Dremmeling off end, grinding out foam, replacing foam, welding end back on U shaped?

[Winats2]

If the foam is wet in a u-shaped pontoon, why not just cut off the end and weld it back on later? Just leave a foot of air space. Maybe fill in the final foot via a drain tube after the end is welded back on.

Why couldn't the wet foam be ground out with a grinder attached to a stick? Could get most of it out. Would only the lower parts likely be soggy? Or does the foam suck it up and spread it around like a sponge?

Maybe send someone small into the pontoon, after putting it upside down, to scrape off what the grinder doesn't get.

Once most of it is out, the hollow could be refoamed.


Would this approach work?

 

[5150abf]

Re: Dremmeling off end, grinding out foam, replacing foam, welding end back on U shap

If you have ever removed foam from a boat you would know what a pain it is, the only way to do it is to pull it by hand with a knife or something along those lines, a grinder on a stick won't do it, I think that would be one of those things that works really well in your head but not in reality.

I have pulled the foam from a 16' boat with lots of room to work and it was a real pain, took hours and hours, can't imagine trying to do it in the confined space of a tube.

Yes in theory you could pull the end off the tube and dig all the foam out but I think most sane people would lose all interest about 5' in, if you actually attempt this we will need pictures of coarse.

 

[muskiemike12]

Re: Dremmeling off end, grinding out foam, replacing foam, welding end back on U shap

What company puts foam in the tubes and why?

 

[Scott Danforth]

Re: Dremmeling off end, grinding out foam, replacing foam, welding end back on U shap

I removed the foam in my boat with a wire brush on the end of a drill bit extension. chewed the foam to bits, then I simply vacuumed it up. was done in a few minutes.

 

[5150abf]

Re: Dremmeling off end, grinding out foam, replacing foam, welding end back on U shap

At some point U shaped tubes were required by the coat guard to have flotation foam in them but not all do, they are classified as a different type hull and a round pontoon tube has a different classification so they don't need foam.

Really Scott, and where was this info while I was in my boat with a butcher knife for hours cutting foam, SQEEEEK-SQUEEEEK SQUEEEK

 

[belairbrian]

Re: Dremmeling off end, grinding out foam, replacing foam, welding end back on U shap

Curious if a properly set pressure washer would clean it out? Just an idea.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Re: Dremmeling off end, grinding out foam, replacing foam, welding end back on U shap

Really Scott, and where was this info while I was in my boat with a butcher knife for hours cutting foam, SQEEEEK-SQUEEEEK SQUEEEK

because I was covered head to toe in foam fuzz. I used leather gloves (for to hold the rotating drill extension), a 1" and 3" cup brushes with 1/4" shank. and 3 of the 18" long 1/4 drill extensions.