Add foam to alum. 16' boat for safety???

[ezbtr]

Was jusy curious - have read about adding closed cell foam(strips?) to undersides of bow, storage under seats, and under aft deck area to my 16'aluminum boat w/ 40 hp Merc to increase floatability/safety - does anyone have any ideas or experience? Thanks, Heinz

 

[crab bait]

Re: Add foam to alum. 16' boat for safety???

sure it'll work.. why do you want to do this ? doesn't already have floation.. if you're goin' to add foam on foam ,, 3-M spray 77 really works well ....

 

[ezbtr]

Re: Add foam to alum. 16' boat for safety???

No there is no foam on it, boat and hull totally replaced a few yrs back. Just wanted to be safe in case I get swapped! Should I use spray on foam? Where to spray? Thanks, Heinz

 

[epresutti]

Re: Add foam to alum. 16' boat for safety???

A friend of mine has a 14' aluminum with a 25hp Merc and wanted to do the same thing, his boat had foam in the bench seats, the solution he came up with (I thought was pretty creative) was to get those throwable floatation cusions (the square ones) and line the inside of the hull sides, don't know how well it worked he hasn't swamped it, but it made the ride a lot more quiet and more comfortable (cussions we about 4" thick).<br /><br />Just a thought.<br /><br />Cheers.<br /><br />emp.

 

[crab bait]

Re: Add foam to alum. 16' boat for safety???

that 77 spray is the poop.. but it mite be 3-M 33 spray.. read both cans it'll tell ya the diff. it was invented for glueing foam.. spray the foam & spray alittle on the surface like contact cement..

 

[FlyBoyMark]

Re: Add foam to alum. 16' boat for safety???

Gluing foam to bare aluminum or even painted aluminum is an invitation to sever corrosion. Eventually you will be one of the guys that come to me to repalce large sections of hull eaten through. Polypropelene foam is the best and DO NOT glue it to the hull. It is more expensive but last much longer and does not hold ANY moisture. If you have seen the new pool toys that kids play with that they call speggetti in different colors at Wal-Mart, this is the stuff that I'm talking about. It is available in sheets of different thicknes. It can be hot wire cut and does not absorb water if the surface is damaged and is very abrasion resistant.

 

[marcmccain]

Re: Add foam to alum. 16' boat for safety???

You have the right idea for locating the flotation. The U.S. Coast Guard test all mass produced boats by filling them with water fully loaded and then try to enter the boat from the water. If you can't do this from either the side or one end the boat it fails. The floatation in a small aluminum boat is under the seat high up in the boat rather than low down in the boat. This will allow the boat to float upright if swamped. If you add floatation to the floor, this will allow the boat to float better upside down rather than upright. If you try to enter a boat with floatation in the floor it will flip when full of water. The only safe place to add it would be if you add it to the underside of the bow or rear deck and under seats. Good luck and let us know how your project works out.

 

[ezbtr]

Re: Add foam to alum. 16' boat for safety???

Thanks! I think I'll spray under storage/seat compartments and under fore and aft. This board is great! Heinz