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To foam or not to foam????

t town,

What you found is very common and not just in Checkmate, but many of the production boats 25ft and less. They glue, glass, or use bondo to hold the stringers and ribs in place and then pour in the foam to give everything support as well as floatation. You are right about structual value in that condition there is non as well as floatation value. I think the additional stringers you put in is the way to go. You should probobly add a couple of access hatches, the round pie-plate type, to keep an eye on what is going on down there and for ventalation when not in use.

Blizz,
You are correct, the floataion foam which is 2lb density is for floatation only, the 4lb density is what they all use for strutual support.

Thanks,
Butch
 
Does checkmate not core thier floors? And you could've used ply for the stringers again if it's encased in glass or resin/epoxy whatever you use it's as strong or stronger. And if your older mate is cored that's where it's structural strength comes from. And alot of smaller boats only have one stringer because that's all that's needed to support the floor
 
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No, Checkmates do not have cored floors. Only the hull is cored and they are very strongly built. The floor system is a different story, and IMHO is the weak link. The stringers are 3/4" ply and the floor is 1/2". Many of the floors of older Mates (and maybe new ones) are not glassed on the underside. The floor is often compromised by staples that allow water to seep into the foam underneath. It then starts to rot from the inside out. I would love to see Checkmate go to a fiberglass innerliner and a woodfree transom on all their outboards.
 
Coring

I meant the hull not actual floor (sorry). Then there is definatly (sp) no structural integrity to the foam. And i don't think you'll ever see Checkmate go wood free. They're to old school, good but old school..
 
Butch, I think you are right on the money. I am going to intall two of those round access ports in the floor. One in the front and one in the rear. That way I am not only able to see what is going on under the floor, if it gets any moisture in there I can open it up and use an electric leaf blower to dry it out.

Boston, No I didn't take any pictures while working on this project. But lets just say it wasn't pritty.
 
Hatches

T Town,

I just bought 4 of the 8" dia on ebay for something like $8.50 for the lot, and like I said before, you can keep an eye on whats going on and get some ventilation in there between uses and over the winter. When I took mine apart, before I found all the wet foam, it was like a sauna in there with no circulation, I think some air in there would have helped as well. I have a step down where you go into the cabin and I had to replace that bulkhead. I put a couple of vents in that bulkhead to let some air circulate in the tank area, my tank was actually dripping wet when I expose it.

Thanks,
Butch
 
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