Waterlogged boat

[Sluggoslinger]

I've got a 1993 22' Mako and it is a dog. With a new 150 Honda on it it will do about 25 Knots at wide open. This weekend, I went under the the console and unscrewed one of the ports to check out the foam and it was totally soaked, I stuck my finger in the foam and it felt mushy. I think this could explain why the boat is so incredibly slow and heavy. I know it was a heavy boat but even the mechanic that installed the motor remarked that it should be faster than it is.

Is there any way to dry out the foam or fix this problem without a major cost?

Thanks

[ktugboat42]

Go check out classicmako.com
They may have some ideas for you.

[Clammer]

I split rivits when I was commercial fishing & because of the foam I had no idea it was leaking . Until like you ,it became a barge // I cut a hole in the floor & it was like lead ============sold the whole #$%^&* rif less motor for $250.00

You have a very expensive problem =if you pay someone ================= if you have the time & ability & tools to do it yourself -it will be much cheaper /but forget about this season ><>>>><><

[crash]

Its a pain to fix, I had a soaked whaler, drilled thousands of small holes in the interior, flipped the hull, and let it sit from September till June. Worth it if you can be boatless. I have heard you can shorten the wait with a dehumidifier.

[TheSpecialist]

Drying it out is only part of the problem, finding and fixing the leak is just as important

[likwid]

needs to be drilled, covered, with dehumidifiers running 24/7

then comes the process of finding where she's taking on water.... could be the deck/hull seam, could be anywhere.

any cracks in the hull?

[yankee bass]

Best bet, if your handy and not afraid of fiberglass, especially on a center console, is to remove console, tear up floor, remove old foam, put in new foam, put in new floor. Grew up in NY and had a friend named Rick...worked for and lived behind a roofing company in tiny camper...we called him the Junkyard Dog. Anyway helped him one summer do this...not as tough as your think. You need a respirator, lots of time, and a really BIG pair of balls. You have a 93 Mako? Great solid hulls, new foam would make it as good as an 06 off the showroom. Of course as others have mentioned you need to find the leak to avoid a re-soak. With floor off you can see where all your stress cracks are and give them a new layer of glass. When we did we noticed many of the structural floor beams were also soaked. After we re-habbed the boat (was an 23ft 89 Whaler) JYD told me that he was PAID $1000 to salvage the boat from 12ft of water by owner...I think he even made $500 piecing out the swamped motor...do the math...a great deal and cost him (and me) a summer's work. We used to laugh at the way Rick lived for years...found out he made a ton of dough roofing and saved every penny. I hear he lives on 37ft Carver year-round in Montauk. Who's laughing now???

[stiff tip]

ss---i had same prob.on my boat ,,,mostly soaked wood ,transom , stringers and deck..removed all an started over, all new..your choice, is sell the boat or re build the hole thing ...next spring .. mako is a good hull ,rebuild it..get rid of water logged extar weight ...do it wright,its worth it ...a good boat carpenter can help ......