Replacement Foam

[Yaggle]

I have an older model hewescraft RR and I was replacing the floor boards when I noticed that the foam that helps keep the boat a float is worn out and soaked. Does anyone here have any suggestions of a replacement or any opinions? If so where can I purchase it?


Thanks

 

[AKmud]

Get rid of it....

Get rid of it....

The foam that will keep the boat from sinking will usually be in float chambers above the floor (under the bow, in the bench seats, etc..) The stuff in the floor is only good for blocking water from getting to the stern (not a good thing) and soaking up water which adds a considerable amount of weight to the boat. My recommendation is to get rid of any foam under the floor boards all together. I haven't seen any foam that will stand up to the wet conditions under the floor without getting water logged. Once it is water logged, it has no floatation value anyway.

 

[PatrickH]

replacement

replacement

Under the floorboards of my boat I removed the soaked foam and replaced it with lots of sealed empty plastic containers. They will never abosorb water and have more floatation than foam. I tried to stick with heavy duty bottles. I did have some marine foam floats that I cut up and filled in spaces around the bottles. Since the bilge never gets sunlight, the bottles should last a long time.

 

[Yaggle]

Thanks All

Yag

 

[onthefrinj]

Silver Streak boats in Anchorage

Silver Streak boats in Anchorage

He is an expert for what you need.

 

[Yaggle]

He is an expert for what you need.

Where are they located?
I am in the Valley
thanks :")

 

[bkmail]

Under floor foam sucks

Under floor foam sucks

Regarding your foam problem, PatrickH has a great idea!
I just ripped out the floorboards this spring on my Alumaweld and all the spray in foam that was under there.
An unforseen problem is that the foam does not allow the aluminum to be exposed to the air which causes corrosion.
When aluminum is exposed to the environment, it creates it's own barrier when scratched or rubbed and "heals" itself preventing further corrosion. When my Alumaweld boat was sprayed, the aluminum was essentially sealed from the environment. All that foam has been waterlogged for years and has been corroding w/out the ability to "heal" itself. Essentially the boat is "rusting" from the inside out. A very bad situation for me as the owner or a hidden problem that would not be seen when looking at a used aluminum boat that has the foam still inside.
On a side note, I took the waterlogged floorboards and three trash bags worth of foam to the dump. 562lbs of junk I unloaded off the baot. She ran 28-32 mph before, now she will top out at over 40mph.
It's the cheapest repower I have ever done!

 

[Yaggle]

The problem is in the Aft of the boat. Here is the dimensions
1" thick x 6" wide x 12" long
This is in an area of 24" x 55" with 2 spine support for the board


What hard like hollow floatation devise would you use?

Thanks

 

[profishguide]

I replaced mine with 1/2 and 1 gallon milk jugs filled with expanding foam (from Home depot) just remember a little goes a long way. Let them dry over night and cut off excess, then seal cap with silicone. Jigsaw puzzle the jugs in place and hold with a bead of silicone. Smaller plastic bottles for tight places. It did not fill every void but i'm sure its better than soaked foam.

 

[GunsmithRob]

In most boats under deck foam is there for noise dampening rather than flotation. That little bit of foam isn't going to provide much buoyancy to a 5000# or greater boat. I think the USCG only requires it from the manufacturer for buoyancy on vessels up to 18 or 20 feet or so. If it's waterlogged, you're much better off just getting rid of it.

 

[jklingel]

blue foam?

blue foam?

Have you guys ever tried blue foam? It is waterproof, but CAN absorb water if it is allowed to be in contact with water and go through several freeze/thaw cycles. As it was explained to me, first the surface breaks down, then the next layer underneath, etc. I don't know if that is what happens to "regular" boat foam or not, but that stuff never did look like more than a dry sponge to me. I always take it out and use the seat for storage. I think blue foam would work just fine if you take it out over the winter. Too painful?

 

[profishguide]

Replace with something!!!

Replace with something!!!

