Another Jet Ski John Boat (New pics and video 01-18-2012)

[PSG-1]

Taking out the center strake will definitely help with getting rid of some cavitation.

I know what you're saying about the motor mounting bolts being through-bolted with a nut on the bottom side. You might be able to see from the pictures that when I did the mount rails for the original aluma-jet, we used carriage bolts, that went from the underside of the rail, and the nuts were secured to the top side. Only one problem. Once I welded those rails in place, I had no way of being able to replace a carriage bolt if it corroded, or sheared.....thank God that never happened.

So, on the HO engine, I simply drilled and tapped into the mount rails for the mount bolts, actually I added pieces of 1/2" thick aluminum on the inside of the square tube (doing a plug weld at either end of the thick piece to secure it in place.) I had some concerns about them holding, or possibly stripping out, so, I used red locktite, and I was very careful not to over-torque the bolts when I installed the mounts (I have a REALLY bad habit of shearing bolts, getting haywire with over-torquing) Anyhow, so far so good, all 8 of the bolts (2 at each mount) are holding securely.

As far as your cables.....if it turns out that factory cables won't be long enough, don't worry about it too much. For your steering cable, you can use a Teleflex cc633 series cable, it has the 10-32 threaded ends, much like the factory. However, I believe in doing things with overkill, so I opted for the cc694 series (later changed to cc640 designation) which has 5/16x24 threaded ends. Of course, if you go with the larger cable, you will have to drill and tap the ball joint fittings for 5/16x24 threads....not too difficult if the ball ends are made of bronze, but if they are stainless, you have to be very slow and cautious about it, or you WILL break a tap.

Throttle cable isn't too hard to make, either. Some conduit for motorcycle control cable, and some 1/16 stainless cable will do it. Then you just need a few fittings, and a way of securing each end of the cable so that the conduit remains stationary, so the cable is the only thing moving back and forth. And of course, you need barrel nut fittings for the ends. You can buy them already made.

Let me know if you run into any problems with your cables, I can save you a lot of the headache that I went through the first time around.



And as far as the gas tank being in the front, that shouldn't be an issue, as long as the pickup tube reaches the bottom of the tank, and you don't run it too low on fuel. If it's possible, get a tank with baffles, or if you are building your own tank, install a baffle (something I should have done)

Heck, with my boat, I'm actually making gas run uphill from one tank to the other!! Now, that's a trick. Since the HO engine uses a fuel pump that goes down into the fuel tank, the pump is on the port side tank, which is mounted further forward than the starboard tank.

So, how do I get the fuel from the starboard tank, to the port tank? With an equalizer hose. At the bottom front of each tank, I have a welded 1/4" NPT female aluminum fitting, with a barb elbow screwed in place, and a 1/4" hose that runs from the starboard tank to the port tank.

Initially, I was having problems with the port tank running empty while the starboard tank was staying full. I fixed that by using a set of check valves on the fuel vent lines. On the starboard tank, the check valve is oriented for air to flow towards the tank, so it draws in on this side. On the port tank, the check valve is oriented away from the tank. So, what happens is when the fuel expands in the starboard tank, it pushes towards the port tank, filling it as it's drained. Now, the starboard tank will run dry while the port tank stays full. Ideally, I wanted both tanks to always have the same level in them, but as long as the fuel is making its way to the port tank where the fuel pump is located, it works well enough.

Having said that, you do need to install a check valve on your tank, to allow air in, but not out. If you notice on most jet skis, when you open the fuel cap, there is internal pressure. This internal pressure is what helps keep the fuel flowing to the system. Without it, you're going to be relying on gravity to feed fuel through the system, this can cause lean conditions at high speed, causing engine damage.

Anyhow, keep 'er going, and keep us posted!

 

[Ride_Klein]

PSG-

What kind of fuel useage did you have with your 2stroke motor? The seadoo manual says my 787 motor uses 9.8 gph at full throttle. Top speed of the ski was 58 mph. In theory the ski should have right at 50 miles range with a full tank if you ran it wide open the entire time. I'm trying to gauge how the increased wet area of this boat will effect my usage.

I'd like to use the stock 9 gallon tank from the ski because I have it all ready and the pickup that fits this tank has all the routing for the vent, "reserve", and return line from the carbs. I'll expect to carry an extra 5 gallon tank to make sure we have enough range for long days scouting.

