do i have to have foam

[anthony115merc]

in my boat the bildge is all open with floor boards so very easy access when i do up my boat do i have to put foam in there? what will it do

 

[CATransplant]

Re: do i have to have foam

in my boat the bildge is all open with floor boards so very easy access when i do up my boat do i have to put foam in there? what will it do

Foam? It will keep your boat from sinking in the middle of the lake when some yahoo fishing a bass tournament rams your boat while running 70 mph to another piece of structure, where he won't catch anything, just like at the last piece.

No disrespect meant to the decent professional bass tour folks. It's the weekend warriors I'm talking about who trash an entire lake whenever there's a tournament.

 

[threedeesmax]

Re: do i have to have foam

If you do put in foam, be sure to use a good closed-cell foam designed specifically for boat floatation. I'd add foam if you have some good spots to put it in.

 

[Bondo]

Re: do i have to have foam

It's Your Boat,......

You can do Anything You Want with it.........

Foam will Trap Water,+ Rot the Hull........But if You think it's the Right thing to do,.....
Go For It......

 

[anthony115merc]

Re: do i have to have foam

its curently got nothing under floor and never has but im putting a bigger motor on

does the foam help the boat in any way? none of the boats that i work on have it in them.

 

[Bondo]

Re: do i have to have foam

Foam will add abit of Stiffening,.....If it's a Weak Hull.......
But,.....
If you're starting with a Solid Hull,..... It Shouldn't Need to be Stiffer......

 

[anthony115merc]

Re: do i have to have foam

i am not so sure my hull is solid its bond wood its doesnt flex when you push on it so doesit mean its solid?

 

[sdunt]

Re: do i have to have foam

Foam is for safety only. Fiberglass boats by themselves, if swamped, barely float, so the builders ad floatation foam to keep the boat and the Outboard and the batteries and the people floating.

your wooden boat have better floatation already than a fiberglass boat. and yes there is a trade off between foam WILL hold water and make wood rot faster, vs extra floatation if there is an accident.

also to throw in here is that foam up under the gunwhales and the bow, is sometime better, because it helps to keep a swamped boat floating upright instead of upside down. And foam under the gunwhales and bow, is less likely to get wet.

Do some searches, there are 1000's of post in the forum on foam. You'll get tired of reading the posts.

 

[anthony115merc]

Re: do i have to have foam

i think i have made my descision not to use foam