Removing water from HWS?

General Discussion
1

So I took my latest build out into the water for a test and when I got back in, as I flipped the board over I could hear what I thought might be water trickling down the inside. Did it a couple more times and thought maybe there was some debris stuck inside. I can’t for the life of me figure out where the water could be getting in, since I haven’t even put the vent in yet, (the board has been sealed, glassed and sanding coat applied). When I got back to the shop I flipped the board again and heard nothing, which is bad, because it tells me that it was probably water and it has been absorbed somewhere inside. In any case, I searched the forum but found nothing on how one would go about removing water from inside a HWS, which I want to do before I fix the problem. Any help would be greatly appreciated. 

2

oye tio P,

if your board has no vent yet, install it already to let moisture evaporate and/or drain any water that got inside. most experts at grainsurf.com & treetosea.org recommend placing waterlogged HWS in an airtight cabinet or room with a hair dryer running full-blast, its nozzle duct-taped onto the vent. to check for leaks, cover the exterior with soapsuds to see any telltale bubbles & repair as needed AFTER the board interior has fully dried, say in a week or so. good luck

cheers,

3

Thanks Surfiber… brought the board to a friends pool and looked for air bubbles… saw none. Drilled a small hole where the vent is to go and am letting it sit in a dry place for now. Might have simply been my paranoia… don’t know, but I’m glad to have this information about the hair dryer dealie… not sure where I’ll find one down here in the jungle though.

4

hehe just passing on quicktips from the T2S community, very helpful folks all around. might be good to post pics of the board in question  at grainsurf.com, the HWS honchos there who’ve sprung a leak or two might have something to help you get it done quick without using a hair dryer…

cheers,

5

i have found that no matter how much you blow out the inside of a hollow woody before you glue on the deck skin, no matter what there is always a piece of something left inside that chatters when you move the board around.  So it may not have been water. 

 

 

6

hehe i can relate to that " )

i went over the entire interior cavity of my ongoing HWS assembly with a damp brush to make sure there was nothing left inside to make it rattle after completion. it’s been sitting on my workbench these past months while i’m trying to finish the rails, and it seems tiny spiders have made it home. sheets of spidersilk inside now contain windblown sawdust, bits of wood shavings and tiny leaves. now i gotta do the whole thing again with a damp rag on a stick before finally i seal & shape the rails!