Is my boat waterlogged?

Recently bought a 2001 SeaArk 170. Bottom of hull is dented pretty bad from stumps he hit over the years. I noticed when I took it out that the boat sits level while fishing, but as soon as I give it gas the boat leans hard to the front left and pushes in the water. When I removed drain plug the other day, noticed some water and small chunks of styrofoam coming out. I’m guessing it’s waterlogged and needs replaced? Or would a dented hull cause it to ride like this? Previous owner swears it didn’t leak or do this but I don’t think he’s being honest about it

How bad are the dents?

Ive heard of the foam in Tracker Grizzlies getting waterlogged and guys taking it out. I’m not sure if that’s a thing with other brands or not but it would seem like they’d all be using a similar foam product?

Floatation foam used to be open cell meaning it would become waterlogged.
At some point in time manufacturers changed to closed cell foam that is not supposed to become waterlogged. I have cut the floor out of an older 60's model boat. Removed all the waterlogged foam, replaced the floor and poured new foam through holes in the floor. Then fiberglassed the floor in. This was on a glass boat

Pretty bad but they are on both sides not just the left one

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Originally Posted by DockShootinJack

Floatation foam used to be open cell meaning it would become waterlogged.
At some point in time manufacturers changed to closed cell foam that is not supposed to become waterlogged. I have cut the floor out of an older 60's model boat. Removed all the waterlogged foam, replaced the floor and poured new foam through holes in the floor. Then fiberglassed the floor in. This was on a glass boat

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ya and with it being an older boat it might have open cell. I’m gonna have to pull it all out more than likely. Just wasn’t sure why it doesn’t lean at all while not moving

I can't explain that one. With the foam out a lot of the dents could be hammered out from the inside. To check weather it is waterlogged a small hole drilled from the deck and a wire inserted will tell the tale.

Here is some stuff for you to consider

Why A Boat Pulls To The Right or Left: Fix It The Right Way!

4 Most Common Reasons Why Your Boat Leans To One Side

Boat leaning to one side while throttling up? | Boating Forum - iboats Boating Forums

It wont be waterlogged unless it was stored outdoors, should be pretty easy to tell by the condition of the carpet/interior.

Id be more concerned that the hull is compromised from all the dents (welds cracking, supports bent, etc), and overall condition of the boat since it sounds like the guy obviously didn't care about the boat much if he put large dents in it multiple times.

If the interior looks bad, then yeah you probably need to do a full restoration here.... pull the flooring and replace if needed. Pull all the foam out and beat the dents back out of it along with checking all the support ribs and welds. Then put new flooring down and some new foam (for noise dampening mostly) and new carpet. It is a HUGE job and not one you are going to do in a couple hours on a saturday. If you get into it and find damage, you'll need to find someone who can weld alum and fix that as well.

Some of the foam is structural to the boat. On some of the glass boats the foam holds the boat ridged. Thier are different grades of foam as well depending on how strong the foam is required to be.