 

[PSG-1]

I never broke it down and figured out an exact MPG for that 2 stroke Tigershark, but I know with 22 gallons of fuel, I could run about 50-60 miles before having to fill it back up. On average, I was getting about 2-3 trips out here in the inlet, riding around, fishing, etc. The top speed of the jet ski it came out of was a little over 50 MPH, when it went into the boat, I was getting about 38 MPH for the top end.

With the HO engine, I'm getting 4-5 trips out here before having to fill up, so, I've cut my consumption a good bit. And the specs on that HO engine say that its max fuel consumption is about 10 GPH....I'm actually burning about 3-4 gallons per hour, and that's hauling myself, and 1-2 other people on board.


It's hard for me to guess-timate what your MPG will be with your boat. It's going to depend on several factors, such as impeller pitch, total weight of your boat vs. the weight of the jet ski (engine load) amount of hull in contact with the water, amount of additional weight on board, how many RPMS's you are turning for your average cruising speed, straight-line running versus windy, curvy waterways (you will eat a LOT more fuel if you're making a lot of turns) I'm going to err on the side of conservative here, and say you SHOULD be able to get at least 35-40 miles of cruise range from your existing tank. but the only way to know is once you have it running, to use your GPS, and monitor how much fuel you are using. And always remember the 1/3 rule. 1/3 of your fuel to get where you're going, 1/3 to return, and 1/3 for reserve. If you follow this rule, you should never run out of fuel.

As far as your spare tank, you should consider getting an aftermarket fuel selector valve, with 3 positions. One for "on" one for "reserve" and the third one, you can thread in a male quick connect fitting for an OBM fuel tank, such as a merc or an OMC. Then, you can carry your spare fuel in a regular plastic boat tank, hook it to your fuel valve and it's just a simple matter of clicking the valve over to that position. This is how I had it set up on my boat when I had the 2 stroke engine.

But, as the 4 stroke uses a seperate electric fuel pump that delivers fuel at 45 PSI.....instead of the typical Mikuni diaphragm pump, powered by an impulse hose like the 2 strokes use......you can see why that concept would not work with this engine. The spare tank would have to have its own fuel pump (and those are about 400 dollars) So, if I want to carry extra fuel now, it will have to be in regular cans that I can pour into the onboard fuel tanks to top them off.

 

[Ride_Klein]

Ran into a few issues with the carburetors that needed to be sorted out. I hope I have them fixed. The engine would always start easily, but when you gave it throttle it would bog down and die. After working on it tonight it starts easily and throttles up easily I just need to get her on the water to see how it reacts to sustained throttle, then test and tune.

I got the wear ring on the pump replaced and the pump completely installed on the back end of the boat. I was able to diagnose a short in the trim system and got it working as well. A little note to anybody working on seadoos and the VTS system. REPLACE THE VTS BOOT BEFORE YOU INSTALL THE PUMP. Whewww... I feel better now. My fingers are still cramped from that exercise in futility. The boat is shoved into the garage so it was hard to get a good picture of the back end all buttoned up, but I'll get one soon.

Tonight I also got the exhaust installed and worked on mocking up a stick steering setup to see how I like it instead of using a steering wheel.


Steering Mockup.


I'm using a simple piece of 1" EMT for mockup. It is mounted to the gunwale with a single stainless screw to provide the pivot. The bottom has a piece of 3/4" EMT slid into the end. This 3/4" EMT "rides" in a groove created by a piece of left over 1X6 aluminum box. Slides pretty easily and gives me full range of steering in about a 1' arc at the top.

I'm interested to see how the stick steering works for me. I want to be able to drive the boat while seated and standing so the lever has to be fairly long. I still need to cut it down some from the length in the picture. I expect to cut it just a few inches longer than where the throttle is temporarily mounted currently. If I like how it feels, I'll slide the throttle lever onto the steering mechanism to clean up the looks. This should allow me to control the throttle with a single finger and still keep a good grip on the lever for steering. We'll see if this provides the kind of responsive steering I'm looking for.

All I've got left before the test ride is an final install on the fuel system (I've been using a temporary setup until this point) and add some length to the existing wiring harness to clean things up.

 

[PSG-1]

Yeah, that stick steering should work. Just make sure you have your attachment point secure to the hull when it's all done.

 

[Ride_Klein]

It was a mostly productive Thanksgiving break. I hope everybody on tinboats had a great one and you were all able to spend it with family, friends, and/or loved ones.

Put the boat in the water for the first time on Friday. Still a lot of finish out to do on the interior, but mechanically she was ready for a float. Tows well, the trailer needs to be dressed up, but seems to be in good mechanical order.

