2000 16x44 with a 2000 23hp longtail

Let me start with I have searched many of the past threads and did not find anything that answered my questions directly, so please do not beat me up.

Couple questions for the guys who have removed the foam from there Go Devil boats. (yes I do know that by removing the foam the boat could take a large wave over the bow fill up with water and sink to the bottom of the ocean. I'm rolling those dice.)

I thinking about removing the foam from the front, floors, and removing the rear pods from the boat. So my question is about the strength of the boat with it removed.

1st Is there any give (flex) in the floors and on the front deck when you stand on it? If so what was your soultion? (live with it or new floors or deck)
2nd With the rear pods gone does the boat feel weaker have movement in and out? the reason I ask this is other boats have ribs up the sides, I didn't know if these pods or structular or not.

So strength of the boat is my primary concern, that is what I was attracted to it in the first place is how solid the boat was, but lets be honest these boats or super heavy turds in the water. And no I did not buy it to go fast I bought it so I didn't have to push it thru the mud... But I have had other GD motors on other than GD boats and they moved pretty good and none of them had flotation in them.

You will have no issues with strength. Remove away.

floors are thin as the f and will flex like crazy when foam is removed. Its so thin it'll drive you nuts and break rivits every time you take the boat out. Plan on redecking or new closed cell foam.

What about the front deck any give or flex there?

I got a 1660 GD boat that I removed the foam from the floor and I have had no issues. I was popping rivets with the foam in the floor because it was pushing up from hitting stumps. I'm scared to remove the pod and deck foam because I have swamped my boat twice in 3 years.

I wouldn't want to run the risk of sinking the boat.

swamped the back this weekend and was really glad i had that foam

I don't have foam in my floor and it is just fine. Those rivets pop regardless. It's the only aggravating thing about the boat. You can also go with two different options. You can have someone weld the floorig on or you can replace each rivet that pops with a screw. I am keeping mine riveted. It makes it easy to pop it up, fix a hook and pop it back down.

What has people doing with the rear pods. I know they are waterlogged.

I removed the foam from under the floor in the rear and also the rear pods. The only flex you will feel is from that top piece of sheet metal that you stand on cause it is so thin, but the actual boat will not flex. I just went back with rivets in the floor with a bigger head and they been fine. As far as the pods go I would remove them ASAP because I had a total of 60# of wet foam I had removed from the rear. I have a 16x38 and I had no operating room with them 2 rear pods and now driving in tight spots is a whole lot eaiser since I have more room to move around. Yes your boat will proabably squat a little in the rear but it's not that bad.
photo.PNG

Why would ur boat squat in the rear


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Why would ur boat squat in the rear


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Why would ur boat squat in the rear


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The rear pops take a while to water log. If you want to remove them just cut the welds off. Be careful not to spark the floatation.

I had a cross brace on floor welded when I took my pods out just to be sure.
Is your boat all .125?
I have had no issue with floor or hull twisting.
Google Go Devil Skiff Rehab MMT

Good luck hope it helps

If the foam was all wet in the rear pods and floor it could be weighted down in the rear but foam inside a boat isn't gonna make it float higher u can't change the displacement of the boat it's gonna float where it floats so by removing foam should only help it float lighter


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What about turning the rear pods in to storage? If you have done this please post some pics.

Don't mean to hi-jack your thread, but can someone please explain to me how a CLOSED cell foam is capable of absorbing water?

I worked in a chemical plant for many years and almost all the piping insulation was one of two different types of closed cell foam (armor flex and foam glass) wrapped in a plastic outer layer and that stuff NEVER absorbed moisture, and believe me when I say I removed plenty of it over the years.

And with that said, why aren't boat manufacturers using styrofoam for the front deck and the pods? I can see why they'd not want to use it if it could be in a place where it could come in contact with gasoline because it would deteriorate but why not in pods and decks?

Probably cost or ease of installation would be my guess

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I cut the back boxes out of my 1838 today. You can see how they built the dry box in the bench seat with the sloped sides. On the front of the bench, there is a flat plate welded to span this gap. I was thinking about cutting it out so I can run fishing poles through that gap between the side of the boat and the dry box. Would this weaken the boat too much?

Yes


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I recently bought a 1999 - 1856 Go Devil boat and one of the first things I did was pull the floor and removed all that water logged p.o.s. stuff they call flotation. I'd be there was 200#-300# of the wet stuff. Now I know why the previous owner complained about the boat seeming to get heavier every year. He obviously stored it outside.

I know styrofoam can deteriorate if gas is spilled on it but that's what I'm gonna put back in there to replace the crap I took out. I haven't spilled gas in any of my boats, ever, so that's not a big concern.

