foam in my hull what to do with it

[newfisher1]

I have an aluminum boat that has a form of spray foam under the plywood. I think due to the fact that the rivets leak the foam is taking on h2o and has increased the weight of the boat quite a bit. i plan on removing the foam and repairing the leaks. My question is do I need to re-foam the boat why is the foam there and can increase the weight of the enough the slow it down if it was saturated

 

[shrew]

Re: foam in my hull what to do with it

the foam is positive floatation so if the boat sinks it doesn't completely sink. It's a safety feature and I believe it is required on that sized boat. Whether it is required to keep/replace or just required that the manufacturer provided it, I'm not completely sure.

I can tell you that it is a good feature. If the boat sinks the positive floatation will keep the boat floating just at the water line. It will give you something to hang onto and will save all your stuff. I wouldn't want to be treading water with my boat at the bottom of the lake, pond, river, etc.

I'd try to remove the saturated foam, then fix the leaking rivets and find a way to replace the foam. West Systems makes a product that will seal up the leaky rivets to prevent the new foam from getting saturated again.

 

[sublauxation]

Re: foam in my hull what to do with it

Gluv it will seal the rivets and pool noodles make great replacement foam.

 

[shrew]

Re: foam in my hull what to do with it

Gluv it will seal the rivets and pool noodles make great replacement foam.

Did a search for GLUV, but couldn't find it anywhere. What is it?

 

[eclark53520]

Re: foam in my hull what to do with it

Did a search for GLUV, but couldn't find it anywhere. What is it?

It's called Gulvit

 

[newfisher1]

Re: foam in my hull what to do with it

Ok guy and thanks but would the saturated foam add that much weight to the boat

 

[eclark53520]

Re: foam in my hull what to do with it

Ok guy and thanks but would the saturated foam add that much weight to the boat

Yes, saturated foam will add lots of weight to the boat.

 

[Willyclay]

Re: foam in my hull what to do with it

Some aluminum boat manufacturers, Lone Star in particular after 1961, used foam as part of the hull structure. It will only be obvious when you pull out the old foam and see what's there. Ribs and stringers are the most common type of hull structural members. In their absence, new foam or some other substitute will be required to retain the hull's shape. Good luck!

 

[109jb]

Re: foam in my hull what to do with it

Here is why there is foam.

http://walleye.outdoorsfirst.com/watch.asp?id=2087

 

[ezmobee]

Re: foam in my hull what to do with it

Replace your wet foam with the pink or blue construction sheet foam from Lowes/HD. Or pool noodles.

 

[Hoggar]

Re: foam in my hull what to do with it

Replace your wet foam with the pink or blue construction sheet foam from Lowes/HD. Or pool noodles.

Not to be rude but that's a dumb idea.

As for the weight of your saturated foam water Weighs 8.33 pounds per
gallon I have a 1967 19' Johnson Surfer that was carrying an extra 500 lbs
approximately 80 gallons of water.

You should replace your foam with the proper foam for the job.
This is what you should use.

Two-part liquid urethane closed cell foam.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: foam in my hull what to do with it

It was rude.

For your fiberglass boat that's a fine solution. For an aluminum boat, not so much. A number of us have found corrosion issues due to pourable foam in aluminum boats. My boat, and many others, weren't originally equipped with pourable foam. They used white styrofoam sheets which were easily waterlogged. The pink or blue closed cell foam sheets are an improvement over OEM. Pourable foam can still be used in an aluminum boat if so desired but I would put a plastic barrier between it an and metal.

 

[Kiwifisher]

Re: foam in my hull what to do with it

Not to be rude but that's a dumb idea.

It would be helpful if you could qualify why you say that. If you read the threads on the restoration and repair forum, heaps of guys do just that with great success. If it's just for flotation, there is no reason not to use the closed cell foam. If the original foam was part of the structure then it should be replaced with likewise.

 

[Hoggar]

Re: foam in my hull what to do with it

Having found it in my surfer as a Lazy persons repair when they
decided it was too much work to do it right. It was wet and full
of mildew. Now I'm digging out wet foam and swimming noodles.
As well as rotted stringers.

The new pour in foam is closed cell and will not absorb the water.

 

[Alpheus]

Re: foam in my hull what to do with it

Not to be rude but that's a dumb idea.

You are being rude. Could you provide any insight as to why "you think" its a "dumb" idea?

That method has been used on many projects around here with great results.

 

[shrew]

Re: foam in my hull what to do with it

I gotta be honest, I wasn't crazy about stuffing a fist full of pool noodles in there either. There is such thing as the right answer delivered the wrong way. I'm not going to say it is a good idea or a bad idea. I can say that I'm a fan of using marine materials and techniques to do the job correctly. (Whatever "correctly" means). My gut reaction would be, If I didn't pull pool noodles out of there and no other manufacturers use them, then I'm not going to use them either. Just like I don't use house or automotive paint on a boat and I don't use household poducts to clean and maintain them. I also spend far more for a marine version of what should be the same automotive part. (But that's me and ultimately, we;re not talking about my boat here).

that being said, I'm curious what "Many guys have done it successfully" means? that they fit? Or that they don't promote rust issues, or that the boat still floats properly when swamped? I'm particularly curious about the last one. Can noodles stuffed into the same space provide the same amount of buoyancy?

 

[Hoggar]

Re: foam in my hull what to do with it

You are being rude. Could you provide any info as to why "you think" its a dumb idea?

That method has been used on many projects on here with great results. People have even used empty plastic jugs as flotation...

Its usually structural and needs to be in place for proper support of the outer hull.

Lots of people jump off of the Golden gate bridge...

 

[shrew]

Re: foam in my hull what to do with it

I did some reading on GLUVIT. It looks like a barrier coat that uses a bit of capillary effect to work it's way into cracks and seams to prevent leaks. It looks like it would certainly get the job done. I like the West Systems Gflex:

http://www.westsystem.com/ss/fix-leaking-seams-in-aluminum-boats-with-g-flex-65/

Since the issue with water intrusion will still need to be addressed to prevent this from recurring, I'd take a long look at both to decide what the best solution for preventing further leaks would be.

 

[Kiwifisher]

Re: foam in my hull what to do with it

that being said, I'm curious what "Many guys have done it successfully" means? that they fit? Or that they don't promote rust issues, or that the boat still floats properly when swamped? I'm particularly curious about the last one. Can noodles stuffed into the same space provide the same amount of buoyancy?

Just scroll down in the main forum to the Restoration, building and hull repair forum. You will find hundreds of posts about this very topic in there. You will also find most of the advice given of a high professional standard and not the run of the mill "shade tree pick-up repair" stuff.

As for Hoggar, having to dig out wet and mildewy noodles and rotten stringers, that would of been the same if the PO had used pour in foam or not. If the deck is not sealed properly, water will get in and destroy any wood in there, regardless of what flotation material was used.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: foam in my hull what to do with it

Its usually structural and needs to be in place for proper support of the outer hull.

not on an ALUMINUM BOAT!!


Interesting, in those photos you show, the noodles look pretty good and not deteriorated at all. Now the hardware store spray foam holding it all together (which we definitely don't recommend on here) I'm sure was a mess.