starflite front foam removal

[supergenius74]

Ok here it is, i spent the last 3 days doing what everyone suggested I do. I removed the front wall and flotation foam from my 88 starflite. I like others seemed to be too nose heavy, I tried adding setback and it helped but not enough and I am still having to use to much trim to get the bow to lift and loosen up. On monday I crawled up into the nose and started pushing on the front wall and it felt soft, then I drilled a small hole in it and what came out on the drill bit was wet foam so I decided it need done. With clawhammer in hand I began ripping out the wall and it came out surprisingly easy. Here is a picture after i began removing it. http://supergenius74.kicks-ass.net/pictures/1.jpg

[supergenius74]

Here is a closer look, the wood was soft and came out rather easy. http://supergenius74.kicks-ass.net/pictures/2.jpg

[supergenius74]

here is a closer picture.http://supergenius74.kicks-ass.net/pictures/3.jpg

[supergenius74]

Here is a shot after the whole wall was removed, you can see that the darker colored foam, that is basically mold from the water and as it turns out all the foam up to about half way up was full of water. http://supergenius74.kicks-ass.net/pictures/4.jpg

[supergenius74]

Now came the fun part, hacking out all the foam, it took me 2 - 1/2 evenings to do it and it did suck, but I am glad i did it. Here is a picture after it was all removed, I didn't take any pics while removing the foam it was just too messy to get get my camera in there. http://supergenius74.kicks-ass.net/pictures/5.jpg

[supergenius74]

Ok here is the last picture, I have decided not to put the wall back in, it was not a support wall for the deck and now that it is out it opened up a lot of room up there and I like it, Also i can monitor any water leakage and seal it up. I removed about 10 garbage bags bags of foam and wood, about half of them were rather heavy from water. Afterwords I tried lifting up the front of my trailer and to my surprise I could, this is something I could not do before and now I can so It must have removed some weight. If the weather is good this weekend I may take the boat out and see what difference it made. I hope you all enjoyed my little picture show here -shane
http://supergenius74.kicks-ass.net/pictures/6.jpg

[paedbo]

Nice job there! It sure does look like alot of work! I thought about doing that to my 86 starliner, when i open the front hatch in the bow area there is only a few inches of room before the bulkhead wall. But there is a drain hole ( Dont know who drilled it out) but when i stuck my finger in the foam felt quite dry so i figured I would leave it. However now that i look at yours. There's so much room in there that i could utilize to store life jackets etc. So I might just go ahead and remove the foam anyways.

[F150GT]

YEP Bean there done that. What a mess while your digging it out huh.

[175checkmate]

Great job. Never reliezed there was that much foarm up there. Keep us posted on the test run.

[jrumon]

Now you'll need a sweet PROP to take advantage of it...:devil:

Hmmm... I wonder WHO has a few of those???:thumb: Jim

[Boston Predictor]

wow, I never would have thought there was so much foam up there...Do you have any Idea how much it all weighed??
I am thinking about removing all the foam from under the floor in my sportfire but Im not sure if its worth it if its only like 50-75lbs...

[supergenius74]

It's hard to say how much it weighed, out of the 10 trash bags i would say at least 2 of them were rather heavy like 30 lbs heavy, the rest maybe 10 lbs or so, I would guess it all weighed at least 100 lbs maybe more. I definitley think it's worth it, if not for performance, for the simple fact that your boat has rotting, stinky, moldy foam in it, After taking it out I am not sure it would do much good in there anyways. The wall was completely rotted out and falling apart behind the carpet, I just gained about 5 feet of extra storage space too if i need it.

[merc245]

You did a good job cleaning that up, I was thinking of repairing the bulkhead but now I think I might remove it totally and install black carpet to have the extra space.

[aaronmt]

Well seeing your pics i decided today will be the day my foam comes out. The guy i bought the boat from neglected it something fierce so i assume if everyone seems to be having water in there mine more then likely has it to. Ill put pics up hopefully later today or tommorow.Im replacing the antique looking cuddy lights that are in there first so i can see. Aaron

[supergenius74]

I think you are right jim, I'd almost rather come up to your place and try a few out to determine what is best. The marina's around here don't like to do that! P.S. how did you end up with so many props? -shane

[supergenius74]

Ok got some numbers this past week, at 7000 RPM with a 22p chopper and my prop shaft about even with the bottom of the boat, 13.25" of setback and a 2.4 BP EFI 240 hp I hit 68.5 mph on GPS with me (240 lbs) my wife (160 lbs) my dog (12 lbs) an anchor (15 lbs) and a 1/2 tank of gas (100 lbs). Removing the foam not only gained me 1.5 mph but also did bring the bow up abit so the boat rides better with less trim. It also planes off better I think and I still need a little to much trim to the bow to loosen up, it's better but I just think my engine is a bit to light. I don't plan to add any more setback or lift to the engine, the transom is under enough strain now. I also believe 70 will not be a problem with just me in the boat. I do not regret pulling out the foam, it helped performance but I also think it will give me more room up front, I plan on mounting a net that can hold stuff and carpeting the whole area. -shane

[JUPITER PULSARE]

Yeah, us guys seem to get the most satisfaction from the messiest jobs!!! Great work! I'm sure the boat will handle much better and you get the benefit of more room in the bow.....to handle those other messy jobs!!!

[Blizz]

Put a little more prop and you'll surpass the 70 mark with the load you had. Your motor should be able to swing a 26or28 to 6500 no problem and you'll probably see all the bow lift you want and more.

