Re-Prop a 1988 60hp Evinrude....HELP

[clemsonfor]

Re: Re-Prop a 1988 60hp Evinrude....HELP

There is a 2 part pourable foam. You want the closed cell foam so it cant hold water. You need to be careful if you dont open the whole thing up that if you pour to much it can expand somewhere and not blow out things. If it over fills the void that ok just cut it back flat and then deck over it.

But if you make it water tight it really should not matter, you can use pool noodles crammed down there or packing penuts, but remember the bilge water will touch the foam if you ever get a lot in, like say launching and forgetting the plug it will happen again without correct closed cell foam.

I have seen people take ridgid blocks of foam and cut to put in there on this site. It may have even been those insulation panels?

Also be sure you resealed those motor bolt holes if not water will get into the transome and will create the same thing.

 

[retiredfornow]

Re: Re-Prop a 1988 60hp Evinrude....HELP

Thanks for all the comments. I ran a thick bead of aquarium silicone (had it on hand) around the motor mount bolts after I put them back in. Is that sufficient?
Also, found an old thread where they use that 2 pour foam, http://www.uscomposites.com/foam.html, US Composites, amybe use the 30lb. Looks like good stuff. My new 13 pitch prop will be here tomorrow, and it'll take a team of horses to keep me from trying it out. Anyway, I need to cut some holes, do some core tests on the foam, and figure out what I'm up against. If it's a deck tear-off, I need to start planning about materials, where to get the stuff, etc.
Who said that you would be bored being retired? LOL Thanks, all, again!

 

[retiredfornow]

Re: Re-Prop a 1988 60hp Evinrude....HELP

PROP UPDATE: The 4 blade 13.25 x 13 aluminum prop came today. Bolted it on and hit the water. That baby jumps out of the water! I'd say about a 3 second hole shot. WOT is 5900 rpm, speedo says about 30mph, but I'm not sure if it's working right. Today was the first day the speedo worked. Found a bunch of water in the tube. It didn't seem that fast. I was by myself, about 10 gallons of gas and a bottle of water. This will change when I load the wife and she brings about half of everything we own. LOL
Real happy with the results, and I don't need a lot of speed. I run it in Mosquito Lagoon and those sand bars and shallow water comes up pretty quick. Thanks everyone, for all your help!

 

[clemsonfor]

Re: Re-Prop a 1988 60hp Evinrude....HELP

My boat with a 13 will run about 32 with 6 gallons of fuel and 3 batteries in it. I think my 15 pitch will go similar but lower rpms. I beleive i am dry as well. The previous owner did the floor and foam thing but did not get the deck level. I had to redo a spot where the glass wore through and has a damp soft spot. It wasent wet on the foam but the board was damp. I cut back to dry wood and then put a patch in and reglassed the top adn painted it with tuffcoat rubber antiskid paint to hide some of the inconsistancies and give traction. But the boat is a cheap usefull boat so the floor dont bother me.

I wonder how a 1996 boat has a leak and rot issue that bad already? Did they keep the thing nose down?

 

[retiredfornow]

Re: Re-Prop a 1988 60hp Evinrude....HELP

When I bought it, it was sitting outside on a trailer, level, for about a year and a half. So it got rained on a lot. There's a hole in the well that's in front of the motor, bilge well I guess you'd call it. The hole is in the bottom of the fore side, about the size of a quarter. Looks like it was hacked out with a chipping hammer. I don't know if it was to let water out, or what it was put in there for. Maybe they left the drain plug in and it filled with rain water? The plug was out when I got there. I keep it tipped up real high in the front, and it drains about a pint of water a day. If I could find a diagram about how they were built, I might be able to figure out what's holding the water in, stringers maybe? I can't find a brochure or anything on the internet. There's no holes in the hull, which looks good. Motor sure runs good now, tho! That's one good thing.

 

[steelespike]

Re: Re-Prop a 1988 60hp Evinrude....HELP

The water is in the foam only way to get rid of it is to pull up the floor and replace the foam.
You could drill a couple of inspectrion holes with a hole saw just keep it shallow so you just open the floor.Maybe carefully drive a metal tube into the foam for a core sample Just don't go too deep and end up with a bottom sample, lol.

 

[clemsonfor]

Re: Re-Prop a 1988 60hp Evinrude....HELP

When I bought it, it was sitting outside on a trailer, level, for about a year and a half. So it got rained on a lot. There's a hole in the well that's in front of the motor, bilge well I guess you'd call it. The hole is in the bottom of the fore side, about the size of a quarter. Looks like it was hacked out with a chipping hammer. I don't know if it was to let water out, or what it was put in there for. Maybe they left the drain plug in and it filled with rain water? The plug was out when I got there. I keep it tipped up real high in the front, and it drains about a pint of water a day. If I could find a diagram about how they were built, I might be able to figure out what's holding the water in, stringers maybe? I can't find a brochure or anything on the internet. There's no holes in the hull, which looks good. Motor sure runs good now, tho! That's one good thing.

stringers run front to back then end in the bildge area. they will either have a tube through them for water to run through or the middle ones will be shorter or something around the bildge area so water can collect from between them and flow out. even if the boat sat level for 1 year if the plug was out water will only get a half inch or so deep maybe deeper in the middle of the boat where the belly is deeper, but not hold water? It has a self bailing deck as i see the scupper so fiberglass should not leak unless it was cracked and it slowly seeped in? I doubt the splash well hole it the only source of problems, but you never know. Water gets everywhere and destroys everything, which is why all my stuff sits under cover or tarped, not just boats. Only thing is the daily drivers sit in the sun and rain.

 

[retiredfornow]

Re: Re-Prop a 1988 60hp Evinrude....HELP

Yep, have to get a cover for it, don't have a shed or garage. I'm going to cut some holes, like steelespike says, and do some inspection. The deck isn't cracked. Maybe the hose for the front livewell is leaking somewhere? Going to wait till it cools off just a little, sure is hot out there. I'm thinking that the hole in the splash well is supposed to be there to let water out. I'll let ya know what I find out. Thanks for the replies.

 

[retiredfornow]

Re: Re-Prop a 1988 60hp Evinrude....HELP

Went out and ran a coat hangar thru the hole in the splash well. Didn't feel anything but open spaces. The distance from the top of the floor to the bottom of the hull is about 9 inches at the deepest. Guess it's about hole cutting time to see what's under there.

 

[retiredfornow]

Re: Re-Prop a 1988 60hp Evinrude....HELP

Did a core sample right in the middle, came out with wet foam. It even LOOKS like a sponge. Please tell me they're NOT using the same stuff in new boats nowadays.
I also found the probable cause of the water intrusion. I stuck my head in the front livewell and found a 1/2 inch gap running along the front, about 18 inches long, where the top of the well meets the deck. I can see how a lot of water could splash up in there and run down into the hull. It looks like it has never been sealed before. Rotten luck = rotten foam and who knows what else.
Now I know what I gotta do. Thanks for everyones help!