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I have what I thought was a unique opportunity... I acquired a 17' retired US Coast Guard Whaler (Montauk style). By the way, when the USCG retires a Whaler, they cut it in half and take it to the landfill. I have the ability to put it back together, except that yesterday I found that the foam in the stern section floor is saturated. Has anyone ever had success is drying out a saturated foam core?
If so how? At the moment I'm thinking my winter project might be destined for the landfill again. Any ideas?

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Well;
The price on this unit seems to have been right..
Cut it in half will be a traditionally seen military solution in regard to having to abandon materials.To put it at auction or to get a signature on a weaver..will be seen as a more modern idea by many.
As far as your question is concerned;
1- You can open the hull at top and drill holes on the keel section and assess the degree of water containment.
2-Remove the foam manually and replace with fresh material
3-Have it drying up in a heated structure while being opened.
This last solution may take months or years to "dry" said foam.
No; First thing first.
You will have to decide if these kind of efforts will be worth it since the hull has been scrapped as you have described.
It may possibly a time to consider and pass on that one.

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Leave it in the desert for one summer open side down.
I haven't tried it but I bet it would help.
Seems like it would take one heck of a repair job to keep that sucker from cracking open again.

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All I can say is I sure hope you will post a lot of before-during and after pictures of this project!

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Even free would be to high a price for me. Good luck if you decide to take on the project.

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I'm sorry, I need to ask a few questions here. First, why is the government cutting a boat in half? How come my tax dollars are not recycled into a positive cash flow? I now have to PAY someone from my tax dollars to cut the boat up, then clog up the landfill with a boat, that a 1000 yrs from now, will most likely still be there. Why can't the government just auction off the boat? I'm sorry if I am ranting, but this procedure seems pretty stupid.

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Gents I'm new to site and boats in general....so i need an opinion. I am about to purchase a 2005 235 Conquest with roughly 238 hours on a 250 HP Merc Verado. Would you all rec. having a survey conducted on this type of boat ?

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Yes.

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To answer Harley's question. As a retired Coastie, I have used the chainsaw to cut up fiberglass boats.
Those that are in real "bad" shape, (this one with a saturated foam core for example) are usually cut up so the boating public cannot injure themselves and the govt does not want the liablity. Imagine buying an ex Coast Guard boat and hurting or killing your family. Does not sound to good.
We towed a 30' from Cape Canaveral to Jacksonville, picked it up on the travellift, set it on land and when I was done, it all fit in a dumpster. The boat was in bad shape, when the USCG gets done with a boat, it usually is. The USCG gets US Navy hand me downs, and they keep it going for as long as 60 years. The USN only gets new boats. The USCG gives the public their tax dollars worth. It is cut up after a survey is made. Bad enough, it is made unfit for the public.

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The GSA website sometimes has pre-bifurcated Whalers for sale, two on there now, that need work but are intact (for the most part) and repairable.

http://gsaauctions.gov/gsaauctions/gs...aauctions/

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If the boat has been cut in half, I would not suggest trying to put it back together. I cannot see a way this would end well.

sorry, but they cut it up for a reason.

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I think you could put it back together if you used dowels, and 5200. I think that would work. Actually I don`t think this is a serious thread.

Years ago I took a load of construction debris to the dump. As I pulled into the dumping area, I spied an 11 foot Whaler someone had just dumped off in the pile. I got rid of my stuff quickly and loaded the Whaler in my pickup. It was then I heard someone yell. I should have made believe I was deaf, and hightailed it, but I realized I would have been caught at the exit gate. as they weigh your vehicle going in and coming out, and you pay for the tonnage you dumped off. Anyway 3 guys quickly came over, and told me to dump the boat back off, so I did. They wandered away, and I contemplated taking the Whaler again, but just then this big front end loader drove up with a giant roller with spikes on it and rolled over the boat, twice for good measure. It was crushed like a styrofoam cup.

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Why on earth would there be a Coast Guard presence in the midwest? Anyway there was a guy with a project album on iBoats forum a while back who cut his boat in half to add several feet of length. It looked very involved. The boat had a wood frame under fiberglass. Maybe if you stand each half on its cut side for a while it might dry a bit. I think all of us are intrigued and would like to see you open a project album.

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The great lakes have Coast Guard

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Maybe a liberal use of the "wallet" might have kept the whaler on the truck Binkie.

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I appreciate everyone's interest. I appreciate you input.

I am a new member to the WhalerCentral site so they will not let me do a Project Album yet.

SO....I have posted photos on my Personal Page.

Since the bottom was already cut by the Coasties, I went ahead and took off half the bottom on the stern section. Gladly, while there is a lot of water present inside the hull, the foam being closed cell is not saturated as I suspected.

To the guy who said this is not a real post, I have several grinders. Come on over and itch a while......

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Now that is a project boat! Please keep us up to date with step by step progress!

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It does look like a project but at least she wasn't cut lengthwise.

If you have macro on you camera it would be nice to see some closeups.

Thanks and good luck with the project.

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How is it any different if I sell a boat in the same condition? I can't be held responsible once a boat is sold, so, how could someone sue the government? How many dealerships sell a young kid a corvette, he goes out and gets hurt, you can't sue the dealership for selling the car?

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If you read about the construction of the hull, the combination of the fiberglass and the foam (bonds with the fiberglass skin and deck give the hull its strength. There are no stringers in a Boston Whaler.

Side stepping the saturated foam for a minute, the first challenge is to design a method to reconnect the two parts of the hull. I don't know of a practical way to reattach the halves without immense work, materials expense and weight.

If the hull were not cut in half, the saturated foam could be removed (cutting a portion of the inner deck) refoaming and re-glassing the floor.

I can guesstimate you are looking at $500-700 in materials alone. Given there are many "beater" whalers in better shape for less money, I would suggest you return the hull to the landfill and find a non-separated hull.

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Your personal page says you answered an ad for a salvage Whaler.

Who scuttles a boat and then advertised it? If you cut it up, wouldn't you just dump it?

I am confused, but that doesn't really matter. Good luck with your project - hope you are in it for love and not money, as you have plenty to do and will be way upside down on it financially if/when you finish.

Me? I'd find a better boat to start with...

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For LABCAB- The Coast Guard "presense" does not just mean the Atlantic or Pacific Ocean. Any lake that borders 2 states (Greenwood in NY/NJ or Lake Tahoe (CA/NV) is federal waters. The Mississippi and other inland rivers are federal as well. I was stationed in Baton Rouge LA. on the Miss river, way inland. There is USCG in Iowa, Tenn, etc.
Go to www.uscg.mil and see where we all are.

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I know the Coast Guard is in the Great Lakes. I just wasn't thinking of the Great Lakes Region as the Mid-west. I guess it's mid latitude but it's far north longitude. When someone posts they live in the midwest I tend to think they are boating in lakes and rivers. I never knew about lakes bordering two states and have never been on such lakes to notice C.G. there. I learn something new every day on this site.

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This Whaler served in Alaska.
Your next question: How did it get to the midwest? Answer: By truck.

I dug out the foam on the port half of the stern section tonight. I learned a couple things:
The foam is only saturated right along the keel. Plywood is wet, but not rotted (treated). I was always told there was no wood in a Whaler. That's incorrect. There is some wood, but not much. Interesting that during construction, the center tube was tied in place with clothes line stapled to the floor on the underside. This held the tube from shifting sideways during the foam pour. The tube sits upon little 4" x 4" foam blocks held in place with one course of mat. Minimalism is genius.

I've been in awe of these boats since I was a kid, I never understood how they did it. Now that I understand, I'm still in awe. It's absolutely genius. Now consider they were doing this in 1958!