Pardon the tire on the curb. It is tight on our street and didn't want to be any more in the way than I all ready was.


The lake is way down, but thanks to a long trailer tongue and a very light boat I was able to get it launched.


Christened her with a bottle of Texas' finest.


Rolled her on back and then jumped in the boat to see water pouring in. Not just a small leak, but pouring in. The area between the rideplate and the fiberglass jetski hull is not sealed at all. I hadn't accounted for that when sealing everything up. Pulled the boat back up the ramp to assess the situation. I had a tube of 5200 just incase a leak popped up, but with the jet pump installed there was no good way of getting to the leak. Fortunately for me, my wife keeps a healthy supply of baby wipes in the back of all family vehicle. I stuffed about 25 of them between the jet pump housing and the fiberglass hull. This was enough to slow the leak to a manageable trickle. So I fired her up.

Boat started easily. Idled well for the first time being in the water. I shoved off and idled out of the No Wake zone to test her legs out. WOW. Jumped on plane pretty easily and rode nicely around 20 mph in the small windblown chop on the lake. The mocked up stick steering worked fairly smoothly and she maneuvered well. Time for a little more throttle.

The boat pulls very hard when it can stay hooked up. Anything under 25 mph is pretty good, over that and cavitation rears its ugly head. Hard to keep the pump hooked up especially with the chop on the lake. I found some clean water, worked the throttle a little bit, and moved up towards the bow as much as I could and it helped the cavitation a lot. Was able to hit 51 on the gps, but it was cavitating very bad. I was still a very happy man. With a huge smile on my face, I motored back to the ramp to pick up my son/shop foreman and we went for a little ride.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqGPue4BqCs

Sorry about the bad video quality. I'm not much of a videographer. We both enjoyed the put around the lake, and then decided it was time to put her back on the trailer before the continuing leak caused any troubles. One think I completely forgot to do was mess with the pump nozzle trim. It was set pretty neutral, and I'm wondering if trimming the bow down would help with my cavitation.

Need to move some weight forward on the boat and get to finishing out the deck and storage. I should add another 100lbs to the boat in decking, support, etc. I'm hoping that moving the battery and fuel up front and a little more weight in the boat will get the cavitation under control. I also want to do a little body work leading up to the tunnel intake to ensure smooth water flow.

Thanks again for all the help.

 

[PSG-1]

Nice work. As for the cavitation in chop, try a top-loader intake grate, that should help.

And as far as a sealant for the pump, I wouldn't use 5200, unless you plan on using some C-4 or dynamite if you ever have to take it loose. Seriously, I'm not kidding.

They make something called "Anti-Bond 2015" for removal of 5200, but it only works on EXPOSED surfaces. In a seam, you have to separate the parts in order to get the Anti-Bond in there, and you can't get it to separate to do that, because the bond is so powerful. You'll be very lucky if you don't destroy what you are trying to take apart, if it has been put together with 5200. Save that stuff for PERMANENT uses, never use it for anything that you may have to take apart at some point.

A better sealant which is gas and oil resistant, but not permanent like 5200, is Permatex RTV Ultra Black. This is what I used on my pump, and it's what PWC mechanics use when they install pumps on jet skis. If you ever need to remove it, use Permatex gasket and sealant remover in the spray can. Spray it on the RTV, and it will break it down and make it much easier to remove.

 

[Ride_Klein]

I definitely hear you on the permanent nature of 5200. Made that mistake a few boats ago on a part that only needed to be sealed instead of permanently bonded.

The leak isn't around the pump housing, it is between the rideplate and the fiberglass ski hull. That part is allready 5200'd into the hull for better or worse. The little bit more I need to use won't be much in the grand scheme of things.

Appreciate the suggestion of the toploader grate. This may be the suggestion I use, but I don't have any experience with them. Looks like they would be weed magnets in the real world? Is this the case? We don't run a lot of weedy water, but would hate to increase my chances of clogging things up. I wonder if majkowskid's project was cured with the top loader grate? I welcome any suggestions or experience from anybody that's used one on boat or ski.

Hoping I can smooth the area in front of the pump with some bondo, and try a few spoon designs with some foam to see if they help load the pump up better. Hopefully a combination of weight forward, smoothed intake, adjusting the pump trim, and possibly a spoon will help my cavitation issue.

