dell quay 13 foam out???

[Tafflad69]

New to the forum so Hi to all.
Got myself a DQ13 with the dreaded soggy foam syndrome. What i`d love to know is, can i get rid of the foam and glass down timbers to take a new ply deck(to be glassed over)?? My knowledge of boat repair is non existant as this is my 1st but i am good with my hands and hoping to learn.ANY input more than welcome. Yours with bated breath,Tafflad69.

[hoytedow]

What is the foam made of?

[tinhorn]

You're the first person I've seen in the last ten years, in various forums and many newspaper comments sections, who has spelled "bated" correctly.

[Herman]

The foam is PU foam. It sucks up water like a sponge, after a while.

However, the foam also supports the laminate, so you will need to beef up the laminate. You could laminate some stringers, or add some bulkheads, depending on construction. I do not know the boat.

[Tafflad69]

Originally Posted by hoytedow

What is the foam made of?

To be honest i dont know what the foam is made of but would have thought it should be of a closed cell structure.Is the material relevant????
Cheers,Tafflad 69.

[Tafflad69]

Originally Posted by tinhorn

You're the first person I've seen in the last ten years, in various forums and many newspaper comments sections, who has spelled "bated" correctly.

Why,thank you tinhorn.At least i`m doing something right!!
Cheers,Tafflad69.

[Tafflad69]

Originally Posted by Herman

The foam is PU foam. It sucks up water like a sponge, after a while.

However, the foam also supports the laminate, so you will need to beef up the laminate. You could laminate some stringers, or add some bulkheads, depending on construction. I do not know the boat.

The boat is the British take on the USA`s Boston Whaler if that helps. I understand the foam is more for structural integrity than anything else,which is why i would laminate some stringers(unsure of spacings,wood thickness or stringer pattern) but had not realised i would have to beef up the laminate. With the fear of coming across as dumb,i have to ask,do you mean thicken the complete inner hull?and what weight mat would i use? I do not intend on taking the boat to sea,its for my fishing on rivers and lakes,but i may get tempted when the weather is good so i would not want to cut any corners no compromise.Take out the foam and redesign or put up with a heavy boat????
cheers,Tafflad69.

[Herman]

The foam is heavy, so taking it out leaves you with some weight you can add, without performance penalties. (not mentioning the water that is in it now)

Basicly, the hull is now a structure like this:

Outer skin (exterior of boat)
Foam (water logged)
Inner skin (interior of boat)

The skins are relatively thin, as they are almost 100% supported by foam.

You are heading to something like this:

Outer skin (beefed up single skin, or make it a skin-coremat-skin sandwich)
Framing
Inner skin (comments on outer skin apply)

Your framing can be laminated in. Match the height of the framing as accurately as possible to the height of the inner skin. Prefab some angle profiles (can be laminated in a piece of aluminium profile) and glue or laminate them to the frames, so you have a good bonding area to glue the deck back on.

Still no details on laminates, as I do not know the boat enough. But I guess you could get away with 4mm coremat on the bottom and deck (stay away approx 3-4cm from all corners) and laminate over with a 600 gram woven roving.

Make your frames with 600 grams woven roving - coremat 4mm - woven roving. Perhaps use peelply on the faces, so you will not need sanding to get a good bond. Make a large sheet, so you can cut your frames from that.

Same applies for deck.

Do not forget to make holes in the frames for water drainage. (make them large enough) and a drain hole in the back. This way you can easily drain your boat.

This is the general idea. I would like to check the mentioned laminate by someone who knows the boat, however.

[Tafflad69]

Originally Posted by Herman

The foam is heavy, so taking it out leaves you with some weight you can add, without performance penalties. (not mentioning the water that is in it now)

Basicly, the hull is now a structure like this:

Outer skin (exterior of boat)
Foam (water logged)
Inner skin (interior of boat)

The skins are relatively thin, as they are almost 100% supported by foam.

You are heading to something like this:

Outer skin (beefed up single skin, or make it a skin-coremat-skin sandwich)
Framing
Inner skin (comments on outer skin apply)

Your framing can be laminated in. Match the height of the framing as accurately as possible to the height of the inner skin. Prefab some angle profiles (can be laminated in a piece of aluminium profile) and glue or laminate them to the frames, so you have a good bonding area to glue the deck back on.

Still no details on laminates, as I do not know the boat enough. But I guess you could get away with 4mm coremat on the bottom and deck (stay away approx 3-4cm from all corners) and laminate over with a 600 gram woven roving.

Make your frames with 600 grams woven roving - coremat 4mm - woven roving. Perhaps use peelply on the faces, so you will not need sanding to get a good bond. Make a large sheet, so you can cut your frames from that.

Same applies for deck.

Do not forget to make holes in the frames for water drainage. (make them large enough) and a drain hole in the back. This way you can easily drain your boat.

This is the general idea. I would like to check the mentioned laminate by someone who knows the boat, however.

Thanks Herman,for the speedy and very informative reply. I see what your saying mate but i cant get my head around the cost of the materials and as i am not at all experienced it could turn out to be a very expensive "bin day".
I`m now toying with the idea of trying to replace the foam, I`m thinking that may be the best option(for my pocket) and ultimately the way it should be.
Having said that, i aint got a clue whats involved there either!! Have you or anyone else got any thoughts on that?
cheers,Tafflad69.

[hoytedow]

Not knowing what type of foam, I asked which it could be because of the possibility that it might have been styrofoam. Had it been that, you could have intoduced a small volume of lacquer thinner and reduced the styrofoam to a small lump at the bottome of the hull for easy removal. After that you could have replaced it with new 2-part foam. PU foam renders my point moot as I don't see the same simple(simplistic?) solution.

[Tafflad69]

Originally Posted by hoytedow

Not knowing what type of foam, I asked which it could be because of the possibility that it might have been styrofoam. Had it been that, you could have intoduced a small volume of lacquer thinner and reduced the styrofoam to a small lump at the bottome of the hull for easy removal. After that you could have replaced it with new 2-part foam. PU foam renders my point moot as I don't see the same simple(simplistic?) solution.

Thanks hoytedow, a very good tip . shame it cant be used bt me!!
Cheers anyway,Tafflad69.

[hoytedow]

You could remove the PU foam mechanically through some small openings if you have access to an endoscope. Parcel it into bits and move it to a removal port in much the same way abdominal liposuctions are performed. This would preserve most of the glasswork and you could still do the 2 part foam pour.

Something like this, only for foam instead of fat.: http://www.ienhance.com/community/IE...NUM&Prfl=&cat=

[keith66]

The Dell Quay dory is a good boat but they are prone to leaking when they get old, usually this is along the centre keel band which is aluminium & tends to get damaged the screws drop out & the pu foam sucks the water up. best option is to sort out the holes in the keel & fit a decent keelband as well as cutting out the water logged foam.

[Herman]

If you are planning to do a re-foam:

Indeed inspect for possible leakage, take the foam out. Perhaps you could even try and separate the hull and deck (depending on structure). Then repair what is needed, re-install the deck, and pour in some foam.

There are companies selling PU foam in canisters, already pressurised, which are really easy to use.

[Tafflad69]

Originally Posted by hoytedow

You could remove the PU foam mechanically through some small openings if you have access to an endoscope. Parcel it into bits and move it to a removal port in much the same way abdominal liposuctions are performed. This would preserve most of the glasswork and you could still do the 2 part foam pour.

Something like this, only for foam instead of fat.: http://www.ienhance.com/community/IE...NUM&Prfl=&cat=

I`ll most likely remove the deck anyway to check for rotten wood and look over the transom, so plenty of access to remove the foam.
Cheers,Tafflad69