pourable foam maybe?

[ledzeppelin135]

Hey guys, I recently replaced the deck on my Harvey and layed down some new fiberglass on the inside portion of the hull and keel to reinforce the old stuff. One thing I am still noticing is that the floor is moving as I go down the lake or even walk on the floor a little bit, and this is because there is not space between the floor and the hull, there are nor stringers it is just deck and hull with minimal space in between. I am assuming that water should not be in this space as the drain plug is on the deck area rather than underneath. My question is would pouring some expanding foam in this space help fill any space between the deck and hull to reduce the flex, and would this be ok as the bow area is on a shelf sitting about 8 inches above the rest of the deck under the closed bow and at the base of this step there is a small hole which I am assuming is for drainage in case the hull cracks and water gets between the hull and deck and if this is so, would it still be ok to pour foam in? What type of cost effective foam would you reccomend? Thanks guys!

 

[oops!]

Re: pourable foam maybe?

in short.....yes.

pour in foam is a structural component........EXACTLY for the case you're talking about.

cut several pigeon holes in the deck using a hole saw....pour in the foam.....and let it expand out of the holes.......then use the cut outs and replace them either with epoxy or poly peanut butter and glass

 

[ledzeppelin135]

Re: pourable foam maybe?

I called us composites and the guy there informed me that there would not be enough room between the hull and the floor to use expanding foam since there is only a quarter to a half inch gap on average between the hull and deck. Is there anything I can do because I need this to stop flexing. Thanks guys

 

[ledzeppelin135]

Re: pourable foam maybe?

Anyone?

 

[produceguy]

Re: pourable foam maybe?

if opps said its alright, then its alright. You will not need much foam then.

 

[JDA1975]

Re: pourable foam maybe?

And if Oops was wrong...well his name says it all! problem with expanding foam in such small area is your leading edge...what you want migrating towards your next hole could fill and plug the area, leaving original hole as its exit, once thats clogged, the foam inside has nowhere to go and can push your deck up and warp it. Theres ways I am sure to pour it, probably have alot of hold and just work all the way around the outer edge letting it run to center, then fill centers. Mix small batches, just enough for each little pour because it expands almost immediately. If you decide to try this let us know because I am looking at similiar pour on mine soo

 

[bbodin]

Re: pourable foam maybe?

What is your deck made of? If it's fiberglass, is it possible to add another layer of two of strong glass to the deck? I too don't think that pourable foam will work, maybe so. It's just not enough room for it to work and spread. To use it you would have to cut an awfull lot of holes. I still think that if it's possible more glass is the way to go. On my boat the front deck was 3-4 layers of strong glass and did not flex at all.

 

[ledzeppelin135]

Re: pourable foam maybe?

Yes, the reason that this wont work is because there is a gap between the deck and the hull and no stringers of deck base inbetween so it has about 3 layers of glass over the wood but it will always flex because of this glass, I just need to find a solution to this foam