Pour in Foam Drainage

[Woodonglass]

Everybody knows I'm an Old Dumb Okie!!! I just got out of the Hospital where I had 2 Stents put in the Old Heart Pipes and glad to report all is well. Having had that down time to think, I been thinking about this age old problem and here's what I've come up with. Sooo everyone can start shooting it down from all angles but I'l be darned if I can see why it wouldn't work.

2" Thin walled PVC with 1" holes drilled in it at various multiple places. Wrap the pipe with 2-3 layers of Toilet Paper and lay it in the hull. When you pour the foam the TP will block the foam from blocking the holes but...IF and when any water does penetrate the foam it will "MELT" the TP and allow the water to enter the pipe and then flow back to the bilge. VOILA' Foam Flotation AND Drainage!!!

OK, Shoot it down with why it won't work!!!!:facepalm:

 

[bonz_d]

Wood I can't tell you if it will work or it won't but it's at least worth a try.
PM coming your way also.

 

[zool]

Would the TP hold back the expanding foam from filling in the holes?.....im not sure if it would..maybe if the holes were offset and just underneath the pipe, still leaving a gutter for rising water to collect in.

 

[jbcurt00]

Take good care of yourself ya oakie! Good thoughts your way

 

[tpenfield]

I think that a screen mesh could do the same sort of thing as the TP. I did a similar thing when I re-foamed my fuel tank in after the bulkhead replacement. . . used a few slits in a pvc tube.

 

[gm280]

WOW Wood hope you are doing and feeling a lot better. You have to take care of yourself first, then everything else after that. Stents are getting so common place these days, it is a new way to open semi-closed arteries. And it seems to work really well too. Glad you are back home recuperating...

Now for your latest idea. I thought of every type setup I could think of to basically do the same thing. And in every configuration, I found faults with them all. So I chose, after a ton of thinking, to go the total closed sections. But lots of sections. That way if one does get compromised, the others are still sealed. At least that was my thought process. For every drainage pipe or opening, there are other things to think about as well. If water can drain out of them, water can also go into them as well. And then there are a lot of little puddles around the foam and pipe. No amount of effort would ever make them dry again. Leave the drain plug out just one time, or get caught in a belly washer and the bilge pump has trouble keeping up, and water will fill up in them as well. So sealed seems to be my best option. That is the best I can think of. Is it perfect, absolutely not, but what setup would be? I thought about screens, weeping holes, needle thin holes in PVC pipe from every direction,and in every case, I could shoot holes in those ideas too easily. So I'm going sealed and since this boat worked for years before offering problems initially from the manufacturer's less then perfect build, I will take my chances. Who Knows, I may not even own it for 30 years... :noidea:

 

[Daniel1947]

Well Mike, first you start writing about heart problems...stents...and then next thing I know you are discussing PVC and TP repair. I figured that old dumb Okie was getting ready to do some do it yourself heart repair. Wouldn't put it past ya, :laugh:. Glad your doing better Mike. Been there myself...no stents...but a pacemaker. Makes one realize we ain't as immortal as we thought we were 60 years ago. I will be 68 in June, glad your still above ground and upright.

Back to your drain idea, I remember seeing a video on YouTube sometime back, where the guy used a length of PVC, placed up against the stringer/hull, laid a sheet of plastic over it, poured in a small quantity of foam. He kind of held the plastic up against the side, which when the foam was done expanding, he had a section of foam that he could lay up against the stringer/hull and it already had a path for drainage. The final part was that he would have poured more foam over the first part. I will see if I can find it.
Once again, glad you are OK.

 

[Woodonglass]

Daniel, Thanks for the kind words. Yeah, I'm still Kickin!!! I asked the Doc about using some PEX pipe but he wouldn't go for it!!! I think this Foam Drainage thing has been kicked around for Decades. I've kinda been like GM280 and always thought that if you sealed everything up and kept it that way that you didn't need to worry about it, but then I keep seeing people asking about it and it gets me to thinkin again. Guess I need to stop that!!!! I'm gunna retire to the woodshop for a while once this Heart thing heals up. Got a few projects waiting on me. Also plan on getting the BF out of her Winter Clothes and getting back on the water!!! Time to enjoy her this season.

 

[sphelps]

Also plan on getting the BF out of her Winter Clothes and getting back on the water!!! Time to enjoy her this season.

