Clean under floorboards- drainage ideas?

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bfetcho
Posts: 15
Joined: Sat Jul 25, 2015 7:10 pm
8

Clean under floorboards- drainage ideas?

#1

Post by bfetcho »

It's the dreaded under floorboard cleaning!

I have read a few topics on pulling floorboards on a few different brands of boats and have seen them fixed a couple different ways so I thought I would post and ask advice on my specific situation. First off, I have vinyl covered wood floorboards that were saturated when I pulled them so they have been out and drying for about a week. I believe these are marine grade or pressure treated so maybe the chemicals from the wood were leaching into the bilge, foam, etc.? So the question I have for the floorboards is; Do I put them back as is or do I paint the backside or seal them somehow before putting them back in?

I definitely had some corrosion going on down there under the wood floorboards but maybe not quite to extent that a previous post by JStauf had to deal with. The foam was only wet to about 1/2" but once I pulled it, I found that it was damp underneath the foam which was causing some corrosion. The worst corrosion was the metal that was touching the wood.

A couple issues I noticed after doing this:

1) The areas that held the foam were not only wet but will also hold water, as in it will not drain. The water has no where to go if it gets in this space...no wonder it was corroding the metal.

2) There are two boxed stringers running on either side of the bilge (Hewescraft design) that are filled with foam. These beams have holes drilled in the top of them I would assume as a port to insert the foam nozzle during production. The beams do not have continuous weld against the hull as there is foam that expanded out of several spots along the hull in the bilge. What really worries me is that there must be water int there too right? How to I get enough oxygen to this space to slow down the corrosion because it looks like there is no way to pull the foam out? The other foam areas were not corroding the hull directly but I believe this is a definite possibility inside those beams.

3) I have a drainage issue: When the washdown is used, water seeps through the floor seams and gets to the cavities that I mentioned before that will not drain. Most of the water is going to the far corners near the transom boards and draining into the cavities again that will not drain. The newer models have fixed this issue by putting drain holes that direct water into the bilge. Does anyone have an idea how to modify my design to get my water to drain to the center into the bilge?

I've seen members paint the area that I just cleaned or used Nyalic or similar coating. Is this the best idea? I have had issues with corrosion being trapped under Sharkhide in the past so I would really have to be convinced to do this.
Thanks for the help!

Brett
Attachments
Foam has been removed.
Foam has been removed.
image.jpeg
image.jpeg
image.jpeg
Water pooling is hard to see but it there. No where to drain if it get's in these cavities.
Water pooling is hard to see but it there. No where to drain if it get's in these cavities.
Acid washed, rinsed and dried.
Acid washed, rinsed and dried.
flanker71
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun May 21, 2017 10:16 pm
6

Re: Clean under floorboards- drainage ideas?

#2

Post by flanker71 »

I just did this project on a Hewescraft Searunner. There should be a small triangular opening at the bottom of the longitudinal stringers where it meets the transom. Since the stringers are filled with foam the foam fills the space that would be the drain. I used a 90* drill and progressively larger drill bits to remove some of the foam. Then used a round file to widen the hole big enough to push through a piece of 1/4" PVC pipe.

I sprayed it with a hose and it drains slowly but it drains.

I pulled all of my own wet foam and replaced it with pool noodles. There is enough space between them that water can flow to the bilge and not go stagnant.
IMG_2156.JPG
bfetcho
Posts: 15
Joined: Sat Jul 25, 2015 7:10 pm
8

Re: Clean under floorboards- drainage ideas?

#3

Post by bfetcho »

Great idea on the noodles! Looks great. Feels good to get it done huh?
flanker71
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun May 21, 2017 10:16 pm
6

Re: Clean under floorboards- drainage ideas?

#4

Post by flanker71 »

Oh yeah, I just bought the boat and had serious buyers remorse after pulling the floor. Now that it's done I'm feeling much better. Between the wet floorboards and the soaked foam the boat is a couple hundred pounds lighter.
JonH
Donator 21
Posts: 97
Joined: Fri Jun 10, 2016 12:20 pm
7
Location: Houston / Ketchikan

Re: Clean under floorboards- drainage ideas?

#5

Post by JonH »

Every thread like this further convinces me that injected foam is not a good idea for alu hulls.
bfetcho
Posts: 15
Joined: Sat Jul 25, 2015 7:10 pm
8

Re: Clean under floorboards- drainage ideas?

#6

Post by bfetcho »

Totally agree JonH. I had buyers remorse also flanker71 after I purchased my boat and found out about these issues. I still have my boat and I am enjoying it!
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