Minifish inspection ports-waterlogged hulls

[9313south]

Here's my problem. I just bought a minifish which weighs in at around 125#.
I am told the "fighting weight" is around 80-90#. I plan on installing 6" inspection ports fore and aft (one each) to muck out the waterlogged foam and give myself a little storage room to boot.
Any suggestions?
I am worried I may place the hole in the wrong spot, reducing the structural capacity or I may remove foam that is required for actual support fore or aft, in effect making my problem worse. I would rather have a heavy boat than one that will fail or crack over time. Anybody have experience with this? I am basing my assumption that it doesn't matter whether I chose starboard or port side for the hole, so I was thinking starboard up front and port in back just because of how the boom is positioned on mast.
Thanks.
Steve in Seattle.

 

[DanB]

Muck out? Do you mean you are thinking of scooping out the foam? Minifish foam is very similar to Sunfish foam. It's a bunch of blocks placed for support and balanced emergency buoyancy. In-between is a big empty. Drying just needs ventilation. 6" ports seem to be an overkill when 4" will do fine and not chop up the deck so much. Look in these pics from Sunfish Sailors.

 

[DanB]

Muck out? Do you mean you are thinking of scooping out the foam? Minifish foam is very similar to Sunfish foam. It's a bunch of blocks placed for support and balanced emergency buoyancy. In-between is a big empty. Drying just needs ventilation. 6" ports seem to be an overkill when 4" will do fine and not chop up the deck so much. Look in these pics from Sunfish Sailors.

 

[DanB]

Here's those pics



Bradley - sorry for the double post

 

[nikobrogna]

I put a 4" port on the vertical face at the forward end of my minifish cockpit to install a block on the deck for the mainsheet. It didn't seem to take aything away structurally, and was perfect for storage (you can get the little bag things that attach to the port). To dry out the hull you'd want some cross ventilation, so maybe one back by the traveller too?

 

[Sailynn]

Don't! remove the foam. It's there for structural support and keeps the boat stiff insteady of wiggly. A 4" port either side as far back on the bow would be your best bet. I added a drain hole and plug to starboard on the stern so the boat can be stored upright and drain. It also works well when wanting to test for leaks with an air compressor and soapy bubles. But with that much moisture inside, your focus should be on where it's entering and how you can stop it. Good Luck

 

[cjwillisgeo]

Does anyone have a pic of the location of the port on a Minifish? I would like to add one as well, but I'm not sure of the location\locations.