water drainage

i know i've already asked this once, but i didn't get a satisfactory answer, so i figured i'd give it another shot. I am currently dealing with figuring out to what extent to replace a spongy deck on a 21' renken classic 2000 bowrider. i know the stringers and below decking foam is wet near the engine, don't know how far forward it goes. i guess this is really a 2 part question because i can see that the water is coming from 1 place for sure and possibly another. the gas tank is located inmmediately in front of the engine, under the deck obviously, and is visible when the engine cover is gone. now, when water collects under the engine, if enough gets down there, all it has to do is flow over the gas tank and soak the foam and stringers and cause damage further than i can see possibly. should i close off the space between the engine compartment and foam filled area after i finish repairing the damage? now the second part, in the bow storage compartments, i can see one hole each drilled in the lowest corner, conceivably to drain any water that gets into the compartments. my question is not where that water goes, but where it is supposed to go. should it go into the belowdecks storage between the drivers and pass. seats? i don't see any way for it to escape that if that is where its supposed to go? HELP

 

It's a bit difficult to envisage your engine-room set-up - maybe you could post a pic or two and people could give you some solid suggestions.
As far as the fwd compartments go, you've got 3 choices:
1.Plug the drain hols to prevent water getting through and put up with mopping up any that does enter the storage compartment

2. Install a bilge pump in the area underneath

3. put a limber hole through the frames to allow water to drain aft, wher I assume you do have bilge pumps.

Again, it's a bit hard to know whivh is best without actually beain able to see it...

 

I just cut up a section of decking in front of the engine due to it being rather spongy, I was also hoping to see anything that could help answer my own question about the drainage from the bow area of the boat. So far I only see foam all the way across. is it possible the boat was designed to have the water drain into the belowdecks storage area and just sit there?! this doesn't seem like a very smart design to me at all.

 

Smart design?

Where in the rules does it say - that smart is a pre requisite in boat design?

Count yourself lucky - the designer didn't include a kitchen sink drain and plug to let the excess water drain thru the bottom back into the ocean!! (Probably wouldn't be the first!).

Face it - mass produced boats don't have time for intricate drainage solutions....they were built for a relatively short life span - and to bring one back has to be a labor of love because you will never get back the time you put into making it anything better than a mass produced boat!

That said - if you don't value your time - you could end up with a useable ol boat with a second lease of life! All the time you invest - in achieving this will be time NOT spent on the water, ergo fishing or whatever.

Think long & hard before committing to such a vessel relationship...

Cheers!

 

It's very likely that many areas, non structural and structural are water soaked under the decks of your boat. This usually means the deck has to come off, the boat stripped back to reliable materials (pieces not damaged by the moisture invasion), new replacement pieces installed and the deck put back down.

Most production boats aren't worth having this effort done professionally, unless there is some unusual regard concerning the boat. It is a set of issues that can be quite daunting for the amateur to over come, but it has been done and will again by many folks around the world.

Much advice can be had by running a search through previous posts on this site. The vast majority of difficulties you will encounter have been covered and are literally at your finger tips by using the "Search" button at the top of the BoatDesign masthead.