Water in the hull
 

Hallo

I have a Sea Ray 200. When the boat is in the water, it´s leans over to the starboardside(3" diffrence). Between the outher hull and the inner hull there is compartment filled with foam. This compartment is filled with water.
I want to get rid of the water. Please help me.

The boat only makes 47 mph. The total weight of the boat is 3300 lbs. The engine is a 350 Magnum MPI.
I thougt this boat should make 50-55 mph.
I think I am driving around with extra load.

HELP

look around the hull in the engine compartment should be a little hole maybe 1" or along the stringers there might be a hole cut to let water flow. Might me a drain line PVC that runs from the front to the engine could be clogged and not letting the water out.

I have seen compartments like this (especially sub-floors) which don't have anywhere for the water to get out. I have drilled holes in them when needed.

If the foam is saturated it has to come out. There are not enough years in your life for that to dry. Start by doing a core sample and see the moisture content. There are also probes for this that are less intrusive. If it is soaked it has to go. You can live without it or replace it. Do this yourself as a Yard will soak you worse that the foam. It is not that bad and makes you very close to your boat when you have to open it up.:D

The foam, what sort of material is it? Whay is there foam? Do I need to replace it or could I skip it?

Watch out for bad advise before doing anything. I have had this very thing happen on my Dads SeaRay, confirmed it, and solved it. What happened on my dads was, the bars supporting the swimstep, and the screws mounting the trim tabs were not sealed when installed. I happened on it preparing to paint the bottom, and when I took out the screws from the transom, water pissed out for a day! It also took approx 2-3 months of hot weather to dry it out... DO NOT cut into the botton of a SeaRay, the foam is NOT replaceable, or accessable without ruining your boat for good. When this happens, patience, heat and ventilation is all that will solve it. I bet if you start to remove screws from the transom, one of them will begin pissing all over... then, you know for sure you are outa the water for a couple months minimum... My dads is fixed, screws sealed, and no more leaks... 5 years after repairs (or drying it out). This is a fuzzy photo of a SeaRay bottom construction to show you where the water gets in. Good luck, and be patient! Anybody who says it can't be dried, has never done it... I have ; )~

http://home.attbi.com/~fordhater/SRbottom2.jpg

I´m thinking of taking up a hole from inside of the boat (beside the engine, from obove) and try to remove some of the foam and then try to drie the rest of the foam.
When the rest of the foam is dry, fill up with new foam.

What do you think of this????

If they used a two part expanding foam, you'll never get it out.
I'd be looking into ways to drain and let it dry out. But first you have to find where it's coming in at.

There are some screwholes near the battery. There was a hole in the cover (right over the crewholes) when I bought the boat.
I think the water came in trough the screwholes.

The only place for water to enter where you say you have it is thru the hull someplace. Water from a hole by a battery in the boat IS NOT an option (it would have to be submerged) or as they say underwater...If this boat doesn't have any screws in the transom for a speedo pickup, tabs, swim step, or any of the other things you can put back there, I would be surprised. That is the most likely due to the depth of the screws going into the open space for the foam... And pull out of it dude... you ain't going to get any foam out, and you damn sure won't get any back in. The foam is solid, and installed during the moulding process between the floor and bottom of the boat. I thought the same thing until a guy @ SeaRay in Phoenix told me to quit dreamin... and of course, he was right. The Phoenix plant has closed, but contact another SeaRay plant and they will advise you on what, and how long it will take.

Where is the water? A diagram would be helpful. I am not disagreeing with Find Me (Thank you for the help on the IAC) but have had a bilge area on one boat that had a bulkhead anterior to the engine without a plug. Below the subfloor the compartment was completely filled with water. Most manufacturers have predicted this eventuality and made a way for the water to escape. Some have not. The cat I have now had bulkheads under the gunnels which would not let water pass. Deck cleats and other accessories can leak and allow water into various parts of the boat. Myself and the manufacturer cut small holes in the lowest portions of the bulkheads to allow the water to progress to the back portion of the boat as it should. These holes were then resin coated to seal the wood. I have replaced stringers, floors, and transoms. This is not rocket science. If a way for water to escape is made without affecting structural integrity, this is a good thing. The fact that there is foam in the compartment is good also. Foam will not soak up much water. Water destroys wood.

I have made a ruf sketch.
In the compartment 1 and 2, there is foam.
The one with moister is number 1.
Number 3 is open, the engine is monted there. Futher ahead there is the tank and vaterski-compartment.
There are no screws in the hull that goes into compartment 1 and 2. (so far I can see)

OK, problem solved, start a small fire in the compartment and it will dry quick:eek: I would start by making a weep hole to drain it.

You stated that the compartment is full of water...how do you know? I know you said it lists to the starbird and you think it is slow but is there another way you know? The key is to make a drain in the lower and aft most portion of the compartment. If the bulkhead you make a whole in is wood you want to coat the wood with resin after all the water comes out and it dries. You also want to make the hole a size you can use a regular marine type plug in so if there is some unkown severe leak into the compartment you can plug it and be atleast where you were before. They make small plugs. You do not have to make a hole as big as your transom drain plug. Don't worry about getting foam out . This would be a lost cause unless you want to totally open the compartment and redo it (If you were knowleadgable about this you never would have asked) Do not drill through the bottom :eek: Sometimes you will open a compartment like this and find the wood is pretty shot. Cheer up. It won't deteriorate as fast now that it won't be soaked in water 24 hrs a day! After you drill a hole, get the boat in a position to let it drain ie. lift the tongue and put the starbird wheel up on something. If there is foam or other things in the compartment you may need to slide something in and out of the whole to keep it from clogging as it drains. In a worst case scenario you would have a leaking hull which was getting water in the compartment along with totally rotten wood. You drill the hole and discover that when the boat is in the water it floods that compartment but you cant plug it real easy because the rot already ruined the wood. In this case use epoxy to buildup the area and make a plug hole. If it is this bad your whole boat is rotting away and you probably need to know that. Water trapped in compartments obliterates wood in pretty short order.

Thanks for all tips.
I will make some holes and try to dry it out.

I just replaced the floor in a 17 ft runabout that was otherwise like new (25hrs use) The boat sat without a cover, and the water eventually made its way into the foamed areas which were exactly as you described for your boat. I could hear it sloshing around!

The floor was rotten, so I changed it. The foam underneath was the expanding type foam (light tan in color). This foam had soaked water into the outer 1/4 inch or so wherever it was in water. I removed the foam which was very heavy due to the water, and will probably replace it with a pour-in product that West Marine sells. I installed 1 deck access plate on each side under the swim platform. These access plates have a screw-in plug about 4 inches in diameter. If I ever get water in those portions of the hull I will use a Shop-Vac to remove it.

In your case you could install these deck plates, and try to remove the foam in that area. To install, you need to drill a small pilot first, and use a piece of stiff wire or welding rod to probe for bulkheads under the deck. The deck plates require a 4-1/2 inch hole, so allow for the stringers also when locating the hole. The ideal place is near the stringers and the transom.

With that size hole, you should be able to fit your hand in to remove some foam. Then you can vacuum out the water, and possibly use a hair dryer to blow warm air into the cavity. Be careful and make sure no fuel is around when vacuuming, etc., and you could use a piece of pvc pipe to duct the warm air in.


Good luck!
Bulldog aka Ronnie