posted 06-19-2012 11:29 AM ET (US)        

I'm Michael, 32, and I'm living in the South of France. My two very nice brothers gave me a few weeks ago the BOSTON WHALER 16' SL they bought in the early 2000's. We use to fish a lot with this boat, and had great time with this. Unfortunately, for the last 3-4 years, the boat has nearly been abandonned for professional reasons. It spent more than 2 years in the hardbour, unprotected from weather and storms. Then it spent a bit more than one year in a dry dock, under cover.

The whole boat needs to be refurbished. The 2-stroke 90HP Yamaha from 1998 is dead (lower cylinder scracthed), the deck gelcoat is full of cracks, the stainless steel equipments are rusty, etc. But the worst point is : the hull foam ins impregnated with water, and the is some blistering in the lower parts of the hull.

My project : fully renovate the boat and give her a second life. My objective is to post on the forum my regular progress, to show you what I'm doing and especially to ask questions, and receive recommendations.

I'm not expert at all in boat renovation, but I learn fast and I'm motivated ;-).

posted 06-19-2012 11:33 AM ET (US)            

Here are some pictures of the boat:

posted 06-19-2012 04:38 PM ET (US)            

For my project, any good advice is Welcome. I don't really known what to do with the hull to do the right things. Shall I peel off all the gelcoat? Shall I pell it off only where I have blistering?

I'll put the boat for the week end in a dry dock / worskhop to have a full access to the hull and investigate for any issues. I'll keep you posted...

Cheers,

posted 06-19-2012 06:54 PM ET (US)            

There's a lot of information available on the internet on blister repairs, do a search prior to any repairs and remove as little material as possible. Usually each blister is ground down to good fiberglass then filled.

posted 06-20-2012 01:11 AM ET (US)            

For my project, any good advice is Welcome. I don't really known what to do with the hull to do the right things. Shall I peel off all the gelcoat? Shall I pell it off only where I have blistering?

I'll put the boat for the week end in a dry dock / worskhop to have a full access to the hull and investigate for any issues. I'll keep you posted...

Cheers,

posted 06-20-2012 03:48 AM ET (US)            

I don't know why my previous message appears twice, at two different times ? Anyway, you are right, there are many information available on the web, and especially on continuouswave.com. I've already searched and found many information concerning blisters repair, but I just want to be sure to perform the right thing. Some say that the whole gel coat of the hull shall be removed, others say that the gel coat shall just be removed where there are blisters. I think I will choose the last option, that seems more consistent and allows to leave maximum original material on the hull.

I'll let you know what I find tomorrow when I work on the hull in the dock ...

Cheers,

posted 06-22-2012 05:02 AM ET (US)            

Yesteraday the boat went on a dry dock and I worked all day long on the hull, grinding the old coating and the blister bubble. The bubble is now quite clean:

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/ 8hL8G8c16oNhk6SS7IUs7oik1eWrqVj2PRSyt4dKesU?feat=directlink

However, I confirm that the foam between the deck and the hull is really really impregnated of water, and I don't like it. I'm afraid that it may take years to be totally dry.

In order to accelerate the drying process, I want to make 2 to 4 openings on the upper deck, of approx 6-inch diameter. It will allow to ventilate the hull and the foam, and I will obturate these openings with adequate sealed taps :

http://img.nauticexpo.fr/images_ne/photo-m2/ trappes-de-visite-etanches-pour-bateau-258573.jpg

Good or bad idea ? I suppose good, but may I miss something important ?

In addition, I've seen that the foam between the fuel tank and the hull is also wet, I've started to remove it as shown in the reference article of continuous wave, and I've found lots of water in that cavity. Tomorrow I will continue this process in order to remove completely the tank. The large blister I have on the hull is just below the thank and I'm pretty sure that there is a relation between these two issues. On top of that, as you can see on that picture the deck below the tank and just above the blister is really dark, and wet. I might also make an opening below the tank, that I will obturate later:

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/ 8QF7KpNMyjXbmEpYQ3zhj4ik1eWrqVj2PRSyt4dKesU?feat=directlink

Any advice is welcome ...

