Re: Newbee here questions with stringers & floor replacement
I don't know it the manufacture used foam in it or not and I can't find any info about that... Do u think I will need to foam her? Not to cool about that either this stuff was full of water.. would rather omit it if possible..
Floatation foam is one of our best friends in a boat and I love mine. My boat has lots of foam and I like it that way:
One of these days I'm going to add a little more foam just to straighten and tidy up the factory installation.The foam in my boat is factory installed and 15 years old, it's dry as a bone because I keep my boat covered when not in use and the bilge drain plug out.
But it's not like my bilge and foam have never seen water. I am like a lot of boaters and have forgotten to put the bilge drain plug in my boat before launching more than once... ok, several times. My floatation foam floats my boat so well that water never comes up through the deck drain so I don't notice the plug is out and I'll fish all day with the bilge plug out and the bilge full of water. Then at the end of the day when I pull the boat out of the water on the trailer all the bilge water comes shooting out of the bilge drain like a fire hose and I realize what I did. My boat actually floats better than this with the plug out:
Lund Boat Floatation Video - YouTube
2 part expanding urethane foam is very water resistant and this is from the USComposites site:
14. Is this foam water resistant?
Yes, but with the following caveat. The foams that we sell are considered closed-cell, which means that each cell that makes up the foam structure is completely closed off from surrounding cells which prevents it from acting like a sponge. It is completely safe for this foam to be in contact with water for hours/days/weeks and even months with no adverse effects. However, it should never be submerged in contact with water permanently. Over a period of years the water contact can begin to soften the foam and cause it to lose its closed-cell status. This foam is designed primarily to be used as an insurance policy in case of damage/holes that could cause a vessel to lose buoyancy. Pinhole sized openings would essentially have no effect on the foam since the amount of exposure is so minimal but you should always make repairs as soon as possible to keep the foam effectiveness as good as possible. This will be the case with all after market closed-cell polyurethane foams and even manufacturer installed foams.
You can read more info about this foam here:
Frequently Asked Questions - General
It takes a long time of neglect and abuse to waterlog/saturate the foam in a boat, and when the foam does become wet it isn't the foams fault or the boats fault... it's the owners fault for not taking care of his boat.
Floatation foam actually does double duty in a lot of todays boats. Manufacturers found out that they can delete some of the hull and deck framing and use the floatation foam for support instead, so some boats are actually weaker if the foam is taken out and not replaced. This is especially true for boats that use 1/2" thick decking, and you can feel the difference when you walk on 1/2" decking with and without foam. The deck will feel very solid in a boat with 1/2" decking supported by floatation foam, the 1/2" decking without foam support will be bouncy/springy and loud. The foam adds support to the hull in the same way.
This is a little list of the pro's and cons of floatation foam I made up recently:
Pros
#1. It could save your life and the lives of your passengers... just this one benefit outweighs all of the pitfalls added together and then multiplied by 10.
#2. Your boat won't sink to the bottom of the lake if there's an accident or emergency.
#3. Floatation will give you additional support for your hull and deck making it stronger.
#4. Floatation foam seals the inside of your hull in case of a breach... if you knock a hole in your hull by hitting a partially submerged log the foam will block the hole off from the inside and your boat won't take on water and you'll be able to get yourself and your passengers back to the launch without sinking.
#5. Boats that sink to the bottom leave the owner liable for EPA pollution fines from spilled gas and oil, these fine can be hefty in certain areas and they include the cost of cleaning up the spill.
#6. Your boat will be quieter on the water, floatation foam is a sound attenuation product.
Cons
#1. If you neglect your boat and leave it exposed to the elements (like you're really going to do that after all of the hard work you've put into it) your foam can become saturated/waterlogged adding weight to your boat and promoting rot below deck... but, it takes a long time for floatation foam to saturate... were talking about a period of years of constant exposure.
End of cons.
Whether or not you choose to put floatation foam back in your boat is up to you and you don't have to do it if you don't want to, but I'd never own a boat without it.
