Foam core

I have decided I realy need to repair the delam in my hull. its on the deck forward of the pylon it is rather large most of the forward deck. I am also installing a deck port as some people had sugested to me from a earlier post. Now that i have cut the hole for the deck port and drilled all my holes for the delam repair I have a couple questions.

The foam is soaking wet and I am afraid would take for ever to dry out!!
Should I just wait forever before continuing or should I cut the top layer out and take the foam out and replace the foam then do a new layup of glass on top. standard glass repair. One problem I am finding is were do I get the foam from nobody seems to sell it locally ( portland oregon) or they dont know what I am talking about. One shop said you use the expanding foam but that is expensive and time consuming cause its not going to expand a perfect 1/4 inch across my deck.

any advise on were I could get solid foam or other thoughts ideas would be great. thanks

If you go the "wait until it dries" approach, there are a couple of things you can do to speed the process.

Hang a 100W lightbulb in the hole you just cut - but don't let it touch anything. The heat will accelerate the drying process. I don't recommend leaving this unattended for any length of time. You want to dry the boat, not set it on fire.

Open the drain plug and then mount a fan above the port hole. I've used an old kitchen exhaust fan removed from its housing, suspended in a section of 9" round duct. The point is to get air moving. Leave the hull in the sun when you're doing this so the heat helps.

Preserving the original laminate is the best way to go, but if you're determined to replace the core, you'll have a tough time buying less than a full sheet (4'x8') and less than 3/8" thick. What you really need is a scrap piece from a boat builder.

You're looking for a piece of 1/4" Airex foam sheet.

Do not remove the deck - this is one of the pieces that keeps your soft hull together at this point. Laminating your own deck is not that easy besides the fact that you would end up having a weak spot where the new laminate would meet the old deck. This splice would probably be in the area close to the front pylon - also probably the area where the hull encounters the most stress. Cosmetically I would expect a hand-laminated deck to be kind of hard on the eye too. I can not imagine how you would recreate the anti slip pattern...
If you are set on the foam removal idea (assuming that you might want to go sailing before the first iceberg warning in early August or when ever this is in Oregon) read a bit on this forum and the catsailer forum about the chemical ways of removing the foam. IIRC some people have used acetone to melt (not sure if this is the proper term) to remove the foam. Afterwards expanding foam is injected - while keeping the fingers crossed that the foam will bond with the inner and outer shell of the laminate while not creating hollow areas.

Thanks for the advise. I think I'll wait a bit and hope it dries out. I have fans going and lights on it and in the sun when its out.

I'm not interested in disolving the foam and injecting new foam I think that is just asking for trouble. Finding a foam sheet is becoming impossible with out ordering it and paying a fortune for shipping. The best I have been able to find is a sheet from a hobie shop. A new foam and glass layup isnt that difficult and I would taper the joints. Although the anti skid top would be gone I'd have a nice smooth deck. I'll let you know what happens.

Consider this. You can use part of your original idea of cutting off the outer layer. It has been suggested to me before to carefully cut the deck layer off clean things up and fair it back on. Of course this was in conjunction with installing new foam (cost prohibitive) but since you have expressed no fears of glass work maybe you could at least speed the drying process.

_________________
hobiejohn at earthlink dot net
Fleet 297

There is a repair process where you remove the foam, but the cosmetics are difficult. A place in San Diego used to do this.

Using a thin saw disk in a dremel you cut the deck panel all around where the delam is and remove the outer deck panel. Just the outer skin. Scrape the foam out, clean and lay up layers of glass in its place. Use a putty layer on top to bond the deck back on.

There is noting wrong with a solid glass deck, just heavy.

The cosmetics will be the bonding of the deck back on. How consistent and level would it be. Gel coat work to hide the cut all around the perimeter.

_________________
Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

I would definitely NOT recommend anything other than drying out your hulls as MBounds advised. Not because it is impossible to do it the other way, but because it is MUCH more involved than you probably think and almost impossible to do well for anybody but the very experienced.

If you want a quick fix, there is only one, and that is what Matt Miller has suggested - you pay the money to a professional and be back on the water sailing for August. Such a job could well be in the vicinity of $700.00 to $1000.00 (perhaps more) depending on how much of the existing glass and foam needs to be removed and replaced.

If you decide on the "let it dry" approach (highly recommended) it is my opinion that you will have a difficult time getting the boat dry enough and fixed in order to sail any time this season. The problem is, it doesn`t take long for the outer edges of the structure to dry, but the inner parts can stay moist for many months. In this way, many beginners and craftsmen alike begin the repair too soon; trapping moisture in the laminate until it eventually it wreaks havoc once again on the structure.

If you can, dry the boat appropriately and begin the standard "delamination fix" sometime during the winter or early next spring.


...Bad news to be sure. But, if the job is done improperly, the news later will be much worse.


Good luck,

Dave


P.S. Someone brought up the question about non-skid (gelcoat texture) repair... It is pretty much impossible to repair existing non-skid texture to any degree of cosmetic satisfaction. However, if the old non-skid is sanded down, new non-skid can be molded in-place using rubber molds specifically designed for that purpose (marine supply places may sell the molds). ...However, this can also be very difficult to do well. Poor gelcoat adhesion over existing (cured) gelcoat further adds to the difficulty and durability of the repair. Technically speaking, all existing gelcoat should be removed from the repair site in order to do this properly.

Hobie lore has it that the original non-skid mold was the head liner from a 57 Chevy.

_________________
Pat Bisesi
Fleet 204 Syracuse, NY

57 Chevy eh? I definitely prefer the "lore" of that.

Lore?... True.

_________________
Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)