300/440/550 anyone ever defoam a 440 or 550?

[jetski9010]

I know all the superjet guys defoam their ski's and try to seal all the leaks then refoam it to loose some wieght. I was wondering if anyone has ever done this on an older 440 or 550 or if you even need to for that matter?

 

[jetskiparts]

the only time I have seen this done was back in the 550 racing days when the racers were installing rear exhausts that had a resonator piece that was to big to just slide in and also back then when racers were widening the tray to make more room for their feet.

The top deck will come off fairly easy just heat it up to weaken the green Kawi glue they uses.

 

[Polish jet pilot]

Fearlessnuts did that on his build - he took out the old foam and installed footholds, reinforced the tray, etc.. Do a search...

 

[Conquistador]

I did it last year. Made some custom footholds, but I'm going to modify them, preferrably sometime later this week. It sucks, but was worth it.

 

[jetski9010]

I found the build where he defoams the ski. I guess I will not know how much weight it will take out till I do it but I would just hate to do all that and only lose 5 lbs or so.

 

[Polish jet pilot]

You know, foam isn't all that heavy, unless soaked with H20....

 

[jetski9010]

You know, foam isn't all that heavy, unless soaked with H20....

Yea I got that part but I think it would be safe to guess that any ski from the 80's would have the foam soaked.

 

[kevbo]

The foam may be damp on the surface in some places but thats about all. Its easy to do some prospecting with a small drill and vacuum pump. Certainly better than cutting up the hull just to find an ounce or two of water. My old 650 had a bulkhead that was missing glue in several places and leaking. I found some cavities behind the bulkhead that had several ounces of standing water and had been there for many years. The water did not soak into the foam, it was dry just below the surface. Ive seen plenty of Superjet guys digging out a lot of dry foam in order to "refoam"??? WTF.

 

[Mark Gomez]

Ha haaaaave fun!
It sucks



fyi... it was wet again within a month...
Surf ski = Wet ski

 

[Mark Gomez]

What i didn't check or seal up was the entire bondline of the ski on the inside. and also I should have removed the rear exhaust. It defenetly Leaked again through there so beware.

 

[Algonquin]

If you want to do it for piece of mind then go for it. Seal everything up good and you know it will be fine for years to come. Fun learning experience too, so then if you ever upgrade to a newer more expensive ski you won't be afraid to cut it open since you'll already know what to expect.

If it was me I would add a sump pump one-way valve while you have it defoamed.


But unless the ski was ridden real hard I doubt there is water in there. I defoamed a heavily used 1974 JS400 and found the foam to be completely dry.

 

[jetski9010]

when I make the cut outs for the foot holds will I be able to tell from there if the foam is wet or will it require cutting up the hull and checking the stuff at the bottom?

 

[Bonzia Bob]

when I make the cut outs for the foot holds will I be able to tell from there if the foam is wet or will it require cutting up the hull and checking the stuff at the bottom?

You should be able to tell just by that, more than likely you should not have to re foam. I would not cut your ski apart, unless you just have a lot of time and money to waste.

 

[gpshemi]

What footholds are decent for the 440/550 ski's? Been thinking of making my own, but I really want to get this thing moving and I'm short on time. Maybe buying a cheap set is my best option.

 

[orangefinger]

I put in a set of REvs...but there many others that will fit

 

[dbrutherford]

Yeah I have cut up a few kawasaki 650's that were not soaked at all. One X2 sat outside for three years and barely had any soaked foam. Don't get me wrong, there was some water in it, but not like what the SJ guys end up with...

 

[gpshemi]

I just cut up two 440/550's. One of which had the rails cut down and foam exposed all winter and there wasn't even damp really. Maybe the first 1" where it was exposed. I don't think this foam holds water like the others.

 

[jetskifreak]

foot holds

I just made my own

 

[jetski9010]

What footholds are decent for the 440/550 ski's? Been thinking of making my own, but I really want to get this thing moving and I'm short on time. Maybe buying a cheap set is my best option.

Me and my buddy just did it to a 440 and a 550. He put the rev ones in his and I went with the watercraft factory ones. I think the watercraft factory ones are much easier to install and I really like them better overall.

 

[agua]

have wet foam?