Styrofoam, is it really needed?

[BlytheBass]

I have an older 12 foot Wards sea king and the seat closest to the back has a huge chunk of stirophome sitting between two pieces of sheet metal. Wanted to remove that to make room for my tackel but I didn't know if it would make the boat sit lower in the water or if it even effected the boat. Any help would be great! Thanks.

 

[1979checkmate]

Re: Stirophome, is it really needed?

Re: Stirophome, is it really needed?

you can take it out. It is there for floatation in the event that the boat swamps or capsizes. No, it will not make your boat sit in the water lower, all it is is weight right now.

 

[26aftcab454]

Re: Stirophome, is it really needed?

Re: Stirophome, is it really needed?

you can take it out. It is there for floatation in the event that the boat swamps or capsizes. No, it will not make your boat sit in the water lower, all it is is weight right now.

yeak but if you capsize you be swimming cuz the boat will be on the bottom.:facepalm:

Styrofoam is there for a good reason.

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Stirophome, is it really needed?

Re: Stirophome, is it really needed?

yeak but if you capsize you be swimming cuz the boat will be on the bottom.:facepalm:

Styrofoam is there for a good reason.

its a 30+ year old boat, my guess is the existing foam has pretty much zero floatation ability left. its most likely waterlogged...

 

[BlytheBass]

Re: Stirophome, is it really needed?

Re: Stirophome, is it really needed?

Yea I don't think that one chunk will make it float in a sinking situation! The Johnson on it weighs at least 50 pounds plus the trolly motor, battery, gas, etc.

Thanks for the info, going to get that taken out of there now.

 

[sschefer]

Re: Stirophome, is it really needed?

Re: Stirophome, is it really needed?

All boats less that 20' in length are required by law to level float. If you drown there's not much to worry about but if your buddy is with you and he drowns and his family sue's someone's going to loose big time. Think about it, even if you drown too, your estate and family members could be the ones to suffer. There, that's your caveat for the day...

Keeping the foam makes a custom interior very difficult but there are things you can do to replace that foam with new pour in foam or even pool noodles to get it back to level float. Testing it is pretty easy with a boat that size.

 

[NYBo]

Re: Stirophome, is it really needed?

Re: Stirophome, is it really needed?

Steve has hit the nail on the head. You would be well advised to follow his suggestions.

its a 30+ year old boat, my guess is the existing foam has pretty much zero floatation ability left. its most likely waterlogged...

The foam in my 27-year-old boat is still dry as a bone and it's not even fully enclosed (Coleman Crawdad). It all depends on how the boat was cared for.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: Stirophome, is it really needed?

Re: Stirophome, is it really needed?

Floatation foam can mean the difference between being a lead sinker or a "bobber"!!!... if it was me, I'd be puting foam in places that never had foam before!

 

[BlytheBass]

Re: Styrofoam, is it really needed?

Well, I have aluminum pontoons welded to the sides and they offer alot when it comes to floating. I have had alot of water in it and the pontoons were barely under water. I can show pics of them if needed but I don't know if they would be enough to help in a sinking situation.

 

[tschmidty]

Re: Styrofoam, is it really needed?

I would think pontoons on the side would be more than enough to provide additional floatation.

 

[Captain Caveman]

Re: Styrofoam, is it really needed?

Well, I have aluminum pontoons welded to the sides and they offer alot when it comes to floating.

You welded pontoons to this thing? I'd like to see the pictures just out of curiosity. In general though, I wouldn't remove safety features from any boat. I've never flipped or sunk a boat but it's nice to know that it would float or bob in the water so that I can retrieve it instead of adding garbage to the lake bottom. IMO, if you have to remove safety features to make the boat work for you, then you aren't in the right boat.

 

[BlytheBass]

Re: Styrofoam, is it really needed?

Thanks for the info, going to just replace it all.

 

[Navigator_Victory]

Re: Styrofoam, is it really needed?

kewl pontoons....how does it go through the water?

 

[jigngrub]

Re: Styrofoam, is it really needed?

Is it just me, or does Sea King sound a lot like Sink-ing?

Those a pretty cool pontoons and surely won't hurt a thing to have them there!

 

[tschmidty]

Re: Styrofoam, is it really needed?

Those are cool I am guessing they give the boat good stability for fishing but get up out of the water when planing.

 

[pootnic]

Re: Styrofoam, is it really needed?

Are the pontoons air tight?
I'm sure theres a formula that will tell you have much(weight) they will float.
You might have enough floatation with those pontoons.
I'm not saying take out the foam,I'm just saying those pontoons(if air tight)will probably keep the boat from sinking...they look pretty long.
I googled a bit and 1 cubic foot,floats around 63lbs.

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Styrofoam, is it really needed?

Those are PLENTY long to keep the boat from going under. Keep in mind foam floatation isn't there to keep you dry when a boat takes on water. Its there to keep the boat from going to the bottom. It might only have an inch of gunwall around the edge of the boat out of the water, but that is still far better than sinking.

Interesting design though! I've seen pontoons that have partial boat hulls under, now I've seen a boat that has partial pontoons!

 

[NYBo]

Re: Styrofoam, is it really needed?

You can't fool us. Those aren't pontoons, they're torpedo tubes. You're a CIA operative and you just blew your cover!

While you technically should have the same amount of foam installed as when the boat was made, the 'toons may be enough to provide the level flotation you need to stay afloat. A test would be in order to see how she does.

 

[BlytheBass]

Re: Styrofoam, is it really needed?

Yes they are air tight and I've tested them by having a few friends help me hold the boat down far enough to drown them. They don't really have an affect on performance when on the go either. I use a 15hp johnson and it picks it up enough to clear the end and they actually keep me from rocking alot when at full throttle. As far as stability goes thats why they are there! I almost tipped the boat several times before I put them on there and since I haven't even come close.

Thanks pootnic for the info on the ratio!

 

[jigngrub]

Re: Styrofoam, is it really needed?

Just out of curiosity I figured the volume of your 'toons. If they're 6" in diameter and 8' long they hold 1.57 cubic feet each, double that is 3.14 cubic feet x 63 lbs = 197.82 lbs. of added capacity for your boat... but I realize that the 'toon are there for stability more than anything.