1986 15-footer: Hull Damage; Wet Foam

[qxamk]

A 1986 15-foot Boston Whaler boat with a 60HP Johnson two-stroke was purchased from a fellow military member. I mostly took his word for the condition of the boat. I initially inspected the boat on a trailer and then sea tested it. It runs and handles great.

Today I took the 1985 15-foot Boston Whaler boat out of the water to apply bottom paint, and I noticed that there is a rather large, 18-inch area of old damage on the keel of the hull with delamination, a hole, and clearly wet foam above. I didn't pay much for the boat, and I would like to get it back in the water. From reading this forum, it looks like drying the foam and applying a fiberglass patch could take months. Is there another way to patch the hole so that it may not be perfect, but it would protect the boat from any more water entering? Thanks in advance for your advice. Dave.

[Oldslowandugly]

While there are products that can be applied and cure underwater- why would you? Do the repair the right way and then you have the peace of mind it won't come back to haunt you. Open up the area, remove damaged material, and dry the foam. A hand-held hair dryer can even speed things up. But take care to get as much or all moisture out. Fiberglass is great stuff but it doesn't like moisture. Worse, if you trap a decent amount of water, and it drains down and collects, it can freeze and ruin the repair.

[jimh]

Damage to a hull below the waterline is bad, and even more so if the damage is on a running surface where water pressure when underway will try to force water into the hull's interior.

A proper repair should be made as soon as possible to prevent further intrusion of water. Water gets in much more easily than you can get it out.

[qxamk]

Thanks for the advice. I am going to have it repaired professionally and put it back in the water.