Floatation foam 18ft xcalibur

Just picked up a 2005 18ft legend Excalibur over the weekend and after taking it out of the water it sits very low in the back end.. some investigation showed that the floatation foam has a lot of water in it. We dug out a few sections under the seat mounting plates and vacuumed the water out, fills back up within a few hours to a couple inches.

we’ve set up a few dehumidifiers in the garage with all covers on to see if it will help but also curious if anyone has taken these excaliburs apart? Debating pulling the floor up and getting a good look underneath.

I haven’t taken one of those apart.
I did have a boat that leaked and the foam got waterlogged. I’d tilt the boat up and it would dry out in a couple weeks.

I thought Legend boats have a 'leak proof for life' warranty that is transferrable from one owner to the next. I would contact the company to inquire about it.

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Originally Posted by Frenchie

I thought Legend boats have a 'leak proof for life' warranty that is transferrable from one owner to the next. I would contact the company to inquire about it.

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Only for the first owner, 10 years for the second and "sol" after that.

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Originally Posted by Frenchie

I thought Legend boats have a 'leak proof for life' warranty that is transferrable from one owner to the next. I would contact the company to inquire about it.

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Loony would be correct this is from Legend "Once a product transfers to a second owner, the coverage reduces from Lifetime Leakproof, to a 10 year Limited warranty from the original date of purchase."

The 10 year limited warranty covers 10% less each year. As I am over this already I am "SOL"

discussed this issue with LEGEND and in the next few weeks will be doing a leak test on the hull and possibly getting them to remove floor and replace foam. Hoping not too much damage...

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Originally Posted by Winterfisher

Loony would be correct this is from Legend "Once a product transfers to a second owner, the coverage reduces from Lifetime Leakproof, to a 10 year Limited warranty from the original date of purchase."

The 10 year limited warranty covers 10% less each year. As I am over this already I am "SOL"

discussed this issue with LEGEND and in the next few weeks will be doing a leak test on the hull and possibly getting them to remove floor and replace foam. Hoping not too much damage...

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I have nearly the identical boat, and am interested in what you find beneath the floor…lots of those boats around and other might be interested too. Please post some pictures if you don’t mind ?

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Originally Posted by Winterfisher

Loony would be correct this is from Legend "Once a product transfers to a second owner, the coverage reduces from Lifetime Leakproof, to a 10 year Limited warranty from the original date of purchase."

The 10 year limited warranty covers 10% less each year. As I am over this already I am "SOL"

discussed this issue with LEGEND and in the next few weeks will be doing a leak test on the hull and possibly getting them to remove floor and replace foam. Hoping not too much damage...

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Is the warranty work still done in Sudbury?
I've got a Legend but never put much faith in the warranty(haven't need it it yet boats got to be 20 by now) as when I bought it if the was a problem sure they fix it but had to be brought to sudbury on my dime.

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Originally Posted by 73hunter

I have nearly the identical boat, and am interested in what you find beneath the floor…lots of those boats around and other might be interested too. Please post some pictures if you don’t mind ?

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Can do! That is when I get the chance in a few weeks to drop it off..

Does yours ride very low in the water at the stern? we figured it has a few hundred pounds of water weight as we took the rear seat brackets off the floor and dug out the foam below.. fills up with minimum 1-2 inches of water in an hour. Vacuum it out and another hour there's another 1-2 inches..

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Originally Posted by finsfurfeathers

Is the warranty work still done in Sudbury?
I've got a Legend but never put much faith in the warranty(haven't need it it yet boats got to be 20 by now) as when I bought it if the was a problem sure they fix it but had to be brought to sudbury on my dime.

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Not sure if the warratny work is only done here in Sudbury but I live ~25 mins away so it works out for me!

Have you run some water in it while it on the trailer ? You should see the leak…

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Originally Posted by rick_iles

Have you run some water in it while it on the trailer ? You should see the leak…

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Considering I know there is water trapped inside regardless I don't want to add more.. since it is also a used bought and I don't know its full history for $150 I'd rather a proper leak test be done.

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Originally Posted by Winterfisher

Can do! That is when I get the chance in a few weeks to drop it off..

Does yours ride very low in the water at the stern? we figured it has a few hundred pounds of water weight as we took the rear seat brackets off the floor and dug out the foam below.. fills up with minimum 1-2 inches of water in an hour. Vacuum it out and another hour there's another 1-2 inches..

