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Author Topic:   Extract More Water from Whaler Foam

btb posted 01-24-2007 08:49 AM ET (US)
While making some repairs to my thru-hull drains I decided to follow a suggestion elsewhere in this site to see if I had water in my hull, so I drilled a couple of 1/4" holes into my hull on the keel line. One of them dripped some water for a few days, then stopped. The other didn't drip at all.
When I came to prep the holes for filling, I noticed they were still damp: I stuffed a twisted-up end of a paper towel into the hole to see if I could wick out this last bit of moisture and Bingo - sure enough, water gradualy soaked into the paper towel, ran down the part of the towel dangling under the hull under the force of gravity, and dripped off the end. Both holes dripped like this for at least a week. I didn't measure how much additional water was extracted, but it must have been quite a bit. Now the foam is dry, ready for filling.
I guess what happens here is that the paper towel (or other porous material) provides an avenue for capilliary action to transport the water out of the foam, whereas just a hole allows surface tension to act as a barrier...
I repeated this trick in the 1" diam. hole where the thru-hull drain goes, running a fan on the bunched-up paper towel to add evaporative drying to the process and it only took a couple of days before all was perfectly dry.
jimh posted 01-27-2007 12:22 PM ET (US)
Thanks for this excellent advice. There is always a little water in the hull every boat, Boston Whaler or not.

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Author	Topic: Extract More Water from Whaler Foam
btb	posted 01-24-2007 08:49 AM ET (US) While making some repairs to my thru-hull drains I decided to follow a suggestion elsewhere in this site to see if I had water in my hull, so I drilled a couple of 1/4" holes into my hull on the keel line. One of them dripped some water for a few days, then stopped. The other didn't drip at all. When I came to prep the holes for filling, I noticed they were still damp: I stuffed a twisted-up end of a paper towel into the hole to see if I could wick out this last bit of moisture and Bingo - sure enough, water gradualy soaked into the paper towel, ran down the part of the towel dangling under the hull under the force of gravity, and dripped off the end. Both holes dripped like this for at least a week. I didn't measure how much additional water was extracted, but it must have been quite a bit. Now the foam is dry, ready for filling. I guess what happens here is that the paper towel (or other porous material) provides an avenue for capilliary action to transport the water out of the foam, whereas just a hole allows surface tension to act as a barrier... I repeated this trick in the 1" diam. hole where the thru-hull drain goes, running a fan on the bunched-up paper towel to add evaporative drying to the process and it only took a couple of days before all was perfectly dry.
jimh	posted 01-27-2007 12:22 PM ET (US) Thanks for this excellent advice. There is always a little water in the hull every boat, Boston Whaler or not.