Replacing floatation

[coreywa1988]

I purchased a project boat from my neighbor for strictly pond and private non motor lakes. It's a 1984 venture regatta bass boat and the floatation has to be replaced in it. I'm not wanting to sink a ton of money into this boat. Is there something cheaper I can do that buy the 2 part foam for this project? The floatation in the back and front are fine. The only stuff that has to be replaced is what is under the floor.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Replacing floatation

Yep you can use the Pink/Blue Slab foam sheets from Lowe's or Home Depot and cut it to fit.

 

[coreywa1988]

Re: Replacing floatation

Do I Need To Put Adhesive On It To Adhere It To The Hull?

 

[Bondo]

Re: Replacing floatation

Do I Need To Put Adhesive On It To Adhere It To The Hull?

Naw,.... It can't go anywhere,...

Welcome Aboard,...

 

[chconger]

Re: Replacing floatation

Do I Need To Put Adhesive On It To Adhere It To The Hull?

The critical thing is to ensure it is physically locked into the boat somehow. So you don't have foam board floating on the surface of the water indicating the spot where the boat sank.

 

[coreywa1988]

Re: Replacing floatation

So Basically Wedge It In There And Let The Floor Hold It In?

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Replacing floatation

Yep, that'll do it or some people have used a can of the spray foam in a can as "Glue" to glue it in place. It's up to you.

 

[coreywa1988]

Re: Replacing floatation

Alright. Foam Will Prolly Be Going In Next Week Sometime. Getting The Rest Of The Foam Out This Weekend.

 

[coreywa1988]

Re: Replacing floatation

After Cutting Out Some Kind Of Sub Floor The Previous Owner Put In I Discovered The Glass In The Bottom Of The Boat Under The Stringers Is Soft. With No Motor Going In The Boat To PutThe Hull Under Any Torque Is This Gonna Be An Issue?

 

[coreywa1988]

Re: Replacing floatation

Would 1/4 Inch Foam Be Thick Enough To Do The Flotation

 

[Bondo]

Re: Replacing floatation

Would 1/4 Inch Foam Be Thick Enough To Do The Flotation

Ayuh,... Foam is foam as far as thickness,...

The idea is to reasonably Pack the void with it,...

 

[coreywa1988]

Re: Replacing floatation

After Cutting Out The Subfloor Someone Had Put In I Discovered The Glass Under It Is Kind Of Mushy. Is This Going To Cause A Problem And If So How Do I Fix It

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: Replacing floatation

Pix would help us see what you're seeing. From your description, the mushy & soft fiberglass is UNDER the stringers?

And from outside & below the hull it isn't as soft & mushy in those same areas?

If that's the case, you probably have a cored hull. A thin layer of fiberglass hull was created in a mold. Then a thin layer of balsa wood (or other material) was laid over the entire hull while in it's manufacturing mold. Over this another layer of fiberglass was added. Once this was cured, a stringer system of some sort was installed.

Use the advanced search function from the resto forum homepage for: Cored hull.

Here's an overview

There are ways to build the hull back structurally sound, but all the inner fiberglass & it's underlying core needs to be removed. No small undertaking, just in the demo stages. Adequate support of the hull will be important if you decide to dig in & remove the soft core.

 

[coreywa1988]

Re: Replacing floatation

Yeah. Its Just One Spot Under The Stringers. The Rest Of The Boat Is Solid.
Even With No Motor Going On It And It Being A Pond Boat Will It Need To Be Replaced? I Don't Know How To Post Pics On Here From My Phone.

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: Replacing floatation

No idea, pond boat or no motor, or not.

It may not even be a cored hull. If it's soft, it may get worse.

 

[glenn property of pam]

Re: Replacing floatation

does the boat look like this one

If so there's a second floor in the bilge area that will need to come out

 

[coreywa1988]

Re: Replacing floatation

It Looks Very Similar To That One. So Is This Something Where I Have Got Way In Over My Head

 

[coreywa1988]

Re: Replacing floatation

Could The Soft Spot Be Why The Subfloor Was In?

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: Replacing floatation

If you mean why the DECK (sole) was in, no there should have been a 'subfloor' originally

To use home construction terms (like subfloor above):

Just like a house, a boat has a foundation (the hull)

Has floor joists & beams (the stringers [run fore to aft, bow to stern] & bulkheads [run port to starboard])

And had a floor (deck or sole)

 

[glenn property of pam]

Re: Replacing floatation



the pics are of a boat I have in the yard that I still haven't decided if im going to fix or not. The top is easy to remove if you want to replace the floor rather than try to fix from middle. The piece between the stringers is another piece of plywood with a 2 by 4 under it and a small amount of foam. Ignore the gap in the stringers that was a test cut to see how they were designed. I like the boat and it wouldn't take much to do a complete rebuild.

The wood in the bottom between the stringers was real thin maybe 1/4 ply and was used to raise the area for drainage.