Thread:

ron kittle

I have recently picked up a 23' Champion mini day cruiser jet boat, I am in the process of replacing the deck, this is not my first deck restoration. However, I was suprised to find that there is no foam below the deck sheathing. The space below is somewhat limited. I am considering installing pour in foam, not so much for bouyancy, but more for support for the decking as well as to provide additional support for the hull. My biggest concern is, given the minimal draft of this boat, that the additional bouyancy will affect the efficiency/operation of the jet drive....Any suggestions or expert advice would be greatly appreciated. This model has a BBC (454), I haven't had it on the water, but it runs good. I got a great deal on this boat, $1500.00, the upholstery is in excellent shape, although I have rebuilt all the wood frames and installed new seat foam throughout, there was some dry rot in most of the wood. I'll post some before and after pics soon.

Originally Posted by goducks70

I have recently picked up a 23' Champion mini day cruiser jet boat, I am in the process of replacing the deck, this is not my first deck restoration. However, I was suprised to find that there is no foam below the deck sheathing. The space below is somewhat limited. I am considering installing pour in foam, not so much for bouyancy, but more for support for the decking as well as to provide additional support for the hull. My biggest concern is, given the minimal draft of this boat, that the additional bouyancy will affect the efficiency/operation of the jet drive....Any suggestions or expert advice would be greatly appreciated. This model has a BBC (454), I haven't had it on the water, but it runs good. I got a great deal on this boat, $1500.00, the upholstery is in excellent shape, although I have rebuilt all the wood frames and installed new seat foam throughout, there was some dry rot in most of the wood. I'll post some before and after pics soon.

Hello and Thanks for your post, I am surprised it had no foam below deck as well but would speculate that i was either rmoved prior to your work or simply wasn't required for passing of testing when built and offered. As far as you adding it I see know "down side" and the insignificant weight of the foam you might add shouldn't effect boyancy or handling of the hull or jet , but rather add a measure of saftey and also some additional floor support. Because your repairing the floors I would add a couple strategically place deck plates to allow some access to inspect this area as long as your there (we sell these) Please do post up some pics of your project and contact us for any help we might provide not to mention any part piece or accesory you might ever want for this project ! Thanks Tom

Originally Posted by goducks70

Thanks for the reply, Tom. In light of the fact that I have all the flooring removed, I do think I'll go ahead and install new foam. As before, I am still surprised that there is none present, it's was obviously never installed. I have quite a bit of trailer work to do before I can finish the floor though. After I removed the deck, I could see that the existing runners are somewhat inadequate, the hull is bowing pretty bad on each side due to the fact that there is only one 2x4 runner on each side from about the middle of the boat to the bow. I plan on lifting the boat off the trailer just enough to replace the rear and forward runners, but with 2x6. In addition, I'm going to weld up some more brackets to the trailer and add a few more runners to give the hull nice, even support. Like I said, this boat is 23' and has a BBC, so it is not exactly a featherweight! I have to replace about 4 or 5' of the stringers in the front as well. To give them a little more strength I'm going to sister both stringers up, full length, on each side, with 3/4" plywood and then go over the whole works with a few layers of fiberglass cloth. I think that the foam will more than offset this additional weight, and the added support will be worth it. I'm also going to add a few bulkheads. Originally, there were only two plywood bulkheads in the bow section that defined a recessed area in front of the seats in the cabin area, as well as one in front of the engine. This seems a little inadequate so I'll be replacing the two up front with 2x6 as well as adding a few more down the length of the hull, can't hurt, and the compartments will make pouring the foam a little easier, I've worked with that stuff before and found out the hard way that a smaller area is MUCH easier to work with than a large one! At any rate, thanks again for the input, I see that you guys are located in Atascadero, I am in the central valley,(Lemoore) maybe I'll see you at Nac this summer..!

Sounds like you have things well in hand , let us know how the prgress goes an come by or hangout anytime ! Tom