Water logged 23' Tsunami open fish

[Capt Mac]

I am a proud owner of a 23' tsunami open fisherman built in 1978, so proud that I have ignored offers on the boat. Over the years of owning the boat I have noticed that It has been getting heavier and slower which aviously decreases performance and noticed that it sits just about 2" lower in the stern from 6 years ago, this hull is foam filled and has no bilge pump. I have started to notice more spider cracks throught out the gel coat as well. I would like to know how I could fix this problem, weither it's some how removing the flooring and replacing stingers with a seacast core and new foam? Or if their is some other method of going about this? Any info and contacts would be wonderful. thanks

[Deeman]

Capt Mac does this thread sound like your boat's characteristics?
click here- not handling like she used too.
If so, follow my lead: Opening the Belly of the Beast
You're on the right Forum. Lots of good help is coming your way I'm sure.

Eric H

[Capt Mac]

That sure sounds like my boat, I've lost a little out of my hole shot and top end as well. Would anyone know how to go about taking up the deck and center console, I wouldn't know where to start pulling up because I want to keep the deck and center console. I'm a trained marine mechanic but new to fiberglass and not afraid of it. Where would you buy foam at? Would anyone recomend seacast for the stringers, and the wood rotted transom that flexs and cracks while under power?

[chumnuts]

Mac, the transom would be the place to start in my opinion. Not shure where you are in FL anywhere near palm beach and I would be interested in trading some outboard work or advice. The real time consuming part is removing and replacing the motor and all hardware. That you should be able to handle. Remove the inside layer of glass and the rotten core. Then decide what you want to use for a new core. I would crank the front of the boat high in the air and try drilling some holes in the bilge, see how much water you can get out of her. Those tsunamis are all closed up. Hows your fuel tank looking? If its in there growing like everything else, that might need replaced while your doing the floor. A tsunami is worth dumping the time and $ into.

[Deeman]

Mac, I forgot to tell you. take your boat to a truck freight scale and compare your weigh slip to the weight of boat + trailer. Then you'll know how water logged you are if you are not sure.
Just happened to com accross a pic removing center console and floor
This is what you're looking at doing.
Eric H

[Capt Mac]

For removing the deck and center console I believe it may be a matter of removing screws. When I removed the old teak I could actually lift up the tops of the gunwale. Then the console has many screws going around it with piloted holes that were beneath the teak as well, so maybe I'll start their. Has anybody ever worked on a tsunami to this degree, or know of anybody that has? The hull is very smooth and dry and easy to trailer to the keys or tampa for the weekend, I couldn't imagine giving it up for these new out of the water boats that only last 10 years. After looking at many pictures of before and now I have diffently noticed that the boat is water logged. I don't have a weight slip or anything on it other then the title. But i am positive that this boat has saturated foam and diffently has transom rot. What do you mean by "Those tsunamis are all closed up", and I live in orlando and will be working on it in daytona chumnuts.

[chumnuts]

Mac they have "chambers" inbetween stringers, that are solid foam. There are no limber holes for water to escape. Water was never supposed to go in. With the screws from the console and probably a after thought teak deck, water has been getting in but not out. If you can drill a few holes down low somewhere around those areas see if it will drain. Tsunamis are built much like whalers. They rely on the foam for sructural strengh. So they used as much as possible.

[Capt Mac]

There is not a lower spot on the boat except for the live well in the stern. This boat had this problem before i decided to remove the teak, it's just gotten worst now and I am going to have to replace the transom so might as well fix everything. Do you know if there is any kind of of literature, online info, or personal knowledge on my boat? I am almost convinced that i am going to have to go into the belly of the beast and replace foam and stingers and so on. But the deck and center console are in very good shape, so I don't want to start cutting them to get to the foam. You've been a great help chumnuts...

