Wood in Hull?

lmac2 · **Joined:** Sat Apr 04, 2009 8:25 pm **Posts:** 26

After replacing the transducer in my 2003 H210, my mechanic explained that he thought the wood in the hull had become water logged. I was always under the impression that the VTEC hulls did not contain any wood. I have searched this forum and others, as well as the Four Winns sales brochure and they all seem to indicate that the hulls are all fiberglass and related components. Any insight would be very helpful.

ric · **Posted:** Sun Aug 12, 2012 3:11 pm

Ah yes, another potential victim of a shady boat shop.

lmac2 · **Joined:** Sat Apr 04, 2009 8:25 pm **Posts:** 26

You know, i hate to think that, because hes been great on other repairs, I wonder if he was confusing repairs or customers, but your comment did cross my mind.

weather · **Posted:** Sun Aug 12, 2012 3:51 pm

Perhaps he is referring to a backing block fastened to the hull? I know my hull is 100% FG But it looks like tje blocks the bilge pumps are on might be FG covered wood.

lmac2 · **Joined:** Sat Apr 04, 2009 8:25 pm **Posts:** 26

i thought that might be it also, only to discover that the backing block is a larger piece of deck that forms the bilge area and appears to be all fiberglass.
Im hoping just to put my mind at ease and have someone confrim that the boat hulls were all fiberglass. Thanks for the insight and help though.

ric · **Posted:** Sun Aug 12, 2012 9:03 pm

Not 100% glass, some parts are still wood cored on a 2003

lmac2 · **Joined:** Sat Apr 04, 2009 8:25 pm **Posts:** 26

Ric, are we talking about stringers and things like that, or are you saying that perhaps even the hull is cored with wood? If so then I'm a little worried.

ric · **Posted:** Sun Aug 12, 2012 9:49 pm

The hull itself is wood free but some stringers and supports have wood inside. Most of the upholstery is wood backed.

LouC · **Posted:** Sun Aug 12, 2012 10:41 pm

I think you should e-mail 4 Winns and ask them, they can probably tell you.
Why did the mechanic think the transom was wet, did water come out when he drilled the holes for the transducer? If so that's an issue for both wood and composite transoms. Wood obviously will eventually rot, but if water gets in a composite transom and freezes, it can cause de lamination between the core and the 'glass skin. In either case I'd try to find out how the water got in and try to dry it out in the off season.

RotaryRacer · **Posted:** Mon Aug 13, 2012 8:43 am

The transom on my 2004 is wood cored.

I'm not sure where or why you were led to believe that Four Winns was wood free.

The cockpit liner is balsa cored.

Looking through the "construction" details in the 2003 catalog it says nothing about being wood free.

Sorry, but I'd think the mechanic knows a wood transom when he sees one.

I guess I'm not sure that Four Winns ever went to a full VEC process such as Glastron and Larson during the Genmar years.

LouC · **Posted:** Mon Aug 13, 2012 10:37 am

And wood itself is nothing to be afraid of in boat construction, in fact it is superior in some ways to composites, nothing else has the same strength as good quality marine plywood.
Your job as a boat owner or maintainer, is to make sure that water does not get into the core, as much as possible. Anytime a screw hole is made to mounting something, it's a good idea to put some thinned epoxy in there, let it cure and then use either Boat Life Caulk or 3M 4200 to seal it up. I have used the Boat Life on transducer mount screws and removed them years later to re-bed them and no water came out. Original 24 year old wood transom.
Water in composite construction causes trouble too as I said.
The biggest rot causer in lower priced boats is the carpet they put over a plywood cored deck. I would never buy another boat made like that, and if anyone asked me what do to with it when the carpet looks worn out, I'd say GET RID of the carpet, and gel coat the deck in non skid gelcoat. Seal all seat mounting holes.

lmac2 · **Joined:** Sat Apr 04, 2009 8:25 pm **Posts:** 26

Wow, thanks for all the insight. Over the course of the winter some water remained in the bilge which would leak out where the old (and leaking) transducer was. The new transducer was placed in the exact location as the old one, and sealed up quite well this time. During the reinstallation is when the mechanic made his observations. The transducer is located about two feet from the transom, so his remarks were limited to the hull only. I will contact Four Winns and see what they can help me with, then I'll report back. Thanks for everyones help.

LouC · **Posted:** Mon Aug 13, 2012 7:41 pm

What I would do is this:
at the end of the season, do some diagnostic work. Look down in the bilge in the area, right behind where the transducer is, if you can. Look to see if there is any area that is not glassed in properly. Most likely though, you will not be able to see the back side of the transom where your transducer is because that area is probably filled with foam and under the rear deck.
So, what I'd do is this:
remove the tranducer screws
let the water (if any) run out
Try to dry the holes out, buy running a vaccum in reverse, with the air directed at the holes as long as you can. Let it dry out for a month at least and try to keep it out of the weather. After that, mix up some thinned epoxy (like CPES from http://www.rotdoc.com) and inject it into the holes. This stuff is really potent so wear gloves, a fume respirator and goggles. Let it cure for 3-4 days. Then reinstall your transducer screws but use Boat Life Caulk to seal up the holes. The right way to do this is to caulk the holes and then put the screws in, but do not fully tighten them. Let the caulk cure for a day or so, then tighten them fully, that keeps the sealant in the hole and avoids it getting squeezed out. After that you should be OK. That is what most shops would do with the water out of the transom holes problem.

RotaryRacer · **Posted:** Mon Aug 13, 2012 9:49 pm

lmac2 wrote:

Wow, thanks for all the insight. Over the course of the winter some water remained in the bilge which would leak out where the old (and leaking) transducer was. The new transducer was placed in the exact location as the old one, and sealed up quite well this time. During the reinstallation is when the mechanic made his observations. The transducer is located about two feet from the transom, so his remarks were limited to the hull only. I will contact Four Winns and see what they can help me with, then I'll report back. Thanks for everyones help.

Wait is this a thru hull transducer? I assumed it was transom mounted.

If it is thru hull then I would say, no the hull is not wood/balsa cored. In fact, I'm not aware that Four Winns ever did a cored hull in a Horizon.

LouC · **Posted:** Mon Aug 13, 2012 10:38 pm

Yep I think I goofed up not reading this correctly. Well I know my old 88 had a transducer glued to the inside of the hull but is is not the kind where a hole is made through the hull. I have never seen a smaller boat with that style, only larger ones. In any case I don't think the hull bottom was cored on these models.

www.iFourWinns.com

Wood in Hull?

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