Water oozing question...

[Okie Boarder]

I was checking a few things out the other day and noticed some water oozing after being at the lake all day. I was working around the area about a foot behind the rear motor mount on the stringers. There is a bit of a crack in the fiberglass and a screw hole for one of the fuel hose clamp attachments. Sitting in the driveway after being at the lake, some water is oozing out right there. If I press on it the fiberglass it will flex a bit and water oozes out, plus it has some blackness to it. I'm sure the stingers under there are rotted to some degree, being that the boat is 20 years old. Here's some questions...

How concerned should I be?

Should I fill the crack or just let the water ooze out?

Is the water coming from water spilled on the floor making it's way through the foam areas and into the stringers?

Should I tear into a small section and see how bad it actually is?

I don't see any lateral cracks along the area where the fiberglass is formed around the stringers or any other areas of concern and around the engine mounts things are very solid.

[Salty87]

ouch, sorry to hear it okie. you've got saturated foam. the glass is delaminating from the wood.

the best thing to do would be to drill holes at the base of the stringers to let the water into the bilge but it will be nasty. and, you'll still have water in the foam. saturated foam never dries all the way.

you won't be able to fill the crack with that much moisture. the resin won't cure well and the water will find another way out. even if you fill it, the water is still there doing the nasty to your wood.

i doubt it's from people carrying water in but i guess it's possible. i wouldn't tear into it unless you're ready to kick its ass. there's nothing you can do as a quick fix. BUT...you'll be better off getting it sooner than later. it will only get worse, much worse.

if you want to get a better look you can open a hole in the floor under one of the seats. a section of pvc pipe with teeth cut into the end is very effective at pulling a plug of foam out. jam it in until you hit the hull, twist a few times and pull the plug out. this way you can see how wet the foam is. it won't tell you what shape your stringers are in though. it will tell you how bad the foam is. if the foam is dry you've got hope for a small project. if it's soaked, not so small.

to check your stringers, take a small drill bit and drill a few test holes. if you get nice wood on the drill bit, drink a cold one. if you get black gunk...drink em all.

[87SunSportMikeyD]

Where could it come from it is wasn't from people carrying it in, wet life jackets, etc? Lately I have been thinking the rear ski locker vents could be draining outside the bilge valley near the transom of the boat.

[csuggs]

I am told that the water ofter comes from the supertrapps not being properly maintained. Meaning that the high temp seal around the supertrapp flange gets old and dry, then leaks water under the floor where the foam soaks it up and spreads throughout the boat. I had the same problem on mine. Also the intelligent people at the factory installed hose clamps on the fuel line by drilling into the side of the stringer at the base, effectively compromising the stringer by allowing bilge water to seep into the stringer. Did they think that the fuel line was going somewhere? I removed the screws last fall and left them out - water trickled out all winter. Also I had water seeping [U]through[U] the bulkhead seperating the bow area from the bilge area (the angled piece just in front of the bilge. I noticed this when I would find water in the bilge, suck it out with a vacuum, and then find water there again the next day! After looking closely, I noticed water seeping through the fiberglass a drop at a time. This went on for weeks before I finally drilled a 2" diameter hole in the bulkhead to gain access with a ship vac and then plugged it with a test plug. I don't know how much water was there, but it was a lot! I still get some out, but it is minimal now, just draining out of the foam. . .

[Salty87]

damn, clint. you knocked that one out the park.

exhaust and platform bolts are the weakest links.

along with misc screws here and there in the stringers that were never sealed, the stringers are notched every 5' or so for the bulkheads. the top of the stringer is cut off the allow the bulkhead to fit flush. this makes 90 degree angles that need to be glassed...hard to do. voids are left behind giving water access to the wood. making things even worse, it was common practice to pump flotation foam into every square inch possible. so you've got voids in the fiberglass layup from a bad design, foam that clings to everything so that there's no drainage...just waiting for a source of water to get in there and never get out.

last one...at least with my boat...the holes that were drilled in the floor to pump the foam in weren't covered back up. when i dug the wet foam out, i found the plugs that were supposed to have been glassed back in place...on the bottom of the hull under the foam. friday afternoon boat maybe, maybe they were training people that day, i dunno. but it left 2" holes in the top of the floor for water to drain into a spot where it can't drain out. this water came from people, dogs, and cover leaks over the years.

[87SunSportMikeyD]

Thanks guys this really helps

[Okie Boarder]

Here's a few pictures of the inside where the crack is and outside where there is a crack in the gelcoat, with a couple chips. The guys on wb.com mentioned something about cracking on the outside, which is why I took those pictures.

In addition, here is an email response from the PO from me asking about when he replaced the floor the types of things he noticed and what they did. Thoughts?


We pulled up and replaced the floor because it was completely deteriorated – the only thing holding the plywood together was the carpet – when we pulled up the carpet – I had to vacuum up the plywood

The foam was also a bit deteriorated – but actually I was surprised that most of it was OK

The worst areas were right in front of the spotters seat – and directly to the rear of that because that is where wet people are always standing and sitting

When we put the new plywood down – before we glassed it – we drilled some holes and filled it with new foam in the deteriorated voids that we scraped out

No wetness or old in any areas.



The crack at the break on the rear chine has been there since the beginning – previous owner said that it was an air bubble in the gel coat that popped out one day

I filled it with silicone caulk

Has it gotten larger?

When you say – a couple chunks – it was always just about an 1 1/2 “x ¾” void – not really a crack



I have noticed a little separation where the exhaust disappear into the under floor area – but never any seepage – its pretty high up – that’s a lot of water to cause seepage up that high??

Send me a pic

I’d be more inclined to think that water in the bilge is sloshing around into the crack and seeping out – than water coming in from outside making its way through the foam and seeping.

But then again – I didn’t think there was any cracking at the shaft log either….



The white spray paint is some sort of fiberglass to wood bonding substance that my father in law was convinced we needed to spray everywhere before we glassed the new subfloor down

It is supposed to make sire the fiberglass doesn’t separate from the floor due to moisture – he got it all over the place



The stringers are soft on the edges – but still good wood in the center – most of the flex you are feeling is the fiberglass wrap separating from the wood stringer and allowing flex.

You can always cut a piece out and check it out in an easily accessible place – then just re-glass it if it checks out.
When the floor was up – my father in law drilled a bunch of test holes all over and checked it out with a probe – we had the same question – was it time

He then injected a ton of wood epoxy – you can see it seeping out around the engine mount bolts

We propped up the motor – drilled out those engine mount holes – there was still a ton of good dry wood in there – we then filled them with epoxy – then let them dry and re-drilled for the bolts



I’m not saying there is not rot – there might be – but remember – in California – everything dries out real good

When we had it apart – we were convinced that the stringers were still substantial