[jrumon]

The 2.4L Bridgeport likes props with less blade surface or less pitch.. The bridge's were high RPM motors but not high torque. You should be able to swing a 24p for sure, maybe a 26. I also have a TRICK Spinelli 4-blade 23p Chopper that would be a great all around beast and get you well into the 70's

[Blizz]

We had one on a 20 ft Charger that spun a 30 with no problems. I know checkies are a little heavier but should be be able to spin bigger than a 24-26

[INXS]

Ok got some numbers this past week, at 7000 RPM with a 22p chopper and my prop shaft about even with the bottom of the boat, 13.25" of setback and a 2.4 BP EFI 240 hp I hit 68.5 mph on GPS with me (240 lbs) my wife (160 lbs) my dog (12 lbs) an anchor (15 lbs) and a 1/2 tank of gas (100 lbs). Removing the foam not only gained me 1.5 mph but also did bring the bow up abit so the boat rides better with less trim. It also planes off better I think and I still need a little to much trim to the bow to loosen up, it's better but I just think my engine is a bit to light. I don't plan to add any more setback or lift to the engine, the transom is under enough strain now. I also believe 70 will not be a problem with just me in the boat. I do not regret pulling out the foam, it helped performance but I also think it will give me more room up front, I plan on mounting a net that can hold stuff and carpeting the whole area. -shane

Supergenius, try using a 25" 4 blade Powertech. My Starflite can spin it at 6100-6300 depending on jack plate height, I haven't used a gps yet to get the best height and rpm. Anyway, I started ripping out my foam. So far I've only opened it up and removed about have a foot or so. It's all dry so far, the boat was never left in the water so it may be all dry, anyway I could use the space.

[INXS]

It took only a total of about three hrs to gut the foam, maybe a hr to scrap the small stuff that was left over and vacum the pices out. It was about 95% dry but I see where some salt water leaked in from the rub rail. I guess that from only using the boat sparenly and trailering it kept it dry? Anyway I'll put two of the 5 extra feet as cabin space with a nice pillow pice going from where my matts end to a netted storage area. I'll also put some silacone along the inside of the rub rail before putting carpet and headliner in the new section.

[aaronmt]

INXS, i removed my bow foam a while ago myself as well as the bow headliner and the carpet onthe sides. I then found a marine paint and painted the side and roof and carpeted just the bottom (my headliner was saging anyway), and the little side pieces. Turned out nice and any lil weight you can save on the bow of these boats is as good as gold. Ill put some pics up soon Aaron

[INXS]

Thanks Aaron, I'll probably go with the paint idea too, at least for now.

[aaronmt]

Just a reminder INXS , make sure ya go with a marine paint becouse of the condensation. I painted the ski locker as well. Aaron

[INXS]

Oh Yea, I took out the two foam matsand the metal bar from the cuddy. I think it's about 20+ lbs lighter now. I had it outm in a good 2' chop the other day and it rides a fair amount higher. I guess that any weight or weight removal, in the front third of the boat really makes a differance?

[supergenius74]

yes, in my case removing the foam did 3 things, it lightened the boat considerably because my foam was soaked with water, it created more room under the deck, and it helped me fix the leak that was soaking the foam. Any weight removal from the bow of a starflite is a good thing. This boat is heavy in the nose and goes faster when its out of the water. -shane

[supergenius74]

Finally broke 70 on GPS a couple weeks ago, didn't feel any different than 65 but GPS don't lie. To accomplish this I simply drove by myself. Seems this boat is just heavy enough that it makes a difference, In fact my numbers are almost perfect with what the speed calculation programs say I should be doing. What I have calculated is that at 7000 RPM with a 22p I should be hitting 73 with 10% slip, I am closer to 13% @ 70. Also it says that with 240hp and 2050 lbs (1300-boat, 400-motor, 240-me, 60-gas, 50-battery) i will hit 70 and I do. I guess I have the potential to hit 73 but I would need to loose about 100 lbs, not sure how to do that. -shane

[camaro7081]

does any one recomend removing the foam in the transom area ???? i know mine is soaking wet at all times !!!!!!!!

[JUPITER PULSARE]

does any one recomend removing the foam in the transom area ???? i know mine is soaking wet at all times !!!!!!!!
Remove the foam before it begins to rot everything else. Marine rot is a living organism. Once it gets into the wood it continues to expand. Your wet foam is not only slowing you down but is a time bomb waiting to explode!!

[BWrex]

One of the main reasons I bought my Checkmate is of it's decent wake jumping agilities.For control,I almost like a little weight up there.When I get a second or two of free spin on the prop,I know I'm getting some air.By jacking the throttle back,I can bring the bow down safley,and quickly,and I believe the extra weight attributes to that.Removing wet,moldy foam is a must,but replacing it (maybe not as much)with new foam is the route I'm going to take.I'm currently running a 3blade,21pitch,stainless,so getting out of the hole is no problem,and 59 on GPS is plenty fast for chasing wakes...To each is own I guess...I'm curious though,for the members who have done this fabrication.Is there a noticable difference in weight transfer?In rougher waters,WOT,I would assume the less weight up front would make the ride a little more sketchy and less controllable.....Thoughts?Opinions?

[JW]

The bow will be more flighty, but you can always keep the trim down and then it'll handle the same as when you had the heavy foam..........