Last time I talked about weighing the boat to determine if it had gotten water in the foam core. I was pretty sure it wasn’t an issue, but then an opportunity presented itself to make sure. So this is how I did it.
In the process of cleaning and de-greasing the bilge, I took out the auxiliary oil tank for the 2 stroke outboard, and I took out a broken battery tray to replace it. Both of these had been screwed down to the sole of the bilge, and it looked like the sealant around the screws had failed. I suspected after 20 years, some water had gotten in these holes.
So I broke out the vacuum pump and slapped a vacuum bag over the holes. After about 7 hours, I had extracted only about a quart of water. That was great news! Very little for a 20 year run!
I decided to take it a step further and drill a couple of holes in the bottom. I felt the foam inside these 7/8″ holes and only felt a little dampness in the port side. I hooked up the vacuum pump a second time and got about a teaspoon this time. Excellent.
Now, I’ll seal the holes with epoxy and feel great about being certain there was no water intrusion problem in this hull!