foam under deck question

[jasoutside]

Re: foam under deck question

I genuinely feel it is a good solution.

Don't tell EZ I said this but I totally agree with him on this one....

I think the key is to get the water down, into the bilge and then out of the boat as quickly and efficiently as possible. Pour in really hampers that whole process, slows the water, can even soak it up over time and eventually become waterlogged. Kinda defeats the whole purpose eh! Many of the other methods that you'll see around here are an effort to have the water drain and dry properly. That is the plan anyway.

If you are committed to the pour in keep an eye on my buddy dj's thread as it sounds like he may have something up his sleeve....

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=427003

 

[MichaelP]

Re: foam under deck question

I'm one of those EZ is thinking of when he says some here are against noodes...Sorry EZ!! :facepalm:
Here is my take on the matter....

There isn't alot of space to put all the foam needed to make our boats boyant. Noodles have a hole through the middle that offer nothing but a place for water to collect in if your swamped so its waisted space. As someone mentioned in a earlier thread on this touchy subject you need enough floatation that displaces enough water to keep the boat off the bottom. You need to figure out how much your boat weighs under water as if it was submerged without floatation. Then convert that weight into the equivelent weight in cubic feet of water. Thats how many cubic feet of foam you'll need for neutral boyancy. Older boats weren't designed to the current standards for flotation. What this means is there already may not be enough space to put in all the foam you need to keep her afloat so every inch of flotation is important. Poured in foam makes the best use of this space. Noodles, milk jugs and the like where you are left with voids filled with air (potentially with water) are the worst. Something else I should mention is the importance of floatation under the gunwales and sides to help prevent roll overs. That's a good spot for cheap polystyrene blocks because they will stay dry. No NB...I wouldn't even use noodles there.

After saying all that..On my upcoming resto I'll be using HDPE closed cell foam and cut it carefully then bond the pieces with PL premium. Reason: I got it for free! They are scraps from a packaging plant near me. I estimate that I need 10 cubic feet of foam for my 18 Chieftain with 300 lbs. of engine. I'll see how that all fits sometime this summer.

 

[jasoutside]

Re: foam under deck question

Noodle hater!!!!^^^^^^^^^^^ GEEEETTTT EEMMMM!!!!





(Just messin wit ya MP - love your stash of free flotation)

 

[MichaelP]

Re: foam under deck question

Jas - -You crack me up man!!!
I think I better stay low for a while, I think I hear a mob coming for me..LOL

Seriously tho...Even with solid noodles you get a bunch of waisted space...OK I'm outta here.

 

[jasoutside]

Re: foam under deck question

Ttaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrr and feeeeaaaaaattttthhhhheeerrrrrrrrrr eeemmmmmmm!!!!!

 

[reelfishin]

Re: foam under deck question

A buddy of mine redid an aluminum boat about 5 years ago, he found 4" thick 4x8' sheets of foam that looked like the pink foam they sell in Lowe's but it had foil on one side, which didn't seem to hurt anything. I've got a cut off piece of it here that I've had submerged in a bucket of water for at least three years now, and if I remove the brick, it still floats right to the top, so that proves to me it won't absorb water, even after being frozen and submerged for so long. He also flipped the boat, hung it upside down from three cables from two trees, and sprayed the entire inside of the upper portion with expandable foam as well. After it expanded he just trimmed it off flush to make it invisible from inside the boat. There's about 4" of foam stuck to the underside of the bow, and about 5 or 6" under the gunwales. That alone was probably enough to float that boat, but he still put about 2 1/2 sheets of the sheet foam under the deck.

 

[mv6767]

Re: foam under deck question

Has anyone tried putting a layer of 1" blue or pink foam down first then use a pourable over the top?

 

[Pugetsound]

Re: foam under deck question

Dont know that I have heard about it if they did . Boy what a mess that would be to uncover some day.

 

[jasoutside]

Re: foam under deck question

Has anyone tried putting a layer of 1" blue or pink foam down first then use a pourable over the top?

I believe that I have heard pour in will react to the blue/pink foam board and it will melt.

I might be completely making that up though too

 

[GL Carvajal]

Re: foam under deck question

Guys, after doing about seven complete strip downs to bare metal and rebuilds of a number of Starcraft boats....Blue or Pink foamboard in my opinion is the way to go. They come in 4 x 8 foot sheets

Get 1 inch thick for between the lateral stringers---those that are on the bottom of the hull. Cut and lay in against the hull.

Then use 1 1/2 inch and 2 inch for the bigger spaces.

The advantage to the closed cell foam---it does not absorb moisture....period
It is light weight. It does not make a mess, is easy to cut and break into very manageable pieces.

I use a formula of ONE CUBIC FOOT OF FOAM WILL FLOAT 80 POUNDS OF WEIGHT.

Ok, so figure what your boat will weigh, with motor(s), fuel, batteries, etc and figure how many cubic feet of foam you will need. It will be more than you realize.

We took a 16 foot utility four aluminum seat boat, with the original weight rating of 850 pounds, pulled the plug, let it fill with water and put 400 pounds of concrete blocks in it, and it sunk...boat weighed 380 pounds--empty

Pulled out the blocks, it came right up, pulled it out, stripped it down, redid all the foam with about 140% of the volume, including what I put under a floor which the old boat did not have originally and it took almost seven hundred pounds of blocks to sink it then.

Bottom, line when I am done with my boats they will usually float far and above what the placard shows....

Use the blue or pink closed cell foam...you will be happy you did

Garo

 

[iamsaws]

Re: foam under deck question

Just beat the horse dead The problem with searching is you get lost in what is best. I have read that the noodles are best and now I believe the closed cell foam boards are best. Im just worried about squeaking. I have read to make a bit higher than the stringers so it will compress any other insights?

thanks!

 

[RogersJetboat454]

Re: foam under deck question

Just beat the horse dead The problem with searching is you get lost in what is best. I have read that the noodles are best and now I believe the closed cell foam boards are best. Im just worried about squeaking. I have read to make a bit higher than the stringers so it will compress any other insights?

thanks!

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