Flotation pour foam, pouring method.....

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BillP

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Re: Flotation pour foam, pouring method.....

KewlBird said:
The old floor has the holes where the foam was poured in and from what I can tell it was the original floor from the manufacturer.
Click to expand...

Spraying foam has been boat industry standard for 35+ yrs so yours is out of the norm. The main thing is don't pour too much though holes. It can bend or break the boat into junk yard material.

bp

btw...I poured too much once and it raised the new floor panel (not glassed in yet) with three of us standing on it. It was a brand new 16' deepvee hull that was still in the mold.
 
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cjones4@hvc.rr.com

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Re: Flotation pour foam, pouring method.....

Kewl... those gaps under the center of the ribs are there for a purpose - to allow bilge water to drain without pooling at each rib. So - don't plug them.

I am very interested in how this goes. I am at the same stage on my Starcraft. My floor looks very similar to yours, I have 2 kits from US Composites and am waiting for a warm day to pour.

My plan is to line the hull with a large plastic heavy duty dropcloth, use my old plywood drill some pour holes (maybe I will do this in sections now that I have read this thread, say start in the stern with one 4' section of plywood deck in place, pour through holes but have the ability to watch expansion because the forward section of plywood is not in place yet). After pouring is complete , will remove old plywood, lift out sections of foam and remove plastic. This way if I ever need to get under the foam in the future (I hope not!) I will be able to remove the pieces and reuse.

Keep posting and good luck!
 
frozenokie

frozenokie

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Re: Flotation pour foam, pouring method.....

Hello kewlbird. I'm the poster that Oops! was talking about in being "lifted up" while atop a piece of plywood. I like what Oops suggested about pouring in w/o the floor in place for it's ease in doing the whole foam thing. The only critical thing about that is if you end up short or have too much rise and not enough horizontal epansion, you may be wasting too much foam where otherwise, you may already have enought to do the job. But, you would get a nice flat surface to lay the deck onto. Keep in mind though, that if you construct the floor deck with 1/2" or thicker plywood, and use strapping between the stringers, it'll be more than well enought to worry about having to get a smooth/flat surface with the foam.

Do a search on my user name "Frozenokie" and look at the post that contains "pour foam". I have pics attached. What I did was use visqueen to constrict the rise of the foam and force it to expand horizontally. Another thing to do is tilt up the nose of the boat/trailer as far as you can without it being unsafe to climb around in while doing the work. This will allow you to pour in at the low end of the cavity and it will fill the most "void" space this way by expanding upward more easily. I was lifted just because I didn't have very much "tilt" in the boat even though I had it cranked all the way up.

The total area of the fill on this 18 footer was 8ft long by 2ft wide and 5 1/2" avg. height. I used 2lb density from an 8 cu. ft. kit (two gallons). I had just about an inch of liquid left over. Hope the dimensions help in your calculations. I'm leaving on the plastic just to help as an extra moisture barrier.​
 
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odessatx

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Re: Flotation pour foam, pouring method.....

that great stuff in a can will that work to
 
109jb

109jb

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Re: Flotation pour foam, pouring method.....

odessatx said:
that great stuff in a can will that work to
Click to expand...

You will spend more money on great stuff than you would just buying the 2 part stuff. Also, great stuff isn't anywhere near the same type of stuff when hardened.
 
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odessatx

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flooring

flooring

is it ok to use pressure treated plywood for the floor on a boat:confused:
 
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puddlejump

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Re: Flotation pour foam, pouring method.....

just a little tip on poly urathene foams higher the density the stronger the foam when mixing areate the polyol first till creamy use electric drill and a small paint stirrer for best results that gives better cell stucture you can also use same for mixing a to b componants the mixing is quicker leaving more pour time if you have assitant you can wash stirre out straight away in warm soapy water BUT make sure its bone dry before next mix and NEVER pour onto wet or even damp areas as moisture acts like ablowing agent IE will expand further but with less strenth
and then over time start to decompose the pu cell structure
hope this helps

ps i worked in foam industry for 30years:)
 
sprintst

sprintst

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Re: Flotation pour foam, pouring method.....

I'm sure then pour in stuff aids in floatation but it does definately hold water in contact with the hull. I was worried about the corrosion so I went with the pick styrofoam insulation.

The holes in the deck that were used to pour in the foam had the highest areas of water saturation.

The pressure treated plywood will eat your hull as there is a problem with copper being used as the preservative. Dissimiliar metals react...
 
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BobsGlasstream

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Re: Flotation pour foam, pouring method.....

Hey guys,
Did you notice: This thread is a couple months old since the last post.
puddllejump welcome to I boats. :D
what part of the foam ind. did you work in? I have been working in it myself for, well we will say a few years and still do. :(
Have a great day
Bob
 
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kenters

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Jun 25, 2010
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Re: Flotation pour foam, pouring method.....

I was just wondering what the cost difference is by using the great stuff (hardware store foam in a can). I know it pillows out alot, might be hard to control leaving you with lots of air in between each pillow.
Then having that chamber of air fill up with water, worse case.
Has anyone used this stuff for this application?

I havent priced out the pour foam yet. Does anyone know how much i would need for a 15' starcraft jetstar, and about how much it would cost me?
 
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