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No, I don’t find it rides low….I have the 18 Xterminator and just this spring sold the 16’ same boat….neither leaked a drop, at least never anything visible in the bilge

Our 07 16' Xterminator cracked on the driver's side towards the bow "about a 3 inch crack". When I pulled the deck, live well and sub floor I found the front floor rib was completely broken off and the crack was on a broken weld on the side ribs. The was 3 broken welds in a row all in the same rib in an area where 2 others just stopped not carrying on to the bow creating a fairly large triangular patch of hull with no reinforcement at all. I took the boat to a local hot rod shop and had the hull welded and added an extra brace in the area with no support and had the floor rib welded back in as well "the welds on this piece were bad from new, barely tacked". The boat has been good for the last 5 years since the repair and I can't blame it all on the boat as the former owner who is a buddy did run it hard. You could here the hull oil can at times before the repair. Our's had no foam under the floor thankfully which made it easier to work on, I guess it must be in the sides as you could see straight to the stern under the main floor.

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Originally Posted by Winterfisher

Not sure if the warratny work is only done here in Sudbury but I live ~25 mins away so it works out for me!

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Got to like it when things work out for you :thumbup:

Figured I would give everyone an update but unfortunately not much has been done.. It's that time of year where everyone is busy winterizing boats and mine is getting pushed back until December. They did offer to store it at no cost because it is getting delayed so I guess I'm ok with that.

It did go through a leak test and the hull is in perfect shape which is good news! But I'll have to wait until Mid December to post any pictures of what's under the floor..

Until then I guess I can keep planning/dreaming on how I am going to outfit the boat in the spring.

Update #1:
The boat Finally got in to get some work done on it. Currently they have ripped it right down to bare hull and other then a few large black walnuts from a small critter they said the hull is in amazing shape despite its age (2005). removed all the foam and they are prepping to replace with new floatation foam ($$$$) but you gotta do what you gotta do!

They have to order in the foam and then they will start placing it all back together. Said they would send some photos along in the next week or two.

Ive also been thinking but when we took it there the steering was alot stiffer to the left than to the right. Anyone else heard of this before with legends? Thinking I may have to change the steering cable..

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Originally Posted by Winterfisher

Update #1:
The boat Finally got in to get some work done on it. Currently they have ripped it right down to bare hull and other then a few large black walnuts from a small critter they said the hull is in amazing shape despite its age (2005). removed all the foam and they are prepping to replace with new floatation foam ($$$$) but you gotta do what you gotta do!

They have to order in the foam and then they will start placing it all back together. Said they would send some photos along in the next week or two.

Ive also been thinking but when we took it there the steering was alot stiffer to the left than to the right. Anyone else heard of this before with legends? Thinking I may have to change the steering cable..

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Has the steering been lubed ? Not the cables but the pivot points in the motor mount I mean

So, the leak test passed BUT where was all the water coming from that saturated your foam ??…..and if you cut a hole in the foam and were able to suck out water that accumulated within it - why didn’t that water drain out of the foam by gravity and end up in the bilge ?

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Originally Posted by 73hunter

Has the steering been lubed ? Not the cables but the pivot points in the motor mount I mean

So, the leak test passed BUT where was all the water coming from that saturated your foam ??…..and if you cut a hole in the foam and were able to suck out water that accumulated within it - why didn’t that water drain out of the foam by gravity and end up in the bilge ?

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the water came from sitting for over a year without the proper cover, the mooring cover doesn’t go over the edge of the gunwale which means it seeped down into the foam over time.. the boat also wasn’t stored with the bow up which meant the water wouldn’t flow to the bilge but instead permeated the old foam..

one option was to put the boat at an extreme angle and let it sit and hopefully get it out but with the foam already compromised I went with the option to basically rebuild.

Final update!

The boat has been finished and is currently in storage until spring.

All welds under the floor were in great shape, not other damage was found except the compromised foam.

All the foam was removed and replaced, decking replaced and everything put back and is awaiting my pickup in spring.

update on the steering - the cable seems to be ok and issue resolved with the cable being disconnected from the helm and reinstalled once work was finished. Must’ve been from just sitting around too long.

min the spring I will grease everything up (which they did during winterizing) and make sure she is ready for the water!

now to dream about the boat and all the modifications I’m going to do once she is home!!