Foam Tips pleaseeee

[zach103]

We ordered the foamthe other day.. it comes in thursday.. we went with the 2 part marine foam like you guys said.. now what tips do you have for putting it in??

 

[oops!]

Re: Foam Tips pleaseeee

wear rubber boots, leave the deck, off and stand back

youll do just fine zack

cheers
oops

 

[salty87]

Re: Foam Tips pleaseeee

mix a test batch to get an idea of the expansion rate. keep an eye on the temp outside, 20 degrees difference such as between the hottest part of the day and later in the shade will make a big difference in expansion.

don't get it on anything you want to clean again.

move quick once you've mixed it. you'll get the hang of it and will be able to see it grow/feel it warming up.

are you pouring through holes or is the deck off?

 

[zach103]

Re: Foam Tips pleaseeee

Decks off.. yah it said it only had like 45 seconds to mix and pour.. i was gunna try an example today but wasnt warm enough.. i know it has to be 80+ when i pour it but how long does it have to be 80 for.. do i need to throw in a heater for overnight?

 

[Lou C]

Re: Foam Tips pleaseeee

Wear a tyvec suit, gloves, old shoes, do it on a day when the temp is at least 70-80 degrees or it won't expand as much as you expect. Hotter is better for the expansion. DO NOT pour it into an enclosed area with no way of escape, it can pop things right off. When you see how much it expands you'll understand. I just poured it in both halves of the hull before installing the deck and then cut off the excess level with the stringers with a hand saw. Make sure you mix it well and have ready a number of plastic buckets to mix it in. It made the deck much stiffer than it felt without the foam.

 

[Coors]

Re: Foam Tips pleaseeee

throw that water-sucking crap in the garbage

 

[Lou C]

Re: Foam Tips pleaseeee

That was my initial idea too Coors, but I e-mailed 4 Winns and they said the boat was designed to have foam in it, (notice only 2 transverse bulkheads) and it is needed for stiffness not just flotation. So there was no way I was leaving it out (OE manfacturer is telling you it's needed) plus Coast Guard regs call for flotation in boats 20' and under. I glued the deck to stringers with 3M 4200 + stainless screws. All screws, sealed with 4200. No carpet on deck, new finish is non skid gel coat. Original poorly installed deck (skim coat of glass, no holes sealed, deck attached to stringers with a bunch of nasty rusty staples, not sealed, covered with carpet) lasted till it was about 14 years old before the rot got bad. Previous owners did not really keep it covered. I wanted the stiffest,strongest construction I could get. I keep it covered and I'm sure it will last more than long enough for my use. Boat is always kept covered, deck is never wet when boat is not in use. Sunbrella cover lets it breath. That's about all you can do!

 

[fixb52s]

Re: Foam Tips pleaseeee

Decks off.. yah it said it only had like 45 seconds to mix and pour.. i was gunna try an example today but wasnt warm enough.. i know it has to be 80+ when i pour it but how long does it have to be 80 for.. do i need to throw in a heater for overnight?

More like 30 seconds! Mix quickly and completely and pour it quick. Once it kicks, watch it grow! I poured mine at 82 degrees outside (nice Florida weather). Within 30 seconds, it was fully expanded, then fully cured in about 5 minutes.

I poured mine with the deck off and trimmed it flush with the stringers. It cuts very easy with a hand saw, but it gets messy.​

 

[zach103]

Re: Foam Tips pleaseeee

Lou do you have any pics.. i was thinking bout doing the non skid also..

I poured mine with the deck off and trimmed it flush with the stringers. It cuts very easy with a hand saw, but it gets messy.

prolly as messy as when i took it out

 

[Lou C]

Re: Foam Tips pleaseeee

here you go, I had the 'glass shop do that part, once I got the deck level and smooth, didn't trust myself to make the gelcoat look right, never worked with it before. Cost a little more but worth it, no carpet to hold moisture.

 

[jennis9]

Re: Foam Tips pleaseeee

did you leave the floor in at the open bow area and just redo the area behind the windshield? looks good - like the no skid. didn't think i would...

 

[zach103]

Re: Foam Tips pleaseeee

yah.. im gunna have a peice that goes right across the new floor under the walk thru for extra support.. that was the peice that started this whole thing

 

[Lou C]

Re: Foam Tips pleaseeee

The deck was replaced from just in front of the helm seats back to the motor box, the forward deck and the area on each side of the motor was still OK, so I didn't have to get into those areas, it was enough work the way it was!
The areas replaced were about 6 feet long by the width of the boat. Also made a new cover for the gas tank compartment.

BTW, I am glad I did replace the foam, the boat feels REALLY solid and I would have been pissed off if I did all that work, left out the foam and it felt flexy and weak. Like I said, I think the engineers design them to have foam or not. I saw a 22' Wellcraft re-done on here a year or 2 ago, it had no foam and there were a lot more than 2 transverse bulkheads. So if you wanted to leave it out, to cut down on the chances of rot, you might have to re-engineer the stringer/bulkhead system. Since I'm not an engineer, I did it FW's way but made sure everything was as sealed as is possible, and with no carpet on the deck, and it being covered all the time it's not being used, it should last way longer than I will need it to.

And as a final note, the CG requires basic flotation in boats 20' and under. I would not want to test the legal ramaficiations of leaving the foam out if there was an accident. Yeah I know I am not a manufacturer, but in this country, anybody can sue anybody. Good reason or not!

 

[zach103]

Re: Foam Tips pleaseeee

what density foam did you get?
the regular 2lb??

 

[Coors]

Re: Foam Tips pleaseeee

Lou, mine is 20' 10". No foam required. I have only replaced in the cuddy, and behind fuel tank so far, rest was still good, thanks for the heads up, if (and I think water got no where else) will add bulk heads.
Drainage under the foam is the key. Mine , I'm pretty sure, rotted from no cover, and rainwater.

 

[Lou C]

Re: Foam Tips pleaseeee

Lou, mine is 20' 10". No foam required. I have only replaced in the cuddy, and behind fuel tank so far, rest was still good, thanks for the heads up, if (and I think water got no where else) will add bulk heads.
Drainage under the foam is the key. Mine , I'm pretty sure, rotted from no cover, and rainwater.

Mine is 20' 9" according to FW, I bet we have the same hull, the 200 Horizon and 205 Sundowner are the same from the rubrail down. Still it had the foam, only 2 bulkheads, so that's what I did. I wish I could remember the thread of the guy who re-did the 22' Wellcraft so you could see how many more bulkheads there were, at least 4 if not 5 that you could see in the pix. And no foam, anywhere. Good luck with the rebuild. Main thing is to keep rainwater out and definitely get rid of the carpet on the deck, that contributes to rot, at least as much as foam IMHO and does nothing for you. If I didn't go with the non skid gelcoat I would have put on the marine Durabak which is like bedliner but UV stable and for marine use.

BTW I pulled out all the foam, on each side of the hull, from the rotted areas, about 6 feet long. What I found was not at all waterlogged. Only the lowest 1/8 in of the foam had any water above that it was all dry, that's even with all the rot it had:

 

[Coors]

Re: Foam Tips pleaseeee

lol, same hull, and same colors.