 

[PSG-1]

Yes, toploader grates can be weed magnets, as they have not one, but two 'blades' that scoop water (and everything else) into the pump. Also, instead of having 4 or even 5 tines like a regular grate, it's only 2 thick tines, which support the 2 blades that scoop the water in. The front blade is angled more steeply, to load the water to the top radius of the impeller duct, while the rear blade is less steep, which feeds the water into the remainder of the pump in the conventional manner.

I had cavitation with my boat, and a toploader grate DID fix the problem. However, I had too many issues with ingesting weeds and fouling my pump, so I had to decide whether I wanted to eliminate cavitation, or eliminate fouling my impeller. In the end, I went back to a conventional grate, which was modified to hinge on the front end, and is attached on the rear with a push-pull cable, for an easy method of clearing weeds. Sea-Doo uses a similar design on their speeedster jetboats, and that's basically what I used as a blueprint for mine. In fact, I even used a few Sea-Doo parts to do it.

 

[Ride_Klein]

Got the pump removed tonight so I could seal the area I think was leaking so badly. While pulling it I wonder if I didn't also find a reason for the cavitation. The top of the area where the pump housing seals up against the pump shoe appears to not have sealed. I can't say for sure, but hopefully a more liberal coat of silicone will help if that was a problem. More on the cavitation later.

Onto the leak.

This picture shows the area where the rideplate (black) meets up with the fiberglass hull. This wasn't sealed before so I added the bead of 5200. There was a lot of debris in there so I blew it out with compressed air then used qtips and carb cleaner to try and remove any residual oil.

Back to the cavitation.


You can see the small lip at the leading edge of the intake tunnel where the fiberglass tunnel meets the aluminum hull. I'm going to try and smooth this area out between the aluminum hull and the inset area where the intake grate mounts to the tunnel. Toying with using Bondo-glass to smooth the area out

https://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/show_product.do?pid=6102

I've read good things about it, but wondered if anybody on tinboats had first hand experience with it?

 

[PSG-1]

That step between the boat hull and the pump is definitely enough to cause an air pocket, and some cavitation to go along with it.

Bondo-glass is a drastic step above regular Bondo, for sure. Because it has the 'hair' in it, that makes it more rigid, less susceptible to cracking like regular bondo. I think it's definitely worth a try, at least. If you can fill that void, I think you'll eliminate a good bit of your cavitation.


My girlfriend's brother used Bondo-glass on the bottom of his aluminum boat, where he had some leaks from corrosion, and being pulled up on oyster beds. So far, so good. I've always heard that you can't put fiberglass on the bottom of an aluminum boat, and that's probably true, to some extent, like if you try to do it with a sheet of cloth, that will most certainly de-laminate. But chopped glass is a different story, especially in small areas.

You definitely want to prep the area as much as possible, sand it with some coarse paper to give it a good surface to bond to, and wipe it down with MEK or acetone right before you do the glass work, to remove any dust, grease, or grime.




On that note, I just discovered this morning that my 16 foot Triton has some issues with electrolysis, the first 3 feet of the center strake has some deep pitting, despite having zincs on the boat, and a coat of bottom paint. (I guess when you leave a boat in saltwater for 300+ days out of the year, there's really nothing that will stop electrolysis)

I thought about doing the Bondo-glass to repair it, but someone told me there's a ceramic coating that can be applied, which is even stronger than Bondo-glass, so, I'm going to try that.


Anyhow, keep us posted on the progress with your boat. Project boats like this are always a matter of trial and error, and testing and improving existing designs. It takes a little time to get bugs worked out. Stick with it, though, don't give up!

 

[Ride_Klein]

Small bits of progress each night. Really looking forward to working on the interior where signs of progress come more quickly.

Worked on smoothing the pump tunnel tonight. Bought a 1 quart container of the bondo-glass. I was fairly impressed by the stuff. Mixes up easily, has about a 10 minute work time, and is ready to be sanded in 30 minutes after mixing. I would compare it to Marine-tex from a workability standpoint. The leftover pieces from each batch were very difficult to break. Far more so than regular bondo, Marine-tex, and even fiberglass resin. Definitely hard, but the fibers seemed to add a bit of flexibility that kept it from cracking or shattering.

Prepped the area by wire wheeling off the paint from the aluminum then sanded both the aluminum and the fiberglass pump shoe with some 80 grit to give the bondo-glass something to hold onto. Blew the area off with compressed air then wiped with mineral spirits to remove any residual grease, dust, etc.


