Aluminum Boat Wood Deck styrofoam pieces inbetween

[Lliam]

Hwllo All

I am removing the fiberglassed plywood deck panels and UNDER them are various pieces of styrofoam packed in to everyarea..

What is the styrofoam for??

http://www.nefla.com/boat/

Thanks,
Bill

Jacksonville Beach Fl

 

[109jb]

Re: Aluminum Boat Wood Deck styrofoam pieces inbetween

The foam is there for flotation in the event that the boat sinks or gets swamped. It is required by law for this purpose. It will keep the boat from going completely under water.

 

[Lliam]

Re: Aluminum Boat Wood Deck styrofoam pieces inbetween

That's what I thought too.
BUT, the amount of styrofoam material used did not seem sufficient to float anything the size of my boat.

Are there any written guidelines on how much styrofoam should be used?

Thanks,
Bill

 

[halas]

Re: Aluminum Boat Wood Deck styrofoam pieces inbetween

Does not take a lot of foam to keep the boat from sinking.

 

[Lliam]

Re: Aluminum Boat Wood Deck styrofoam pieces inbetween

I removed most of the OLD styrofoam as it was oil soaked.

When I go to replace it, what about the SPRAY FOAM stuff?

Any one have thoughts on this?

I still have to remove the center console and the wood under it.

Photos of bilge area are on my site
http://www.nefla.com/boat/

Thanks,
Bill

Jacksonville Beach, Fl

 

[109jb]

Re: Aluminum Boat Wood Deck styrofoam pieces inbetween

If you are talking about the spray foamm you buy at the hardware store (ie: Great Stuff), then no, I wouldn't use it. You can get pour in expanding foam that is fuel, oil and water resistant. I personally would not use that either for an aluminum boat. Search the forum as everything from ping pong balls to pop bottles to pool noodles has been discussed many many times over.

 

[mantis270]

Re: Aluminum Boat Wood Deck styrofoam pieces inbetween

I'm finishing up a rebuild right now. The old foam under the seats was water/algea logged and had been infiltrated by chipmunks. I went to Home Depot and bought two sheets of that pink foam panel used to insulate walls, cut them into 10" strips and crammed in as much as I could. That stuff is closed-cell foam and designed to resist water.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Aluminum Boat Wood Deck styrofoam pieces inbetween

The foam is there for flotation in the event that the boat sinks or gets swamped. It is required by law for this purpose. It will keep the boat from going completely under water.

Ayuh,.... But....

Only for OEM manufacturers.....

Your boat is Your boat.... No such laws apply....

 

[109jb]

Re: Aluminum Boat Wood Deck styrofoam pieces inbetween

Ayuh,.... But....

Only for OEM manufacturers.....

Your boat is Your boat.... No such laws apply....

True if you never intend on selling it. Once you sell it as having no flotation YOU can be held liable in the event that the boat sinks. If someone dies because of it..... If something does happen, the chances are small that it would get back to you in a legal case, but is it worth the risk, however small, for the paltry cost of a little foam????

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Aluminum Boat Wood Deck styrofoam pieces inbetween

Just use pink or blue board and fill the same areas. Spray foam and aluminum boats can make a mess if you ever have to do a repair on the hull.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Aluminum Boat Wood Deck styrofoam pieces inbetween

Once you sell it as having no flotation YOU can be held liable in the event that the boat sinks.

So selling a boat with water soaked foam that sinks is the Liability in the previous owner,..??
I don't think so.....

That's Why it states Buyer Beware on our currency....

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Aluminum Boat Wood Deck styrofoam pieces inbetween

As was mentioned above, many on here have replaced their foam with the pink/blue foam from HD/Lowes. Paul Bell's Celebrity resto has one of the best I've seen http://picasaweb.google.com/pacerdude/EntireDeckReplacement89Celebrity224se#5305852018165355202

 

[109jb]

Re: Aluminum Boat Wood Deck styrofoam pieces inbetween

So selling a boat with water soaked foam that sinks is the Liability in the previous owner,..??
I don't think so.....

That's Why it states Buyer Beware on our currency....

That is not even a good comparison. If you remove the foam YOU have CHANGED that safety feature of the original design by completely eliminating it. If that change results in an injury (ie: someone drowns because they don't have a boat to hold on to) that can be proven to a jury to have been a result of the removal of the foam then hell yes you are liable. If the foam is waterlogged but still in there after years and years then you haven't changed the safety features of the design. Big difference. So you sell it and tell the buyer there isn't any foam. Fine you may not be liable to him, but when his neighbor's kid drowns the neighbors lawyer is going to sue you and what is your defense going to be? It is negligence pure and simple. Is this scenario likely?? No it isn't. Is it possible?? Hell yes it is.