[Ari]

My boat is not a tsunami, 24 footer open top center console install more to the side, foam filled deck-the whole lenght of the boat.During one thunderstorm and tsunami the boat turn upside down and keep rubbing the big outboard engine on the rocky beach. This eventually crack the fibreglass from the wood transom frame, 2 years later it become real bad that I had to dismounted the engine, cut open the fibreglass skin and rebuild the transom. I had cut open inspection holes on the deck to inspect the foam underneath it.Don't drill the hull. It is easier to patch up and repair deck inspection hole than a drill through hull.I had no experience with spider web type of gel crack.
If you have the necessary carpenter skill and are not scared of fibreglass and the resin..go ahead..take real good care of your health while working it.

[Capt Mac]

How did it look Ari? Did you have water soaked foam and if so, how did you go about fixing it? Thanks for the help.

[Ari]

For my case water did not reach the foam. Only the plywood for transom becomes rotten. After the incident, I had the engine replaced, this boat was park at home without shade or cover, the rainwater that sip in via the crack rot the transom. The boat sidewall was pierced through by the bench seat when I lifted up the boat from the sea without proper riggings - yet to learn about proper ways of riggings for heavy lifting at that time (20ton crane are needed). Since a few feet of the deck close to the transom need to be cut open, the foam is scrape out from that area. The cut open stern deck and all inspection holes are repaired and foam filled again later. There is no need to remove the console in my case.
To cut open the deck is real tough task unless you have the proper tools for it. I had used foam for cold pipe insulation for this purpose, the type that need to mix 2 type of chemicals, mix it properly in a plastic beg and squeeze it into the opening. Not really professional..But it does works for me.

[chumnuts]

Mac have you started anything with the beastie? I have never seen this "soaked foam". Even the 77 bertram moppie we are rebuilding now, the foam is original. Has been wet for years around the tank. Its not any heavier than it was the day it was put in. Yes I have seen wet but not any heavier.A polyester 2 part foam is almost always closed cell. I am really thinking your boat just has a ton of water in it. As Ari stated put a nice size deck plate somewere in the rear deck and get inside. The Tsunami we worked on didnt even have a traditional drain plug. We cut a 3/4" hole were one is to be and watched the parking lot fill up with water. Im not 100% but it was mid 80s. Just slowly filled up drip by drip. Eventually rotted everything including the fuel tank. Does your boat have the transom traditional plug?

[Capt Mac]

It's a 1986 Tsunami, not a 78 like I said, I'm a little to excited about this project I guess. This weekend I plan on removing t-top and center console which can be done with out cutting the deck up. Then I will remove the fuel tank and inspect the foam and stringers around their as well. This has been done by 2 other tsunami owners as well, so I'm pretty confident. Then I will probaly cut open the transom and turn the floor live well into an air tight dry storage for life jackets, throw cushion, fenders, and dock line and also install an inspection plate and put the first bilge pump in the boat. I will also inspect the foam and so on their as well. Next will be the seamark bracket with a stern/gunwale livewell holding up twin 4 strokes that will make this boat perform in all seas better then now and in the past. So hopefully monday I will have good news about my boat. Their one drain hole on the bottom stern of this boat that is constantly dripping water even when it's been on a trailer for weeks. So i may also drill 1" holes on the stern and raise the bow of the boat so that the stinken stern is on the ground. Since the transom is going to be replaced beacuse of rot, I really don't mind about the holes. Then maybe I'll hook up a shop vac and try to suck up the water or just let it drain. I have also checked the entire boat from the bow to stern to the deck and hull, their is not one soft spot anywhere, except for the flex and cracked gelcoat on the transom.

[Shleprock]

I also have 1986 Tsunami which I am going to redo would like some help and info on how you did yours. I'm in Ft. Lauderdale

[PAR]

Shleprock, this is a 4 year old thread and maybe someone will reply, but don't hold your breath. There are hundreds, if not thousands of previous threads on repairing stringers, sole replacements, transom cores, etc. on this site. The search tool will lead you to many.

For more specific answers to your questions, it might be best to just start a new thread so that your specific boat, it's problems and your questions can be attended to.

What do you need to "redo" on your Tsunami? Let me guess, the transom is soft? The decks?