CONTINUOUSWAVE

I recently bought a GUARDIAN 18--an old Navy boat. I have found a soft spot on the port aft of the removable deck panel.

Also, I have a feeling there is water between the hull and hull liner.

Q1: how can I check for ingress of water into a Boston Whaler Unibond hull foam?

Also, there is weeping at an anchor locker through-hull drain. That drain does not look like the original flared brass and O-ing drain.

The hull sounds solid when checked with a hammer

ASIDE: Here is a list of my plans for renovation:

• remove bottom paint and hull paint
• remove engine
• install new 140-HP engine
• remove center console
• create a new command bridge, mounting it far forward
• rip up center deck
• remove foam residue from fuel tank cavity (the tank was previously removed
• have a stainless steel fuel tank fabricated to fit fuel tank cavity
• change through hull drains

A few comments:

Drains:
It is recommended to pull all the through hull drains. Let them air out a few days. Test for water by inserting rolled paper towel and see if there is moisture.

Fuel tank:

The fuel tank fits in a gelcoated cavity.

The use of stainless steel for a fuel tank is not recommended as it is too brittle and has a propensity to crack. Aluminum is the recommended material.

Here is the measured drawing for the 63 gallon fuel tank.
http://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/18Outrage/Outrage18FuelTank.pdf

Take dozens of photos of the entire boat and in detail and post them to a site and drop a link into this thread so we can review what you have. Photos will be helpful for us to give you detailed advice.

Take time to review the Reference section of this site for information, repair techniques and details on the Outrage 18/Guardian.

https://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/18Outrage/
https://continuouswave.com/whaler/
https://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/

The search engine is very good for finding relavent discussions on many of the questions you have. Many have been where you are.

https://continuouswave.com/whaler/search.html

I totally agree with Phil about pulling all of the drain tubes and letting the hull air out as much as possible.

Also, if you are painting the hull; I highly recommend you save yourself the headache of installing brass tubes and replace them with fiberglass tubing instead. Fiberglass tubes are easy to install with epoxy, you do not have to rely on an "O" ring and sealant to prevent water from getting into your foam core, and will never corrode and have to be replaced. That is not the case with brass tubes.

Vance

PropWash56 wrote:I have found a soft spot on the port aft of the removable deck panel.

Weakness in the molded deck covering the fuel tank cavity on classic-era Boston Whaler hulls is a common defect. The remedy is to locate the rotted wood reinforcement and remove it. Typically one ends up removing all the wood and replacing it with all new wood or other reinforcement material. It is a major project. Read more at

https://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/centerDeckRepair.html

In the above article you will find a nicely narrated and illustrated article on the repair.

PropWash56 wrote:Q1: how can I check for ingress of water into a Boston Whaler Unibond hull foam?

Advice about intrusion of water into the interior of a Unibond hull (and many other topics) is provided in the FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS section.

https://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/FAQ/#Q3

I recommend you read the entire FAQ.

The FAQ also has advice on replacement of brass through-hull drains. See

https://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/FAQ/#Q12

Rather than attempt to use one thread to discuss all problems you encounter, please start a new thread for each problem for which you need advice. Threads that mix multiple topics become jumbled and difficult to follow; they don't work well for conveying useful information.

Thanks for giving readers a list of your plans. I hope you can realize those plans. It is always fun to sit back and make a list of things to be accomplished. Let us know when you get all that done.

If you want to discuss any of those projects in detail, start a new thread for each of the projects.

If you want to present your repair work for others to see, you will need to take many pictures of the work in progress that can be used to illustrate your methods and the outcome of your repair.

Good luck with your renovation plans.