Now THAT'S what I'm talking about !!! ^^^^^ Boat time is the best medicine !!
OK I got an idea on drainage ... Most boats have a center stringer but if not the same idea will apply . Cut some strips of the blue ridged foam say 4 -6 inches wide by the length of the foam . Bevel the edges so it will lay up against the stringer and hull bottom at an angle creating a void for drainage . glue in place with just a thin bead of the can foam .. Then put your deck in and pour foam as usual .. Now the big question .. Say you have a hole in the deck and water starts to get in ... Its coming from the top down through all the foam before it can puddle in the bottom .. By then ya got wet heavy foam that needs replacing again ... :frusty::deadhorse:
Unless the foam intended to be part of the structure of the hull/deck I would not use it and stick with the blue foam that you cut and fill in place . It will create just enough gaps under it to allow for any water flow that may need to escape ..
Just thinking ....
Glad your pipes are pumping again Woody ! Take care !!

 

[Daniel1947]

Mike, I was always told you could fix anything with duct tape and WD40. If it doesn't move and it's supposed to...spray it with WD40, if it moves and it ain't supposed to...duct tape. I am kind of with you and GM280...if the deck and everything is sealed completely...not sure why you need drainage. And even if you have drainage, then it means water got there from someplace and more than likely will get into the foam over a period of time. Kind of makes sense when I opened mine up and all the foam was soaked...had enough holes for it to drain back to the bilge...so why didn't it. :facepalm: Anyway you take care and take it easy.

Dan

 

[ahmincha]

Wood I can not weigh in on the drainage. But glad to hear everything worked out well with your procedure Please take it easy and get well soon!!!

 

[Willyclay]

Good on ya, Mike! A little sawdust will get you feeling like the old WOG again. Glad the docs were able to fix the issues. See ya, Bill

 

[JASinIL2006]

Glad you're doing well with your stents, Wood! We need you around here!

Take care,
Jim

 

[Mikeopsycho]

I hope everything heals up soon for you! Glad you got some new parts installed :nod:. Rest up for now and get back into your shop when you can. :smile:

Like others I too am of the 'seal her up tight, no drainage' school. As I see it the pour foam sticks to everything, so if it is adhered to the stringers, bulkheads, and hull, and you put a drainage tube down the center, the only place water could drain out (or in ) is at the bottom center. Any water that gets into the foamed areas would have to pass through the foam in order to drain out to the bilge, and for water to pass through the foam, the foam would have to be waterlogged, wouldn't it? :noidea:

I think KFC may be on to something, if one is determined to install drainage (or a path for water ingress ). You'd need to provide a path(s) along the sides, bottom, and ends of the foam for water to escape, IMO :biggrin1:.

 

[kcassells]

Tests in progress :joyous: and Patent Pending Mike! Both Mikes!!

 

[Bondo]

Everybody knows I'm an Old Dumb Okie!!! I just got out of the Hospital where I had 2 Stents put in the Old Heart Pipes and glad to report all is well. Having had that down time to think,

Oh Oh,.... Glad to hear yer healin' well,...... donno 'bout the thinkin' part,......

I've always been of the belief, because of what I've found, that's there's No such thing as a waterproof compartment below decks,
'n I can count on one finger the number of boats I've junked out that had dry foam,....

We used to have some wild discussions 'bout foam,.... Poor JB was the referee,... Forgive me JB,...

In those days, I liked the plastic bottles over foam, 'ell Anything but poured foam,....
Today, the cut, 'n fit foam board is good stuff,...
My ole tinbarge has foam blocks, that were Dry in '99, 'n still seem to be,... original Starcraft foam from '74,...

 

[gm280]

Would be interesting if you could seal many compartments and then install a air valve like on a tube and fill the compartments up with nitrogen. Then you could check the pressure along the way and know it that compartment was compromised. Could even install a type of bladder tube and fill it with helium. Now that would make the boat light and seal water out too... Ummm Maybe a new idea.... :noidea:

 

[Bondo]

Would be interesting if you could seal many compartments and then install a air valve like on a tube and fill the compartments up with nitrogen. Then you could check the pressure along the way and know it that compartment was compromised. Could even install a type of bladder tube and fill it with helium. Now that would make the boat light and seal water out too... Ummm Maybe a new idea.... :noidea:

Ayuh,.... I believe that idea mighta been floated durin' the Foam, Vs: Soda Bottles Debates,......

 

[Daniel1947]

Nitrogen? Hey gm280, instead of nitrogen why not use helium? The boat definitely wouldn't sink. :facepalm:

 

[Willyclay]

Before I gave up on my LoneStar tinney, I considered installing some drainage panels like the link below inside the hull prior to foaming on the assumption that I would not be able to prevent some water from getting below the deck.

http://www.wrmeadows.com/mel-drain-rolled-matrix-drainage-system/