1989 Montauk 17: Water In Hull

[Trojo]

IMG_7487.JPG (50.03 KiB) Viewed 7646 times

IMG_7528.JPG (40.04 KiB) Viewed 7646 times

Hello All,

We just purchased a 1989 classic Montauk with almost all its original pieces. Also in the package was a galvanized trailer and BayStar Hydraulic Steering, but no power.

I signed up on this site a few weeks back and have been reading posts and articles about Classic Montauk boats. As many probably have experienced, this isn't the best thing for a relationship. She will get over it, currently she is used to bouncing around in my 16-foot Zodiac rigid hull, no space or comforts compared to the Montauk. (Or so I have sold her on it )

So, after all the reading I made the first big move. I just had a friend at the Coast Guard station weigh it with their crane and calibrated hook scale. I was pleasantly surprised, it came in at 1,128-lbs. I called Boston Whaler and spoke with a very nice fellow named Tom. He listed what is included in the 900 lbs. He also informed me that some hulls could weigh up to 40-lbs more due layup discrepancies. The 900-lbs includes: stainless railings, center console, seat, no fuel tank, all the electrical, steering, but no power.

At 112- lbs, without any attempt at drying, added weights are; Baystar Hydraulic steering, aluminum tow post 40-lbs, and a possible deviation of 30-lbs from the manufacturer. Add the seat back into the equation, 40-lbs. Without trying to drain or drying out the hull, my rough weight speculation goes like this;

900-lbs Stock
40-lbs for hydraulic steering and rams
40-lbs for the big Aluminum Tow Bar

Should weigh 980-lbs, but actually weighs 1121-lbs, or heavy by 141-lbs.

Tentative plan:

--strip hull of all fasteners, console and plumbing, remove drains (the old brass ones)

--drill, drain, and dry hull; let sit in garage for six months upside down

I hope to get the boat to less than 1,000-lbs by just doing the above.

Any links to projects and advice would be greatly appreciated.


Troy

IMG_7528.JPG (40.04 KiB) Viewed 7646 times

[Hoosier]

There are a whole bunch of people on this site that know a lot more than I do, but I had a1986 Montauk and I didn't worry about its weight. Your calculations say that she's 141-lbs heavy. At 7-lbs/gallon that's the equivalent of 20 gallons of gas, plus you don't have an engine, so when you do get one it may make the 141 lbs. insignificant. All that said, go ahead and turn her upside down, but make sure your drain holes are in the low spots and try it.

I put a Honda BF50 on [a MONTAUK] and with two aboard it would go low 30-MPH. A 70 would be ideal.

[Trojo]

I hope after some drilling and flipping over I can get the weight down some more. I have been happy with my Yamaha 50-HP four-stroke-cycle engine on my Zodiac. Going forward with this project I plan on using the [Yamaha F70] [which weighs less than] 250-lbs. Thanks for the feedback. A high cruise around 30-MPH is adequate for my needs.

[jimh]

You could leave the boat in the garage for 50-years and it won't lose much weight. I wouldn't worry about the hull weight. You are likely to cause more harm than good attacking the hull with a lot of drilled holes.

ASIDE: To Trojo--I deleted the second article and thread you posted which duplicated the first one. Please do not start two threads on the same topic in different forums.

[ratherwhalering]

It doesn't look like the hull has any bottom paint, so it has likely not spend any significant time in the water. Are the bronze thru-hulls corroded? Look at the rubber O-rings in particular. This is one of the the most common sources of water intrusion. Are there any breaches in the hull below the water line that would allow saturation? Another likely source. In my experience, "waterlogging" occurs when the interior fills with water because someone forgot to pull the drain plug, and there are unsealed holes in the interior. Is the boat is kept in wet storage for a significant amount of time? In both scenarios, water intrusion occurs in the stern area. If your transom is swiss cheese, plywood laminate often will absorb water, and may even rot, however it doesn't absorb a significant amount of water. I highly doubt there is an extra 17 gallons of water in your hull. Even if it did have this amount of saturation, water absorption does not compromise structural integrity unless it delaminates the foam from the fiberglass skin. My advice? Don't worry about it and seal everything up so it doesn't become a nuisance in the future.

[Jeff]

Don not drill any holes... The boat is just fine. You WILL NEVER be able to dry a hull out by drilling holes. Unless you want to wait decades. Even then, you will never got 100% of the moisture out. The only way to get it all out, is to cut out the foam...

There is not an old Whaler out there that does not have some moisture in the hull. It is no big deal.

So long as the hull floats at the appropriate level, just do the O-Rings and drain tubes and use the boat.