remove floor on garvey bay boat to remove foam and seal leaks

Discussion in 'Materials' started by gary gee, May 4, 2019.

  1. gary gee
    Joined: May 2019
    Posts: 3
    Likes: 1, Points: 3
    Location: carmel ny

    gary gee New Member

    I bought a garvey bay boat style from a nj boat livery for 200. There is a 12" crack in hull and water is dripping slowly from 2 places on the keel.I cut a 8" square hole near transom to look inside,Looks like great stuff foam in small amounts.The floor seems to be marine plywood covered with fiberglass and is in good condition.Based on the piece I cut out the wood is waterlogged and maybe the foam.I hate to cut out the good floor but it needs to dry and remove old foam.I would leave a 4-6" lip around the edges to reconnect to.Do I replace it with marine plywood and glass it over again? How do I fix the leaking keel and crack?I like the boat style,looks very stable and I have a new 20hp for it.I have no experience with fiberglass but have worked on all kinds of other things. any advice would be helpfull.
     
  2. Blueknarr
    Joined: Aug 2017
    Posts: 1,447
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    Location: Colorado

    Blueknarr Senior Member

    Welcome to the forum.

    How well do you love that boat?

    Read the many threads relating to wet hull, stringer, or transom repairs on this forum. All three problems usually manifest together.

    The repairs are not technically difficult. But, they are excessive, both in time and materials. This is not a quick and easy job.

    Are you prepared to spend significant time and money?
    Are you prepared to walk away from it?

    ---------

    If you can make a template before cutting your deck, it will be a great aid when putting things back together.

    After you have opened up the sole and scooped out the wet foam., check the stringers and transom for water saturation.

    Posting pictures will help us provide focused advice.

    Good luck
     
  3. gary gee
    Joined: May 2019
    Posts: 3
    Likes: 1, Points: 3
    Location: carmel ny

    gary gee New Member

    thanks for the reply and welcome,will consider options. Back before fiberglass in the era of wood boats ,how did you keep the floor waterproof to keep water out of the bilge? paint and caulking? Could you use the board foam sold in home depot in 4by8 and cut it to fit as a replacement foam? thanks
     
  4. Blueknarr
    Joined: Aug 2017
    Posts: 1,447
    Likes: 411, Points: 83
    Location: Colorado

    Blueknarr Senior Member

    Wooden vessels require ventilation, and frequent inspection and maintenance. Most did not expect great longevity.

    Cheap foam makes great post catastrophe buoyancy. It is usually not appropriate in structural composite applications.
     
  5. Ike
    Joined: Apr 2006
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    Location: Washington

    Ike Senior Member

    BlueNarr is right. The repairs aren't complicated or difficult, but they are time consuming and not cheap. When I replaced the sole, stringers and foam flotation in my 18 foot Sea Ray, I used Meranti Ply (a type of Mahogany) First I cut back until I hit good wood (a lot of rot). ground away any of the resin and putty holding the stringers to the hull, until I had a clean fiberglass surface. I replaced the stringers with 3/4" Meranti Ply . The cross pieces are two layers 3/4" ply. I treated all exposed edges and surfaces with Clear Penetration Epoxy Sealer. (CPES) This stuff is very toxic. You need to protect your skin, eyes, everything from any contact with it and use a respirator. But it seals the wood and prevents rot. I then coated all surfaces with epoxy. and encapsulated it all in fiberglass. For it to rot, water first has to get through all that.

    Anyway, I could go on at great length but the whole story is on my website at Boat Building Projects | 1972 Sea Ray 190 Rebuild http://newboatbuilders.com/pages/SeaRay190.html

    How did they keep the wood from rot? They didn't. They painted it frequently, ventilated the boat's interior to keep it dry. That's why before the advent of production fiberglass boats, boats were considered damp and drafty. They caulked all the seams and re-caulked them regularly. Wood was allowed to soak and swell to tighten the seams. Plus they used good wood like red cedar and oak, African and Philippine mahogany, that are resistant to rot. When it rotted they cut it out and replaced it. A lot of those woods are no longer available due to overuse, cutting down too many trees and deforestation.
     
  6. gary gee
    Joined: May 2019
    Posts: 3
    Likes: 1, Points: 3
    Location: carmel ny

    gary gee New Member

    Thanks to all that offered advice. Cut out floor section,saw it was fiberglass over a wood hull and all rotted.FG shell was the only thing holding it together.Took it to the dump.Will keep looking for a 16 ft boat that will fit my 20hp 15" shaft motor and no enclosed bilge so I can see the condition of everything.
     
    fallguy likes this.
  7. fallguy
    Joined: Dec 2016
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    Location: usa

    fallguy Senior Member

    Good move Gary.

    Boats in that state of disrepair end up an exercise in diseconomy. You spend thousands of dollars and a thousand hours for something only worth what the same old boat in good condition.

    I took two to the dump after making the decision on final value vs inputs.
     

  8. Blueknarr
    Joined: Aug 2017
    Posts: 1,447
    Likes: 411, Points: 83
    Location: Colorado

    Blueknarr Senior Member

    Sorry for your loss.

    Hopefully, it wasn't too expensive of a lesson.

    Glad you bailled early.

    Happy hunting for your new float.
     
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