1989 Starcraft Islander 221V repair and repower

[Capt Spaulding]

another question on the foam.
primary use of boat will be in salt water . already found some corrosion on transom and bottom that will need repairing before i can continue project.
salt water , to my understanding will corrode aluminum quickly if not washed away. is there a way of installing foam that wont hold salt water next to aluminum? should i have inner hull painted or some bed liner product to protect it?

 

[Watermann]

Most of us swear by the rigid foam board for flotation since it is not installed with direct adhered contact with the hull like pour in foam that traps the water. Salt water and fresh water both will cause corrosion to the hull with the pour in foam. Yes rinsing salt water from AL boats is imperative.

I would agree with the painting of the inside of the hull as a preventive measure but keep in mind nothing will get in under the ribs so it's not a 100% barrier. Bed liner is the absolute worst option in my opinion as it can and will lose adhesion on AL allowing water to get underneath it causing corrosion.

 

[Capt Spaulding]

Most of us swear by the rigid foam board for flotation since it is not installed with direct adhered contact with the hull like pour in foam that traps the water. Salt water and fresh water both will cause corrosion to the hull with the pour in foam. Yes rinsing salt water from AL boats is imperative.

I would agree with the painting of the inside of the hull as a preventive measure but keep in mind nothing will get in under the ribs so it's not a 100% barrier. Bed liner is the absolute worst option in my opinion as it can and will lose adhesion on AL allowing water to get underneath it causing corrosion.

thanks for the reply and perspective. ridged foam board? where is the best place to get foam board? install on edge or horizontally. any issues with foam not bonding to hull. like the ability to flow water better to bilge to be removed. anything else I should know about that kind of install
thanks again.

 

[Watermann]

thanks for the reply and perspective. ridged foam board? where is the best place to get foam board? install on edge or horizontally. any issues with foam not bonding to hull. like the ability to flow water better to bilge to be removed. anything else I should know about that kind of install
thanks again.

XPS foam board can be picked up at any of the big box stores.

XPS - Foam Board Insulation - The Home Depot

Get free shipping on qualified XPS Foam Board Insulation products or Buy Online Pick Up in Store today in the Building Materials Department.

www.homedepot.com

 

[Capt Spaulding]

XPS foam board can be picked up at any of the big box stores.

XPS - Foam Board Insulation - The Home Depot

Get free shipping on qualified XPS Foam Board Insulation products or Buy Online Pick Up in Store today in the Building Materials Department.

www.homedepot.com

thanks for the help really appreciate it!

 

[Capt Spaulding]

due to corrosion need to order a new fuel tank anyone have any experience with Moeller FT5205BR-2?

 

[Moserkr]

Ive seen people in threads just lay it in there with lots of gaps, however it fits with the least amount of work. Then if i remember correctly, classiccat cut his to fit perfectly and stuffed as much in as possible. For me, i kind of did both ways. Honestly, the difference between the amount of foam that I fit by just laying it in there as easy as possible was minimal vs cutting triangles to fit every nook n cranny perfectly. Saved a lot of time and mess.

Perfect cuts can be made by a hot wire. I used a jigsaw for small cuts and a circular saw for larger cuts. Did it outside, leaf blower took care of the mess.

As for the fuel tank, no experience with that exact model. But I put a below deck 19 gallon tank in my little 16’ ss this year from moeller. They are the largest supplier so I dont see an issue. I chose plastic over aluminum for 2 reasons - corrosion and condensation. Just make sure it has room to expand where you put it. Took mine a week to actually expand and it pushed the front/back out even further than I expected. Its sides had unlimited space to expand so in the end, no issues. Very happy with my moeller tank. I believe @Watermann even had them build him a custom one for one of his builds.

 

[Capt Spaulding]

Ive seen people in threads just lay it in there with lots of gaps, however it fits with the least amount of work. Then if i remember correctly, classiccat cut his to fit perfectly and stuffed as much in as possible. For me, i kind of did both ways. Honestly, the difference between the amount of foam that I fit by just laying it in there as easy as possible was minimal vs cutting triangles to fit every nook n cranny perfectly. Saved a lot of time and mess.

Perfect cuts can be made by a hot wire. I used a jigsaw for small cuts and a circular saw for larger cuts. Did it outside, leaf blower took care of the mess.

As for the fuel tank, no experience with that exact model. But I put a below deck 19 gallon tank in my little 16’ ss this year from moeller. They are the largest supplier so I dont see an issue. I chose plastic over aluminum for 2 reasons - corrosion and condensation. Just make sure it has room to expand where you put it. Took mine a week to actually expand and it pushed the front/back out even further than I expected. Its sides had unlimited space to expand so in the end, no issues. Very happy with my moeller tank. I believe @Watermann even had them build him a custom one for one of his builds.

thanks very much. found this particular tank looking thru the catalogs. seems to be a very close match but should still have room for expansion in original tank location. waiting on dealer to get back to me on price and availability

 

[BWR1953]

This is how I did the foam for my Kingfisher.

We cut each piece by hand with utility knives, glued the pieces together with construction adhesive and then taped them with aluminum tape.

The HDPE plastic trash bags over the foam sections at the stern are gasoline proof, "just in case" there's a spill.

 

[Watermann]

due to corrosion need to order a new fuel tank anyone have any experience with Moeller FT5205BR-2?

Fuel tanks are all about their size, not much room below deck. Be sure you can make it fit in the space you have adding in for clearances and padding.

 

[Capt Spaulding]

Fuel tanks are all about their size, not much room below deck. Be sure you can make it fit in the space you have adding in for clearances and padding.

the moeller tank looks to be about exact replacement however having hard time locating one