[Public-list] MY 1968 pre liner bilge

Tue May 4 06:22:54 PDT 2004

Hi Stephen -

When I was away doing M&C I conducted an experiment...my son and I cut off
the bottom of the boat's skeg (it was badly damaged anyway) and left the
boat upside down in the sun where it stayed the whole seven months. We taped
a primitive rain shield over the opening.  In the fall when I got home I
repaired the boat and launched it - it floated significantly higher and the
two of us could lift it, just like when I first bought it whereas we could
not do that when we put it away that year.

Anyway - although it is still heavy to tow it is a great boat for the kids
to learn to sail in - ours has a Sunfish rig; great fun.

Gord

> Gord,
> 
> We have the same dinghy and according to Boston Whaler it weights 150 lbs.
> This is the heaviest 150 lbs we ever lifted.
> 
> Stephen
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: public-list-bounces at alberg30.org
> [mailto:public-list-bounces at alberg30.org] On Behalf Of Gordon Laco
> Sent: Tuesday, May 04, 2004 8:17 AM
> To: Alberg 30 Public List -- open to all
> Subject: Re: [Public-list] MY 1968 pre liner bilge
> 
> 
> Hello Mike - 
> 
> I agree - I do not believe that there is any way to be sure that the foam
> will not eventually become saturated.
> 
> Gord #426 Surprise (whose dinghy is a Boston Whaler Squall - great boat but
> heavy...)
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>> Here's a personal experience I had with a foam-filled boat. You know
>> how they advertise Boston Whalers to be unsinkable because they are
>> foam filled? Remember seeing the ads where they cut a boat into thirds
>> and all the pieces still float? (I'm not sure why that attracts anyone
>> to buy the boat - I would never cut my boat into thirds!) What does
>> happen, I found out, was if water gets into the hull and foam the boat
>> becomes very, very heavy. Ah! But you say, the foam is closed-cell and
>> doesn't absorb water!! While this may be true intially, after a few
>> freeze-thaw cycles, I have found that the foam becomes absorbant and
>> acts like a huge sponge. I wrote to the Boston Whaler folks and they
>> sent me a complete set of printed instructions on how to fix the
>> problem (think this has ever happened to anyone else?). The
>> instructions started out by flipping my 17' Whaler over and cutting
>> out large sections of the hull so I could dig all of the water-laden
>> foam out...I sold the boat. They buyer was told that the foam had
>> become water logged and replied: "No problem, a lot of them have
>> that".
>> 
>> Just a word of caution from a personal experience.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Mike Lehman
>> "Gilleleje" #505
>> 
>> ~~~_/)_/) ~_/) ~~
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> ----Original Message Follows----
>> From: "Matthew Hay" <haymatthew_ at hotmail.com>
>> Reply-To: Alberg 30 Public List -- open to all
>> <public-list at alberg30.org>
>> To: public-list at alberg30.org
>> Subject: [Public-list] MY 1968 pre liner bilge
>> Date: Tue, 04 May 2004 00:08:54 -0400
>> 
>> Bill,
>> When I had my engine out in my 1968 pre liner bilge i also had about a
>> foot of silica type sand stuff in the bottom of the bilge in the V
>> shaped section.  I did not have any sort of covering of fiberglass or
>> any material over the sand.  I just had smelly oily sand.  Perhaps in
>> an attempt to seal off the oily bilge smell or some other reason?
>> someone poured a new floor over the sandy stuff??  In my 1968 boat the
>> bilge under the engine and the small bilges under the cabin sole are
>> not connected.  They are sealed of with a wooded wall between the
>> engine bilge and the smaller bilges.  With a drain hole cut so any
>> water in the forward bilge (or sand) is washed back into the maine
>> engine bilge. Why would you want to fill your bilge up with expanding
>> foam?  In my experience expanding foam in an out doors type
>> application when left on its own and not protected from water etc.
>> turns dark orangeish brown and starts to deteriorate.  Perhaps you should
> just wait until you can take your engine
>> out sometime and then just clean out your bilge.   I would rather clean
> sand
>> out of a bilge then expanding foam.  Also think of your re-sale value
>> and trying to explain to someone that you filled the bilge with
>> expanding foam. The floor over the sand does not make any sense to me.
>> I do not believe the sand to be functional since I found tools and
>> bolts way down at the bottom of the bilge under all the sand.  Meaning
>> that it collected somehow over time.  Your bilge is basically just the
>> entire inside of your keel which is very solid fiberglass.  Maybe the
>> missing section of the false floor is not really an issue? I hope this
>> helps some, Matthew #314 1968  "Renard"
>> 
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