I did two coats of the bondo-glass. Pitting wasn't as bad as other filler products and it sanded very easily. Sorry about the pictures, but the boat is still on the trailer so I was working and photographing on my back. Faired the area out about 8 inches in front of the tunnel, but focused most of my work on the ridged area where the aluminum and fiberglass tunnel meet.

Here's a pic looking bow to stern.


A pic looking stern to bow.


Looking at that last picture I need to go and fill in the gap in the keel. Other than that I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. Really smoothed that transition out and hoping it will load the pump a little better.

 

[Ride_Klein]

Quick update. Test run 2 was today. Still leaking, but not nearly as bad as it was. I'm going to bed around the inside of the insert with either bondo-glass, marine-tex, or 5200 since the leak ins't readily apparent from the exterior. Definitely slowed it down, but still have some work to do.

The cavitation was much better, and I'm wondering if some of the cavitation isn't actual air being sucked in from the small leak. I think I'm also going to feather out the area on the ride plate behind the pump tunnel.

Was raining like crazy here today so no video, or gps speed. Only one pic of how she looks on the water.

 

[PSG-1]

Glad to hear the issue with cavitation is less of an issue now. I see that the intake grate has 2 heavy tines, but I don't see the forward scoop.....is that a top-loader grate, or are you still running the original? If you haven't tried the top-loader grate yet, you should go ahead and try that, see if it takes out the last bit of cavitation.

And as far as leaks, here's a way to tell if you have one, without ever putting the boat in the water.
While it's on the trailer, put the plug in, and fill the boat with a couple of inches of water. Tilting the trailer up will allow you to check for a leak at the stern without having to put a lot of water in the boat.

If a leak is suspected somewhere along the bottom, then, you have the trailer level, and put some dunnage up under the frame before you start filling it with water, as filling the entire boat with 2 or 3 inches of water is a lot of weight, you don't want to put undue stress on the tires or springs.

In either case, you'll be able to immediately detect a leak, and fix it.

Also, if you don't already have a bilge pump on board, get one. Boats collect water from other things besides leaks, such as rain, people swimming, getting in and out of the boat, doing spins and tricks, or the wake from other boats. My boat has 3 pumps, an 500 GPH electronic pump on the main deck, another 1100 GPH pump with a float switch in the bilge, as well as the pressure-fed bilge that hooks to my jet pump, in case both electrical pumps fail.

Most jet skis have a pressure fed bilge system. If you run the pressure fed bilge, remember that the hose that runs to the jet pump needs to be routed as high as possible in the boat, with a vacuum breaker/check valve, then routed back down to the strainer/pickup located in the bilge. Otherwise, when the pump isn't running, you will get backflow that will put water back in your boat!

The fitting for the pressure fed bilge is located on the thrust nozzle of the pump. It will be a long piece of tube that points into the center of the pump orifice, pointing AWAY from the boat. There will be a connection for your hose on the side of the thrust nozzle. The outflowing water through the pump across this fitting creates negative pressure, which is used as suction to remove water from the bilge.

 

[Ride_Klein]

PSG-

Thanks, I've used the fill the boat with water trick in the past, but I got fooled on this one. The water found a seam and was running a few inches away from where the actual leak was.

When I mounted the fiberglass pump insert I bedded the area with 5200 and then drilled the holes for my mounting hardware. All of those areas sealed fine. I got a case of the worries and added 4 more stainless fasteners and those areas were leaking back into the boat. I also had a leak along the rideplate/insert connection that I sealed before test run 2. I found this leak by filling the boat with water. It was so much larger than the small leaks around the fasteners that the water running out between the rideplate hid the leaks around the fasteners. I've filled that seam with sealant, and pulled each fastener to seal around each of them individually. Pretty sure that should do it, but I've been wrong a time or two before.

Made a little bit of progress last night.

Got the rear deck lid cut and installed last. It is 57" across and 48"long, very firm, and should be a great place to fish/store decoys/lounge. I'll create a single deck lid so I can access the engine compartment (center), fuel tank (port), and storage (starboard). Braced the underside with 1.5" aluminum angle every 20" and then capped with 3/4" exterior plywood. I'll fill each void with epoxy, then seal and paint before installation. After putting the deck lid on last night I am toying with 1/2" plywood for the decks instead of 3/4". Would save me about 60lbs across the boat, but also worried about long term stability of the thinner weight. Any suggestions from those of you that have some life on your decks?

Shot of the rear deck lid.


