Well, after (10) ten years, it's time to rehab the 18x44 GD.

First project is removing the rear inside floatation pods.

Last season I needed to drill for some wiring & tapped a hole into the starboard pod.

Needless to say, water poured out like a burst pipe.

I take part of the blame because during hurricanes, I would drop the boats off the trailers & fill them with water for several days.

But it's just time to remove the excess weight.

First pod is out & the bottom (6) six inches of the floatation was completely saturated.

Jumped on the scale with the garbage bags in hand & it came to a whopping
(75) seventy-five pounds!!!

So if the second pod is just as bad, I'm removing (1) one person from the boat.:fart:

Pic's to follow.

We planned on removing the floor even though I had just replaced it (3) three years ago.

It took most of the day & when we pulled up the front cock pit floor, we saw the bow foam was soak also, so we gutted the entire boat.

When all was said & done, we removed about (250) two hundred & fifty pounds of saturated foam & metal.

Still have about a foot to dig out of the bow.







Scary part was we found some electrylosis where the foam was touching the metal.

Once the foam was out, we found a half dozen pin holes above the water line.

Next week it's off to East Coast Sand Blasting.

Wow! Very informative post. Thanks for keeping everyone posted.

Heck yeah, when I pulled the foam out of my Polarkrap, I was shocked at how much it weighed.

Glad my boat doesnt have that.My Old GD boat had it and im sure it was wet.That boat weighed a ton.

Well gang,

We found the secret to removing foam.

POWER WASHER!!!



We put the cement tip on & went to town.

It liquified every piece of remaining foam in the boat.

Every nook & cranny!!!

Still had a 3'x2' section in the bow that we played He!! getting @ yesterday.

Needless to say, it got the best of us.

Today, after (10) ten minutes you wouldn't have ever known there was any foam in the boat to start with.

Yea, it was a little wet & messy but it was better than spending hours digging it out with a cane axe, putty knives or a hand shovel.

And no dust!!!

very nice capt.....be sure to continue posting pics of your progress.....this will be a very informative post that Im sure a ton of people will want to know about!

Pic's of the rot that the foam caused above the waterline.


Capt Jim wire brushing what residual foam was left after the power washing.

In the blasting booth before closing the doors.




Like new, almost.




Pieces parts.




Fill'er up!!!






Bow was the worst. Also alot just behind the center seat, again only where the floatation touched up against the hull.




Stopping the leaks in an attempt to fill'er to the gunnels!!!




Next up, welding up the holes in the hull & welding in the logitudinal bracing between the stringers.

Marks for longitudinal bracing.

Wouldn't that be lateral bracing?

and again how did the holes get there? wouldnt the foam touch the entire surface where it was placed?

Keep posting pics of your progress. I've got a 1644 Go-Devil with the split bench so I am watching your progress closely. Not that I plan on doing anything with mine in the near future, I like it how it is. But if the day comes, I will probably refer back to this thread.

Also, what are the cops doing there?

was wondering if i should be concerned about my rig doing that. i only run fresh water and its an 07 model.

Finished welding up the lateral bracing under the floors tonight.

We used 1x1x1/8 square tubing.

This gives full support to the floor & also leaves a (1") one inch space for water & debris to flow back to the bilge area.

Front Cock Pit



Rear Cock Pit

Found some time in between gator hunts to work on the GD.

After an acid wash bath, I primed her.

I measured (10) ten inches down from the cap.

From there down with be Frog Spit.

Hope to have it ready for early teal.

Floatation Pod





Cut out for flush mount nav lights



First of (3) three coats over primer base

are you gunna make that pod a huntdeck? or are you runnin a lt?

Looks good Jeff!

SHarp !!!

Looks NICE !!!!

wow man looks awsome! im gona find me a used hull come spring to restore! keep us posted!!

does the LT clear that pod?

Best post I read this week, it's coming along nicely

Got the final coat on today.

Also taped out & painted the no-skid on the decks & gunnels.

Next she's being raised off the trailer & we're slapping (2) two coats of Frog Spit on the bottom.

I'm doing the same thing to the 1656 GD I bought about a month ago. Finally got all the foam out of the bow last night. The pressure washer is definitely the trick. Already put two coats of steel flex on the bottom a couple weeks ago. Picked up new aluminum for the floor this week. New navigation lights and other assorted electrical goodies also. Waiting on my paint from Parker. For now I'm leaving the side flotation pods in the rear, but they'll be coming out after hunting season this year. On mine the aluminum under the foam is in good shape, at least in the bow. The boat has only been used in freshwater though.

Nathan

Splash Down!!!

And when it was all said & done, top speed with (2) two people & a full tank of fuel, (21) twenty-one mph.

Almost (4) four miles per hour faster after the rebuild.

Maaaaan.... you had me til the paintjob.

my excel has foam under the floor but the floor is welded in- wtf?
I gotta get that chit out

looks awesome, thats what a little blood, sweat, tears, and pride will get you.......great job.

-JordYb.

Nice rig, good job.

It that open storage up in the bow behind the gas tank?

marked