of worry free floating.
In any case, these guys claim to have a coating for every need.
http://www.epoxysystems.com/216.htm

[showroomd2301]

As an engineer myself, I understand the physics part...was just wondering if there is an alternative to the haul out by impregnating the existing wood...not sure if there is any rot but from the inside appearances, I do not see any. Thank you for your response. Even with the beams, I am afraid that the boat would collapse...I just read your quote...it's great!

[rwatson]

ted makes good points. Doing stuff to the inside is largely creating problems.

With a 10" draft - you could get some wooden staging prepared, and/or lots of old tyres - float the house over to a fairly level beach, place the staging and wait for the tide to go out.
You may have to wait through a couple of tide cycles while you clean and paint and move the supports around between paint jobs

There are a number of bituminous paints that can be applied on wet surfaces, and they do a great job of keeping water out.

[ted655]

There is a solvent that will dilute epoxy to the point of "penetrating" viscosity. Even then, I doubt it would go deep enough to reach the other, (wet side), of the wood. It still wouldn't help with the joints of the planks or sheets. That is where the water would most likely enter.
The link does have a compound that is used inside basements to seal joints of masonry products. I assume the hydraulic pressures there are no where near the ones acting on a hull. I have no proof of this however.
.
I've seen women put makeup on & feel rather good about themselves. They are still ugly to everyone else. Perhaps it's better they feel good, & hang the rest of us.