Started working on the floor and hit a bit of a snag. I'm going to use scrap aluminum road signs for the floor. Nice and light and no worries about rot. I was planning on supporting the floor with the flotation foam that I pulled out of the floor during demo, but that plan is faltering. I'd tested the foam and aluminum combination on the garage floor, but putting the foam puzzle back together in the boat doesn't leave the foam level enough to offer enough support for the aluminum.

A picture of the foam puzzle I wasn't able to solve.


Talk to me about pour in place foam and the dangers of moisture collection against the aluminum hull. This boat will almost never see salt water and will live on a trailer in a covered spot 99% of its life.

What are your real world experiences with pour in place foam under the floor of an aluminum boat?
As an alternative, what are your experiences using the rigid foam insulation available at big box stores as flotation under the floor?

Open to suggestions, critiques, and advice.

 

[fool4fish1226]

Ride_Klein your boats coming along nicely!

About the foam, When I started “A Little Snookered" I had to remove all the foam due to it being water logged and badly in some areas. I did want to replace it but was worried that the same thing would just happen again. I did a lot of research and decided to go with the two part pour foam (Closed Cell). It is a little messy to work with and at first it’s hard to figure out how much to pour at a time. (Let me tell that stuff really does expand). But with that all said it turned out good and I am glad I have the extra flotation and I think an added plus is that it helps support the decks.

I hope this helps. Here’s a a pic of the main deck foam

 

[Ride_Klein]

Thanks F4F. I was hoping you would post and appreciate your input. I really like your project. Could you tell me a little bit more about your research on the 2 part foam. I've started looking at it, but haven't found enough information to feel comfortable with it yet.

My only experience with foam under the floor is on middle 80's inboard ski boats. I have yet to run into one of those boats that doesn't have water logged foam to some degree. The water logged foam makes for a very heavy boat and eventually rots the stringers out on those boats. All of this foam was supposed to be closed cell as well. This is why I'm hesitant to use poured in place foam.

Did your research suggest a change in the formula for the new 2 part foam? What brand of foam did you end up using? Do you know what weight you mixed it (ie.. 2lb, 4lb, etc..) Did your manufacturer suggest any precautions to keep the foam from becoming water logged, or is the new stuff better.

Thanks again.

 

[fool4fish1226]

My only experiences with foam is the same as yours. I have always found it to be water logged. This is just my opinion on why this is, The boats that I have been around when this occurs is always boats in need of lots of TLC and have been sitting outside unprotected from the elements for years. No foam can take that type of abuse.

As far as the research it is basicly the same as I stated above. Everything I read said something like 95%-98% closed cell not 100% so I feel protecting the boat keeping it covered and dry is the answer to water logged foam.

The foam I used came from US Composites (on-line) and was 2lb

 

[Ride_Klein]

Haven't messed with the interior much this past week. I did order and install a new impeller and I'm very pleased with it. I went with a Skat-Track Swirl in the 14-22.5. This replaced the OEM Seadoo 15-23 impeller. I chose to replace the impeller for a couple reasons. First, the stock impeller was a little under the spec for clearance with the pump wall. Secondly, I researched fairly heavily and the skat-track swirl was highly regarded for hookup in rough water. It has a curved leading edge that helps eliminate cavitation in aerated water.

Got it installed this afternoon and headed to the lake with my co-captain to give it a run. Cavitation is much less with this prop. All but gone until you get full throttle in the small chop that was on the lake today. Will run 45 mph all day long. Hooks up great and has a lot more bite than the stock impeller. I'm extremely happy with how worked and hope to have a few chances to work on the interior over the holidays.

https://youtu.be/soY6GbQIbDo

Video work is far from my specialty, and I can't get my co-captain to do anything but enjoy the ride from the front. The boat is much more consistently fast with this impeller. Bow rise is next to nill. Had a chance to run it in some pretty skinny water this afternoon and as it sits now it will float in 4.5" and get up on plane in 10".

 

[Ride_Klein]

My only experiences with foam is the same as yours. I have always found it to be water logged. This is just my opinion on why this is, The boats that I have been around when this occurs is always boats in need of lots of TLC and have been sitting outside unprotected from the elements for years. No foam can take that type of abuse.

As far as the research it is basicly the same as I stated above. Everything I read said something like 95%-98% closed cell not 100% so I feel protecting the boat keeping it covered and dry is the answer to water logged foam.

The foam I used came from US Composites (on-line) and was 2lb

Thanks again F4F. I'm still noodling on what to do with the foam. Hope to get an answer in the next couple weeks.