The reason I would put something back in there is because of water displacement, my boat is 24' long,8 1/2' wide with a 30 deg. hull that area will hold appx. _
/\
/ \
288" / \
/ \
/ \
/ \
- -----------
51" | |

- ------------
\ /
24" \ /
- V

288"x51"x24"=352512 cubic inches / 231 CI = gallon of water = 1526 gallons x 8lbs = 12,208 lbs of water which would sink my boat before the bilge was full. Now this is a rough estimate, but you get the idea, a boat with no foam in it can hold a huge amount of water and quickly sink if bilge pump fails.

 

[GunsmithRob]

Frank, Measure the buoyancy of the foam you plan on replacing versus the amount of water that would be in your 24' hull and I think you'll see that if the bilge pump is overwhelmed, your boat is going to sink anyway. Better bet is to get the waterlogged foam out and put in a backup bilge pump (or even better, plumb the RW cooling intake with an auxilliary line in the bilge so the engine can be used to pump it out with the turn of a valve). JMHO.

 

[Yaggle]

What I have done so far.
I removed the foam from the front & back of the boat. While, leaving the remaining foam in the center of the boat until next year. I have taken the vinyl off the front & back of the floor board and replaced it with 1/2 “ marine plywood with a several coats of marine paint while adding a non slip to the painted surface. I cannot see the difference by added foam to the front as well as the back when the there are only 6 pieces in each the front and the back areas. The foam measures only 1” Thick x 6” Wide x 12” Long and with the water added to it because they were soaked the total weight of about 60 lbs. I found that they are not really being used for buoyancy but as a sound buffer IMO. I will take all the suggestions when I tackle the middle foam area.

As for Blue Board insulation, the problem with using this is if you have a fuel leak and gas hits the blue board it will cause it to melt.

 

[Furry]

Yes it seems that foam makes an excellent insulation from sound in aluminum boats. But it is Coast Guard required in all under 20' and under. But it also helps your boat float if it isn't water logged I know as I lost power at the top of a rapid and went over an 8' set of falls. We submarined for about 50' and popped up with 6"-8" of water across the floor in an 18' boat. So figure out how much water in a 18' by 7' beamed boat would it have floated with no foam? Don't think so! I check my foam every couple of years no biggy just pull the seats and floor 1 days work. It is just call preventative maintenance plus I think it saved our lives by floating the boat back up to the top. Your life your decision!!!

 

[Yaggle]

Thanks

Thanks

Thanks to everyone for thier comments.

Yaggle

 

[onthefrinj]

Silver Streak is behind West Marine off Dimond Blvd.
sorry for the late reply. talk to Ben. At the very least, he is friendly and has great advice.
http://www.silverstreakboatsak.com/

 

[Yaggle]

Spoke to Silver streak and they contract out to Urethan Alaska and i spoke to Doug there and he gave me some important advice and I all ready purchased the Urethan from West Marine for $105.00 to fill in the spaces I needed.
As for Foam there is nothing that will repel water all the way but there is some that resist it. I have a small space from hull to floorboards so i will not be able to place most of it in plastic. I will however let the other area dry out so I can work with it then.

Thanks for the all the advice and comments Greatly appreciated

Yaggle

 

[bobgritz]

waterlogged boat ... HELP !

waterlogged boat ... HELP !

Dear All:

My 17' Seaway boat appears to be waterlogged ... no water comes out of the drain plug but the boat rides so low in the water it won't take much weight to submerge it ... anyway ... I need to cut into the floorboards (fiberglass) but I was hoping to find a schematic or spec sheet that could illustrate where to cut ... is there a source for this type of plan or are there general rules you can provide which would help me determine where to cut ...

 

[AKmud]

snake?

snake?

Have you run anything up the plug hole like a snake or even a stick to see if there is blockage at the plug hole? It may be something simple like that to free the water up. Leaves are notorious for starting the dam and eventually enough other trash makes a water tight plug.

It's worth a try before cutting into the floor for sure.