I removed the front pedestal seat bracket mount and there looks to be blown in foam up there, like the "good stuff" insulation that you can buy at Home Depot. It seemed wet down by where I removed the floor. Anyone know if that stuff holds a lot of water?

My next question is: Should I cut a huge access hole in the front for fear the foam in there is also water logged or are the pods more of a concern? I didn't really want to remove the pods, but thought I'd maybe cut an opening in them using a hole saw and see if they're wet and go from there. Any input /help from you guys is appreciated.

I'm interested in cutting openings in my rear pods for storage too. Back when I was going to the Muddi Gras I would stop at GD and have them give my rig the once over. Before MG I had scraped one of those plastic plugs off one of my pods one day while duck hunting. How I don't know. So while waiting on ducks I got to pushing the foam with my finger and seen water ooozing out. When I stopped at GD I told them about the foam being water logged. They cut a access hole and cut a sample piece out. It was not super soaked so they put a plate over the hole and sealed it up. After MG I tore the foam out of the floor and tossed it. I riveted the floor back down.
Long before I took the floor foam out I sank my boat twice in deep water. I'm talking deep. I tried to jump a log that was across a rain swollen creek that was on the drop. Some states call this creek a river. The log was no problem going out however the creek was dropping and when we returned later in the day the creek had dropped over a foot. I tried to jump the log and when the boat went over the log the back of the boat went under. Boy did it go quick. I had time to run up grab the bow line jump on the log tie a pop knot with the bow rope and she was under except for the front. I had to pull the boat out with my four wheeler. My buddy from Sugarland,Tx who was with me thinks I'm nuts.
Another time we had six guys,guns, gear,decoys and dog going up the same creek ran up on some floating debris. The back end went down and so did the rest. With all the man power we were able pull the boat up on the creek bank and drain the boat and get back to the flooded field to hunt. The front never went below the surface.
Both times were negligence on my part for asking the rig to do way more than it is designed for.
I'm interested in the pods for storage however I will leave the front alone. I'm also interested in a hunt deck too.

I worked on mine a little today. The front seems like it weighs as much as the rest of the boat's combined weight. The boat is completely empty right now and I can easily lift the back of it off the trailer, but I crawled under the front and tried lifting it and could not budge it.

I'm afraid I'll be doing like Cubman has done and be cutting an access panel in the front and seeing how soaked the stuff is.

It would seem to me that the people who manufacture stuff like this would find a better alternative to the crap they're using.

Seeing that I have never spilled any gasoline in any of my boats EVER I'll be putting strips of expanded polystyrene in the floor.

I guess I'll have to figure something out for the pods later. That wide boat has the older style, narrower pods and the back doesn't seem to be too heavy, unlike the front.

I have cut out all the foam out front and back pods and under the floor I'm glad I took the pods out I've got a lot more room to drive and I put my fuel tank in the front under the deck it really opens the boat up I'm thinking about taking the center box out to
This is a 16x48 surface drive boat

My boat does not have the floor foam. The problem is it is hollow and I popped 3 rivets the first 30
Hours on the boat. I put hydro turf so I can't fix them at the moment. Eventually I will just pop them all out and have someone weld a floor on it. I don't mind the pods in the back. I use them for placing my beer, stepping on them etc.

Has anyone that has cut the front foam out got a water logged report? Curious as to how much water the front has. I can see where the floor gets water logged however I'm curious about the front. If I was not going to Caddo I would be putting the saw to mine right now.

I got the Gator Glide applied to my boat and it's dried for over three days before flipping it back over. It's resting on top of old tires in my shop. It's raining here and supposed to be raining all day tomorrow so I plan to cut a fairly large access door under the front deck to check to see if the foam is wet. If it is, it's coming out. will try to post some pictures if I get a chance and can keep my camera dry in the process.

I cut a big access hole under the front deck today and started removing foam. I used a pry bar and a claw hammer at first to remove the foam, just to see how wet it was. At first I didn't think it was that wet except near the floor. But the further I moved towards the bow, the wetter the foam got. I could literally squeeze pieces of the foam and watch the water run out of it. I then got the power washer out and removed the rest of it, cutting it into pieces and vacuuming it out. What a mess!

BEFORE I removed the foam it was impossible for me to pick up the front of the boat even an inch! It was that heavy. But now I can lift it with ease. I cut 2" thick pieces of expanded polystyrene foam (styrofoam) and put it back under the floor so it would be rigid and have some flotation, sliding it all the way to the nose of the bow.

I'm sit here drinking rum and coke trying to get my back to feel better. It's a bummer getting older.

one click, how old was that boat?