17ft Wilson flyer problems!

[Ashhodges]

Hi I'm new to the forum, I have a 17ft flyer with a 40hp mariner and have a problem with it, since I have owned it it has always been slow and uses a lot of fuel at first we thought it may have been a engine problem but It seems to be running absolutely fine. I then noticed that there's a crack in the cover of the inspection hatch at the rear of the floor I took the cover off and it was full of water it also looks to be foam filled, could this be my problem? I have sucked the water out with a wet vac and it keeps refilling but I kept doing it until no more water came out. I am new to working on boats and do not no a lot so any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Ash.

[Brian]

I would say that you've found the reason it's slow. The boat would be very heavy with a lot of water under the floor.

I think your only solution will be to cut out the floor so you can remove the foam and find out where the water is getting in. Then bond the floor back in. You cold either fill the space with plastic balls as used in a children's play area or do as I did with the Pilot International 520 that I had and leave the area empty.

 

40hp sounds a bit small for that boat, my Pilot International 520 (very similar boat) was fitted with a 50hp and it struggled to get on the plane at times. Although that could be down to the fact it was quite an old engine, so was probably well down on power.

 

Hope this helps and hasn't disheartened you.

[Ashhodges]

Hi, thanks for your help I thought this might be the case I was going to strip the boat over the winter for painting etc anyway so I'll just have todo this at the same time. And yes I thought the 40hp is abit small really and hopefully will change to something bigger when it's all sorted.

[Brian]

Where are you? Anywhere near Poole?

[Ashhodges]

Southampton mate.

[great white]

Hi

 

I used to own a Wilson Flyer 17

Mine was a bit heavier built than the usual layup

 

I originally fitted it with an old 45HP and it was a lemon, engine change to a new 60HP 2 stroke and it was a different boat, back to a flyer.

 

Later on I took out the bulkhead and lifted the soft floor, doing so I found some foam under the deck that had soaked up water over its lifetime. Removing it was a pain but it was so heavy that it had to go.

 

new flooring fitted and a console instead of the bulkhead made my old boat a hell of a lot better. the reduction in weight made a huge difference to speed and economy.

 

 

You need to get that wet foam out Ash, before deciding if the engine is big enough

 

Hope that helps

[Ashhodges]

Thanks for your help that's what I'm going todo over the winter aswell as getting it repainted then I will decide on the engine

[Rob]

Welcome.

 

Graham "BrambleBanker" might be along in a minute, i think he has done similar to his.

 

 

Probably worth trying to find how the water is getting in. Is it fresh or sea water?

 

Have you got any pics/ Always makes a thread more interesting.

 

Rob

[Brian]

Probably getting in through the crack in the inspection hatch. A small crack will let in a surprising amount of water, especially if it's been there for any length of time.

[Ashhodges]

I think the water is getting in through the inspection hatch as it has a big crack in it I can't see of anywhere else it could get in but I'm not an expert I don't no much about repairing boats at all!

[Ashhodges]

Also the person I bought the boat from kept it on a mooring without any cover on it so rain could have filled it up

[Ashhodges]

Only photo I have at the mo

[great white]

That cover is not man enough for a deck fitting and would not have been an original fitting

 

as its cracked I would expect it to be the problem, leaves you with a lot of work to get the water out from the foam.

 

Just about impossible without taking up the deck

[Jim]

I would have thought that the boaty world would have come up with some sort of dehumidifyer for this job.

( Failing that, some sort of " sucky thing " ) 

 

Is there nothing out there ?

[sparky]

Try Knyveton Road Jim!!!!  

[Jim]

Try Knyveton Road Jim!!!!  

 

 

I've got a boat Mick !

I can't afford things like that ! ! ! 

 

 

Jim

[Wedger]

Hope you get to the bottom of the water issue. I think you will have to have the deck up. Suggest not putting foam back in - not a good idea as a retro fit IMHO. Even factory built twin skin boats can have issues. As for the engine, if it is a 17' Flyer I would suggest a 60 hp. Had one myself before 'Otter' and can honestly say it was a perfect match. Bon chance.

[Ashhodges]

Thanks everyone for the help just got to wait for a car to be moved from a garage at work then it will be going there to start the work

[Coddy]

Don't forget that when you replace the floor, I suspect you will use marine grade plywood, that you coat BOTH sides with fiberglass resin or epoxy resin to seal it.

 

Last thing you want is the floor to rot again from underneath!

 

Hope you have a good dust mask when cutting out the old floor as the dust will be full of fibres and you don't want to breath that lot in

 

Good luck and keep asking away, be nice if you can take pictures as you progress and give a report on how its all going, many would be interested similar to Adam's recent rebuild of his boat.

 

Dave