Paint & Foam Question

[drjrusso]

Hi, this is my first post. I've spend days (wife says weeks) reading this site. What is recommended to paint inside of hull? History..obtained a 1962 16Ft. Starcraft, pulled up floor, disposed of wet foam and wish to seal/paint inside before refoaming and reflooring. 2nd question about foam....poured sounds best, but application tricky, do solid foam blocks work as well?<br />Any help is appreciated. Thanks!<br />Jim

 

[lcrayne]

Re: Paint & Foam Question

Application of pourable foam is not that difficult. Did it for the first this summer. Just read the directions, and don't mix too much at one time. Drill holes in the floor to allow it to relieve pressure, if you mix too much for the space in which your are pouring. I drilled one 2" hole every square foot. Keep a board handy to slap on the hole if it starts to expand out of the hole and put a brick on the board. Pretty simple. Cut the top off of a 2 liter soda bottle. Use the top for a funnel and the bottom to mix the two part foam. Use 8 oz paper cups to messure. Will need a lot of soda bottles because they cannot be reused. Remember, the foam expands. Better to do small pours, 8 ozs usually or 16 oz if you have a really large space to fill , than larger pours. Blocks will provide flotation and are easy to use, but do not provide any structural support or sound deadening for your floor and engine, assuming it is an inboard. I had reservations after reading all these posts about using pourable foam, but after doing it, I am conviced it is the only way to go and is not all that difficult.

 

[Evinrude Boater]

Re: Paint & Foam Question

NewbieJim, You should find out where and how the water got into the floor. Likley there are some hull breaches that need to be repaired. "Sealing" from the inside of the hull doesn't really solve your problem if the hull is cracked. Also painting the inside of the hull doesn't protect the hull from water absorption. Fiberglass is water RESISTANT, not waterproof. You likely need to assess the outside of the hull to ensure it is sound before repairing the floor at extensive cost. I've been down the same path as you with a 60's boat. The hull damage is quite noticeable. Check out my project site. Yahoo Photos

 

[drjrusso]

Re: Paint & Foam Question

Classicboater & bourbon-<br />Thanks for the advice. Classic, I checked out your project, Wow! BIG JOB. My Starcraft is similar in size, but aluminum hull. You were correct about water.....I took the advice of a local friend, placed paper under the hull, filled the boat with water and sure enough, three leaks. Not sure if from rivets or hole as they were under the trailer supports. More research for me and perhaps I just need to dump this "Free" boat and look for another. Bourbon-when I am ready to foam, I'll follow your advice. It does sound easier than I expected. Jim

 

[lcrayne]

Re: Paint & Foam Question

Here are pics of my project. http://photobucket.com/albums/b349/lcrayne/ Fortunately, I had a good hull, stringers and transom. Should have taken some pics of the new floor during construction, but just didn't think of it. I used three 8 lb kits of 2 lb density foam which should result in about 1400 lbs of flotation, and just as important, provides considerable structural support for the 3/4" marine plywood floor and engine well. As I said I drilled 2" holes every sq ft, poured in the foam until full, scraped out enough foam to reinsert the plugs, thickened polyester resin with micro bubbles, glued the plugs back in place and covered the floor with two layers of 6 oz fiber glass cloth before carpeting.

 

[CalicoKid]

Re: Paint & Foam Question

I don't mean to be contradicting but I would be hesitant to using pour in foam in a rivited aluminum boat because of the likelyhood that water will get in there somewhere, somehow and soak the foam. You may use styrofoam blocks for flotation as well. Styrofoam resists water better than polyurethane foam but it will be more time consuming to install and doesn't help with structural integrity as well as a poured in PU foam will. With blocks you could leave a space between the boat hull and the bottom of the blocks for water to drain back to the bilge if you like. Of course you could do the same with pour in if you engineer it right. Some here have devised some creative drainage into their hulls using PU foam.

 

[Evinrude Boater]

Re: Paint & Foam Question

Newbie, You might want to try the Marinetex Gluvit that I used on my boat. You can see how flexible it is. I peeled a piece out of the paint tray and bent it over until both ends touched. Try that with regular resin!! I used a gallon kit and had plenty left over after a good heavy coat. I wish I had mixed it in two batches. They say you can use it to seal aluminum boats too. You might want to get a smaller kit and seal only the leaking areas. Maybe you can post some photos and get some ideas and opinions.<br />You're right, my project was a BIG job. Too big! If I had known how much time was required before I started I would have just planted flowers in it after throwing it off the trailer. You find out afterwards the shortcomings of early boat building. When they say, "They don't build 'em like they used to" it's good thing.

 

[swimmin' for shore]

Re: Paint & Foam Question

Hi Newbie. Whatever you do, don't throw that hull away. There's a big difference between the older fiberglass hulls and aluminum hulls. Aluminum retains its value much better than old glass. ALL aluminum boats that were built with rivets are likely to leak sometimes. Unless you're going really new, with one of the welded boats, you're just as well to make the necessary repairs to your starcraft. I've dealt with fiberglass repair and I've done aluminum boats. Unless you're going into really deep water, aluminum is going to be to your benefit. It's lighter, quicker and cheaper to repair, and it's going to take a lot less maintenance in the long run. If you enclose your floor, fiberglass it in place or whatever you decide to do, and then go punch a hole in your boat against a rock, you're going to pull it in, and mig or tig weld the hole. Then you get back in your boat and go fishing! For me to properly fix my fiberglass boat after I hit a rock, I have to cut a hole in the floor, fair into the breach, patch with multiple layers of glass, get gelcoat repair, match colors, fair it in, replace the cut in the floor with new wood....you get the picture. Don't take it to recycling just yet. I just bought a 15' Lonestar aluminum runabout. Awesome, big aluminum boat. It's a wide open project, and I can't wait!

 

[drjrusso]

Re: Paint & Foam Question

Thanks Guys! I needed both your expertise and vote of confidence! I will keep the old girl and spend the winter taking steps to make her seaworthy. Just today I purchased MarineTex epoxy. Won’t get to it till next week, but I have a plan! I’ll take pictures as I progress and let you know how it goes. Many thanks…..and wait for more questions!<br />NewbieJim