[mikeyt]

Originally Posted by PlumLazy

What did you end up doing? I agree with your boat guy about the wood in the hull needing to breath.

After reading this thread and doing some inspections of the structure of my boat I'm very worried about the potential of rot on mine also. My ski locker is always wet and after peeling back the carpet around the floor cooler I see that all the wood under the floor is just bare treated wood. It was not covered with resin or anything else. When I open the rear fuel tank sender access panel I see the wood there was only painted and not very well. I planned on keeping this boat for a long time, but now I'm concerned.

My 77 Cobalt which I sold this year had zero rot and drained and dried out very quickly.

I'm thinking about this winter pulling up the carpet, drying the boat out very well, and coating the floor and inside the ski locker with either resin or possibly having it sprayed with Rhino Liner (you can get almost any color now) and then putting in a snap in carpet.

On the Mariah promotional video... They talk about the wood they used "simply will not rot" and that is not true... Any wood exposed to water constantly will eventuallly rot. Most people don't keep a boat for 20 years, but I'm not most people. These boats were sold with a lifetime hull warranty.... haha. I'm not impressed with the build of my boat at all... Fancy and pretty does not mean well built.

Try to realize that your boat is already 18 yrs old. If you feel that badly about the boat and its build quality then i might suggest selling it on to someone else....

[PlumLazy]

Originally Posted by mikeyt

Try to realize that your boat is already 18 yrs old. If you feel that badly about the boat and its build quality then i might suggest selling it on to someone else....

I'm not trying to offend anyone here... Just expressing my concerns, which ARE valid, and sharing ideas on how to make these boats last longer. Our Mariah only has 150 hrs and was very well kept. The Cobalt I just sold was 35 years old, and still looked almost new. Was hoping to get the same results with this Mariah, but don't think I will unless I address these issues.

[mikeyt]

I realise that you weren't trying to offend other members here & that you were only expressing concern about your own situation & as such, i offered a solution to alleviate your problem. The other issue i see that you have is a 'constantly wet ski locker'. All wood no matter how well treated will eventually rot if it's allowed to constantly sit in water so you need to find & fix the cause of the problem, not just try to prevent the potential wood rot. Check your drain holes by running a wire brush or something (like a baby bottle cleaner?) thru the channels to ensure that there is nothing blocking the passage of water back to the bilge area. If you dont do this already, you could also consider tilting your boat (raise the front of the trailer) while its stored on the trailer so that any water inside the boat flows back towards the bilge and leave the bung hole plug out so that it drains out of the boat.

[ShabahZ280]

I agree with mikeyt. If your ski locker is constantly wet, then you need to investigate the drainage paths. Elevating it helps a lot too. During the winter storage, I use a car jack to elevate the trailer tongue and put three patio paver stones underneath the trailer jack wheel. This helps any water that gets into the boat to go straight out the drain plug. Give it a try and see if it works for you. Otherwise, maybe consider putting something in there to remove the water when you're not using it, like a damp-rid?

and PS - every boat uses wood, no matter who the manufacturer, despite the "no wood no rot" claims. they just either coat it with fiberglass, resin, or epoxy. and chemicals do break down over time, especially when exposed to water continuously.

[Slash9point5]

Another school of thought I have heard is that a layer of fiberglass on top of a wood floor prevents the wood from drying out, leading to wood rot. Not sure if that is exactly true, but I can see the theory behind it... "The wood will get wet from underneath regardless, so there better be a way to dry it out."

Kris

[phillycincykid]

i ended up putting the foam back in. and here are the reasons........
im investing quite a bit by redoing damm near everything original right down the stitch pattern on the seats. SO for whatever reason if the boat sank i DO NOT want it going to the bottom of the river or lake. i would lose my mind if it was a total loss not to mention the recovery cost cause im sure then dont want a 22 ft boat sitting on the river floor. the other reason is i talked to an insurance agent i know, not my agent or with my company that if a "friend" of mine redid the boat and didnt put the foam back would they cover the loss......the short answer is no, if they found out there was no foam. they don't always spend much time on a boat that isn't newer. The foam only cost just under $400.00 it was a smart move i feel. as far as mariah saying the wood in there boats are rot proof, i have about 50 examples debunking that myth.

[mikeyt]

I think we covered that when it was stated that ANY wood, no matter how well preserved, will rot if left laying in wet conditions.

[PlumLazy]

I appreciate all your thoughts and ideas.

I've always kept my boats with the plug out and the bow raised high. When I get home from the lake I leave it hooked to the truck in my steep driveway overnight uncovered to let it drain and dry (unless they're predicting rain) and then park it in the carport with a large wood block under the jack raised as high as it will go. I even flipped over my hitch so it would be higher in the front when attached to the truck.

This is the first boat I've had difficulty drying out, so the problem is new to me. I washed the ski locker out when I first got it home a couple months ago because it seemed oily in there (still does) and the water ran out the drain quickly, so there's no restriction there. The carpet in there stays wet, but the drain is open, which is just weird.
Mine has a cuddy so rarely does anyone who is dripping water stand over the ski locker, and I don't use the ski locker to store anything except a paddle since I'm trying to get it dried out, and it still seems oily in there. The boat was kept inside by the original owner who traded it in back in February and I bought it from the boat dealer where it had sat outside from Feb until the end of May when I bought it. It was covered, but they had let the cover fill with water and drain into the boat. It was raised high as the jack would go and the plug was out, but we had a fairly wet spring which is unusual around here.

It doesn't seem to drip water for days on end which you would expect if the foam filled compartments had gotten full of water.

We love the look, style and performance of the boat and we get compliments on it all the time. I actually mentioned the idea of selling it to my wife and she said heck no... she loves her purple Mariah. lol.

[mikeyt]

ok, understood but....the fact still remains that you have a constantly wet ski locker so the water is getting in there & staying there for some reason. Do you have a water supply into the cuddy? It has to be coming from somewhere....

[ColoradoDiablo]

Then give it to me and go spend 40-50 grand on a new boat.
We'll both be happy!

Larry