[Public-list] Bilge & Self Leveling Foam

Mon May 3 11:04:37 PDT 2004

Bill,

I asked earlier about sand in the bilge but mine was at the forward end of
the bilge just aft of the ballast casting.  The portion aft of that in #148
looks like fiberglass, is flat and isn't cracked.

You mentioned "liquid foam."  I am looking for a self leveling foam I can
pour in the low spots of the cockpit lockers and the lazarette.  My thought
is to raise the floor of the lazarette so it is above the water line and I
can use it as a propane storage locker.  Self leveling foam would fill the
cavity and create a "mold" for the new fiberglass floor.  It has to be
lightweight and flexible though.  I have only found self leveling caulk
which, although flexible, is heavier than water. Does  anyone know of a foam
like the expanding insulating foam sold at hardware stores but is also self
leveling.

RE reglassing your bilge,  Gordon Laco gave me some good advice about not
"stiffening" parts of the hull with solid epoxy filler.  However, it seems
that the bottom of the keel is already so stiff that adding more epoxy would
be OK (any thoughts Gordon).   Have you thought about dropping some pre cut
matting and pouring epoxy on top.  I ask because, even with the engine out,
I can't reach the bottom of the bilge to save my life.  It still, however,
has become a long term tool and flashlight storage locker.  I have even
taken to leaving a sacrificial screwdriver to satisfy the bilge gods but
their appetite seems insatiable.

Roger Kingsland
Chief Financial Officer (AKA, check writer)
PERFECT intentions, A30 #148
N40°  29.288'
W79°  54.228'

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bill Blevins" <billblevins at mac.com>
To: "Alberg 30 Public List" <public-list at alberg30.org>
Sent: Sunday, May 02, 2004 7:31 AM
Subject: Re: [Public-list] Saturated Hull, Bilge Damage

> Now that most everyone is probably back on the e-mail list, can I ask my
> bilge floor question again?
>
> I remember from the past a thread about a black sand / silica mixture
under
> the floor of the bilge. It almost looks like uncured cement and is under a
> fiberglass resin "floor" in the bilge. Does anyone else remember that OR
has
> anyone else had their bilge floor crack and come loose?
>
> I have an old hull without the liner. Was that floor original or was it
> poured on top of the sand / silica mixture later? On the old hulls, do you
> have a fiberglass floor in your bilge?
>
> My solution at the moment is to let it dry, pour in liquid foam, level it
> off and re-glass the floor. The section is only about 12 inches long that
> came up and is directly under the engine. My concern is with the part of
the
> bilge that goes up under the cabin sole and battery compartments. I can
see
> it with a light and mirror and it's really dirty under there but the only
> way to get to it for a repair is to cut the floor out of the battery
> compartments under the cabin sole.
>
> Bill Blevins
> Sabrina #158
>
> --
>
>
>
> > From: Bill Blevins <billblevins at mac.com>
> > Reply-To: Alberg 30 Public List <public-list at alberg30.org>
> > Date: Tue, 20 Apr 2004 11:16:40 -0400
> > To: Alberg 30 Public List <public-list at alberg30.org>, Matthew Hay
> > <haymatthew_ at hotmail.com>
> > Subject: Re: [Public-list] Saturated Hull, Bilge Damage
> >
> > If what you say is correct, then there was a false floor poured at some
> > point over the black sand/silica mixture on Sabrina. The fiberglass
floor of
> > what was my "old" bilge was about 3 inches above the wood and was poured
> > over the sand mixture with a thickness of about a quarter-inch. I did
> > consider removing the engine.
> >
> > So, you used a bilge coat over the wooden beam and that was it? How far
> > forward of the engine compartment does the bilge go? Under the floor in
the
> > main cabin? The battery boxes in the floor drain below to some space.
Did
> > you deal with that in any way?
> >
> > Bill Blevins
> > "Sabrina" #158
> >
> > --
> >
> > On 4/20/04 10:39 AM, "Matthew Hay" <haymatthew_ at hotmail.com> wrote:
> >
> >
> >> Bill their is a lot of debris under your engine.  The sand is most
likely
> >> from the cockpit drains.  The piece of wood is in the bottom of your
bilge
> >> was to act as an anchor to screw bilge pumps too etc.  My hypothesis is
that
> >> so much sand ends up in the bottom of your bilge from the cockpit
drains,
> >> that over the years that wood piece is covered, and new anchoring
devices
> >> are used to mount pumps on top all of the sand.  I recommend removing
your
> >> engine in order to remove the sand, clean, and degrease, and paint,
your
> >> bilge.  I did the same thing to my bilge last month.  I had the engine
out
> >> and went down to the boat to paint the bilge.  After taking a closer
> >> examination I realized that what I thought was the bottom of the bilge
was
> >> in fact about a foot of sand/grease/oil/water in the bottom of the
bilge.  I
> >> used a large spoon and slowly scooped out all of the sand mixture as
well as
> >> a few 1960's style tools, numerous washers, some strange home made
device
> >> made out of copper tubing.  It is not easy to see the bottom of your
bilge.
> >> If I did not have the engine out I would not have been able to see the
> >> bottom.  I essentially had to crawl down into the bilge with my spoon
acting
> >> as an auger to see the bottom.  I felt like Clint Eastwood in escape
from
> >> Alcatraz.  How would you be able to notice a crack in your bilge with
the
> >> engine in place and sand filling the bottom of it?
> >> Furthermore, all of that sand mixture holds a lot of moisture.  That
could
> >> effect your moisture readings.  I have a drain hole in the bottom of my
keel
> >> that made this project much easier.  After I had  scooped out the bulk
of
> >> the the sand and engine parts etc. I used a hose with nozzle to flush
the
> >> remaining sand out the drain.  It also makes it easier to get the water
out
> >> in the fall and I just leave the plug out all winter.  I would really
be
> >> more concerned with water in my deck core.  Which you said is not very
bad.
> >> Good Lock,
> >> Matthew #314
> >>
> >
> >
> >
> > I'm in a situation... My hull is saturated! 30% plus over most of the
> > underwater area on a marine grade moisture meter. The topsides are in
the
> > dry range at 8%. Sabrina will be drying out for a while. Do any of you
have
> > experience with how long this might take? I'll take new reading next
week
> > and compare with my pencil marks all over the hull. Very sad. :(
> >
> > I've removed all of the gelcoat and finished sanding the hull this
weekend.
> > I found about 20 areas of blistering and delaminating, each about 3-5
inches
> > wide, through the first layer of matt, actually found more but they seem
to
> > be dry inside so I'm leaving them alone.
> >
> > Anyway...THE BIG PROBLEM I found Saturday was that the floor of the
bilge
> > had a big crack. When I was vacuuming out the little water that the pump
> > wouldn't get, I sucked up a piece of the fiberglass. Then it started!
The
> > sandy material below was soaked and I sucked out a 5 x 12" area down to
the
> > wooden plank below.
> >
> > What is the fix for that after it's dry? How do you ever know if you
have
> > cracks forward of the area under the engine? Do people ever cut out the
> > floor and battery boxes to repair? Do you think that's necessary?
> >
> > Bill Blevins
> > A30 Sabrina #158
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Public-list mailing list
> > Public-list at alberg30.org
> > http://alberg30.org/mailman/listinfo/public-list
>
> _______________________________________________
> Public-list mailing list
> Public-list at alberg30.org
> http://alberg30.org/mailman/listinfo/public-list
>
>

 1083607477.0