Foam Removal

[Nate]

The foam in my XS is extremely water logged,Ill be removing it this weekend. Some have told me I should replace it as the boat will be very loud? Anyone done this and replaced the foam or not replaced the foam? I really don't want to have to tear out more water logged foam in a few years!!

Suggestions?

Recommendations?

 

[907north]

I have the 1875 xs j max. I did not replace the foam.

I pulled mine out and noticed no difference with sounds, big weight difference!! The foam was in the drain holes ( nice job jetcraft!) and you will be amazed how much stuff is trapped in there and how much better it drains. I have a diamond plate floor, so I put some rolled foam over the contact points to eliminate rattle. I pulled the foam out of the bow and made a larger compartment. Lots of sand in there!

The flotation foam in a boat that heavy only give you a neutral buoyancy so it's dead weight to me. The noise of the motor is going to be more than the hull.

An option I looked at was using swimming noodles, as they won't water log for a long time, inexpensive and give good flotation. They didn't have enough at the store so I left it empty

I used a sawsall (wood blade) to make cubes in the old foam and a flat pry bar. Took all day to remove but we'll worth it in my opinion

 

[tjm]

I had an xs, removed fiam, boat got a little louder...

Plugging all the openings in the floor and transom is the easiest and cheapest way to make a noticeable reduction in noise,,,

 

[anthonyphill7]

Don't Worry About Replacement

Don't Worry About Replacement

The foam in my XS is extremely water logged,Ill be removing it this weekend. Some have told me I should replace it as the boat will be very loud? Anyone done this and replaced the foam or not replaced the foam? I really don't want to have to tear out more water logged foam in a few years!!

Suggestions?

Recommendations?

Yes, the boat would be a bit louder, but the headache is worth the noise in my opinion. Don't replace the foam quite yet. From my experience, the boat will be lighter weight and more easily maneuverable. But hey, the worst case scenario is you don't like how loud it is and then you can replace it after all!

 

[Rob B]

I used the sawzall with those flat scraper blade attachments too. Worked great getting it all out in bigger chunks. An old fillet knife works well too. Removing all that nasty foam was the best thing I ever did on the boat. Mine is still empty and I think I have a little bit of engine drone, but after a trip or two I don't even notice it anymore.

 

[akdeweyj]

I used a clam shovel to remove the foam & it worked great. You can replace your open cell foam with closed cell foam - like pinkboard. Closed cell doesn't absorb water as easily as open cell.

 

[Garyak]

I used closed cell pool noodles stubbed together with 2" long chunks of pvc tube to make a continuous sealed structure. Worked great on my 20' Harvey...sure is a quiet ride. I would have used them again on the 22' Harvey I'm working on but I couldn't find any at the time. Fred Meyer is stocking it now if it might fit your needs. I used pink board on the 22' and even painted it to further seal it up. Amazing how yucky and heavy that waterlogged stuff gets. When I made my land fill run I found that all the water logged wood and foam from the 20' actually weighed about as much as the boat did when it was new. Flat blade garden spade and my Fein multi tool knock off were the foam removal weapons of choice for me.