Seats and floatation foam for aluminum boat

[zephenom]

Hello guys,

I just purchased a cheap 14? Aluminum Starcraft V-hull to fish from. This is my first boat and I do not know much about these things. I have a couple important questions.

1) I am not sure if the boat came with aluminum bench seats or what, but all it has right now is wood bench seats (see below.) I want to put a nice pedestal and swivel seat on each bench so I was recommended to put a piece of aluminum angle under each seat. I purchased 1/8?x1 ?? to put under each seat, does this sound sufficient?

2) More importantly, I keep hearing about floatation foam. My boat is literally an aluminum shell with two bench seats so there is no foam at all. Do all boats, jons included, have foam in them? Is this something I need to somehow add?

If anybody has a solution for mounting seats and adding foam, please let me know. Thanks!

 

[Bondo]

Re: Seats and floatation foam for aluminum boat

Ayuh,... Originally, there was foam blocks under the seats,...
You could still add them...

As for the pedestal and swivel seats,.... You should rethink that idea,...
It'll raise the center of gravity,+ cause the hull to be pretty Tippy...

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Seats and floatation foam for aluminum boat

If you look at this post http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=63672 to about post #6 you will see photo's of my open bow starcraft.

Yes there are very flimsy aluminum boxes that hold huge foam blocks for flotation.

Here is a trick..... get an empty 5 gallon bucket and go out in your boat...... put the bucket up on a seat and try to balance....... simulate casting or bring a rod...... be sure to work both sides of the hull.

It will not take long to figure out how tippy the boat can be. Bond-o is right on the money

 

[zephenom]

Re: Seats and floatation foam for aluminum boat

Thanks for the replies, it is appreciated.

Those aluminum boxes that you have in yours, did they come with the boat? Is there somewhere I could buy something like that to hide the foam?

Also, the pedestals I got were only 7". It seemed like that way the seats would still be pretty low in the hull. Does that make it sound like a better idea or is there another way to be comfortable?

Thanks

 

[lncoop]

Re: Seats and floatation foam for aluminum boat

Don't blame you for wanting to build in a little comfort for the posterior. What you might consider doing is just mounting swivel seats directly to the benches with no pedestals. That way you'll have the comfort of a seat without the instability of a higher center of gravity.

 

[zephenom]

Re: Seats and floatation foam for aluminum boat

Thanks for the advice.

I took out the existing benches, purchased some lumber and made new ones. They seem much sturdier. I raised them higher up and then decided to just mount the swivel seat to the benches and leave out the pedestal.

Now I have one more question; I am going to somehow close these benches in so I can put foam inside. At Lowes today I asked what type of foam I need. He walked outside with me where a semi-truck was dropping stuff off and asked for some foam. I got 12 of these blocks for free:

Will these get the job done? I was thinking about cutting them to size and placing them under the bench seats. Will these absorb water and if so, is there anything I can spray on them to help?

More importantly, how do I calculate how much I need to put in the boat? Willing filling the two bench seats be enough?

Thanks!!!

 

[Bondo]

Re: Seats and floatation foam for aluminum boat

Willing filling the two bench seats be enough?

Ayuh,... That'll work,+ it'll be Better off than it is...

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Seats and floatation foam for aluminum boat

Wrap the foam on the top and sides with saran wrap but leave a place at the bottom for moisture to escape.

Then you can build boxes from the lightest sheets of aluminum you can get hold of...... or build boxes from pieces of luan that has been sealed up with 2-3 layers of spar varnish.

You could try a layer of fiberglass (expensive) but if you fail to seal the foam 100% the fiberglass resin will reduce that foam to goo!

Styrofoam will absorb water over time if exposed...... hence the saran wrap to extend it's life. Nice score from the Lowes store!

 

[lncoop]

Re: Seats and floatation foam for aluminum boat

I believe you'll have a fishing machine when you're done. Good luck!