Negligence - It can be generally defined as conduct that is culpable because it falls short of what a reasonable person would do to protect another individual from foreseeable risks of harm.

A reasonable person is the jury in the trial. If the lawyer can convince them that the foam should have been there then you are done.

To me it is just plain stupid to remove the foam from a manufactured boat. I would rather put the old waterlogged foam back in rather than remove it totally. Putting a replacement in shows at least a reasonable attempt attempt to restore that manufactured safety feature.

Take a car for example. You rebuild it and decide that YOU don't need the airbags and you disable them. You then sell the car and then it gets sold again and again. That last person gets in a crash and and is seriously injured because that airbag was disabled. They trace it back to you as being the person who disabled it. Guess who gets to pay the victims doctor bills.

 

[Lliam]

Re: Aluminum Boat Wood Deck styrofoam pieces inbetween

I was UNABLE to obtain the pink / blue 2 inch foam at Lowes or Home Depot in Northeast Fl. as they do not sell that size, here.

They do have 1/2 inch thicknesses.

SO.............

Who else in Florida uses styrofoam ..... Surfboard manufacturers, that's who!

I located a "piece" that was unusable by the local surfboard manufacturer
http://www.holladaysurfboards.com/

He explained that the density for a surfboard was much more so than the "piece" sent to him. He also said he ordered the "piece" correctly it just came in wrong.

After I discussed my intentions, he described the "piece" of foam.

I said I would need couple of them.

He questioned me and asked why so much, so I repeated back the size "piece" I thought he had said. 11' x 2" x 2"

He laughed and said it was 11 feet x 2 feet x 2 feet
I said that would be plenty.

As it was a reject for surfboards and his supplier basically didn't want to pay to return it, I got a good deal.

See my "piece" of flotation on my BOAT SITE.

I plan to cut BLOCKS off 2' x 2' by the measured depth per bilge pocket, trim it to fit and vacuum up the shaved portions.

Bill

Jacksonville Beach, Fl

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Aluminum Boat Wood Deck styrofoam pieces inbetween

Wow nice foam! That should work great. Get enough of that in there and you could swamp your boat and just continue on your merry way! Nice truck.

 

[CheapboatKev]

Re: Aluminum Boat Wood Deck styrofoam pieces inbetween

great thinking..May hafta name your boat "Cowabunga" tho..



And to touch on the legal debate of foam/no foam...Liability & Buyer beware..

Simple disclosure to the would be buyer should suffice and then on him/her to add it or do without..I didn't put ALL of the foam back under my deck, my other half now thinks we will sink for sure..Oh well..somethings ya can't explain easily to em..

 

[Bondo]

Re: Aluminum Boat Wood Deck styrofoam pieces inbetween

Guess who gets to pay the victims doctor bills.

Ayuh,.... Who are You,..?? A Lawyer,..??

I'll take my Chances....

 

[CheapboatKev]

Re: Aluminum Boat Wood Deck styrofoam pieces inbetween

Ayuh,.... Who are You,..?? A Lawyer,..??

I'll take my Chances....

lol..I have heard of Ambulance chasers...maybe there's Boat Chasers as well??

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Aluminum Boat Wood Deck styrofoam pieces inbetween

If there is a surf board company near you..... they use heated wire to cut foam. Real clean cut!! I plan on discarding all the old foam and using pink board in mine. Yes 2" is ALWAYS availlable here in VT

 

[109jb]

Re: Aluminum Boat Wood Deck styrofoam pieces inbetween

Ayuh,.... Who are You,..?? A Lawyer,..??

I'll take my Chances....

From USCG FAQ's:

What regulations are available if I want to build or modify my own boat?

We refer to people who build a boat for their own use as "Backyard Boat Builders". They are expected to comply with the same safety standards and administrative regulations as regular boat manufacturers. Failure to do so could affect their insurance coverage and make them vulnerable in a liability suit.

SAFETY STANDARDS: Backyard Boatbuilders can find the information they need to comply with federal regulations in the Boatbuilder's Handbook.

Additional helpful technical information is available from the American Boat and Yacht Council (ABYC) at www.abycinc.org.

ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATIONS: Backyard Boat Builders are required to have a hull identification number (HIN) on their boat. A HIN will be issued by the State Boating Law Administrator of the State in which the builder lives.