All pictures are still in the same galery:

https://picasaweb.google.com/mikagobin/ BOSTONWHALER?authkey=Gv1sRgCIKckdHZ4KjTbw#

posted 07-04-2012 04:10 AM ET (US)            

Here are some new pictures. Work in progress ... I removed the fuel tank and found approx. half a gallon of mixed fuel and water in the tabk cavity. It was a good idea to remove the tank. I also found a massive hole in the tank, nearly as large as the hand:

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/ KmQbZ6FcEb3IIJHt5wEfZ4ik1eWrqVj2PRSyt4dKesU?feat=directlink

I made some cuts in the tank cavity to dry the foam below, but also to access to the blister bubble on the hull:

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/ ZbDW8DoAW0ptAJTIY0QWuoik1eWrqVj2PRSyt4dKesU?feat=directlink

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/ umWyB5L0SknBZBARe40lK4ik1eWrqVj2PRSyt4dKesU?feat=directlink

Then I drill a circular hole in the deck, below the portside console, to install a tap that I can open when I want to ventilate the hull. Foam was pretty wet and damaged below:

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/ Ug-9nmKTy7kssCKbaIdyooik1eWrqVj2PRSyt4dKesU?feat=directlink

posted 07-05-2012 11:18 AM ET (US)            

Concerning your tank, a fast and simple method to see if there is water below, is to remove some foam on one side and to check if it's wet or not. If it is, you'll have probably to remove all the foam and remove your tank to check its integrity. If the foam is dry, just refill the hole with regular expansive foam that should work fine for a small volume.

Cheers,

posted 07-05-2012 03:21 PM ET (US)            

[Where are you in France, I am in Nice at the moment. (For vacation]

C'est un projet.

[That's a project.]

Je vous suggère de sceller les trous grande cavité et ne pas utiliser les couvertures, car ils seront éventuelle fuite.

[I suggest you seal the large holes in the cavity, and not use the covers, as they will leak.]

Et comment comptez-vous sur la finition du bateau, le gelcoat ou de la peinture marine? Parce que ce sera de couvrir tous les trous. Si vous allez faire vous-même, quitter le gelcoat; et utiliser de la peinture marine.

posted 07-06-2012 03:01 AM ET (US)            

I'm between Marseille and Toulon, not that far from Nice. Approx. 100 miles towards west, on the coast.

Concerning the covers, yes I understand your point. However, I've placed this wide opening right below the left console, that I will seal too to the deck. So it's not expected to see so much water here. And i've chosen the covers with a good o-ring to have a good sealing. I think I will try this first, and if I see that it leaks, I will properly seal the hole.

For the finishing, I'll try to avoid to use marine paint. Well, for the hull below water line, yes, I will put primer + epoxy coating for blister / osmosis protection + paint or antifouling. But for the deck and for the hull above water line, I will make local gelcoat touch-up and a full polishing. I really whish to avoid painting the gelcoat.

If you come close to marseille, don't hesitate to contact me by email to have a beer and see the boat ;-).

Cheers,

Michael.

posted 07-06-2012 03:04 AM ET (US)            

quote:

---

I assume my tank foam has some water in it, but since it's a relatively small amount of foam the weight penalty probably isn't too bad. I have a Racor water filter and am not seeing any water or sediment at the bottom of the bowl, so that's why I'm letting sleeping tanks lie.
John K.

---

Hi John,

In my opinion, the major issue in having water in the fuel tank cavity, is not the weight increase but the stagnation of water that could lead to big damage to the tank, due to corrosion. Look at my tank, it had large holes letting water going into the tank and fuel out in the foam. And in both cases, this is not good at all ...

posted 07-09-2012 05:29 AM ET (US)            

Cheers,