Foam..Important?? keep or remove

[tallguy63]

After gutting my entire 19 ft bayliner capri, i am wondering how much if any of the foam should i replace. i am strongly contemplating not replacing any in the bow and under the seats to make room for storage. how important is this stuff and is it ok to remove it? what's its function other than buoyancy and weight? thanks

 

[Capt. Valk]

Re: Foam..Important?? keep or remove

Its there for either buoyancy or to make make what surrounds it more rigged. Under my floor is filled with foam of a high density. Without it the floor would flex when ya step on it and it makes the hull more solid.. I know this cause I replaced some. They put it there for a reason. It costs money and if they didn't need it they wouldn't have sprung for it. Unless they where going for the Boston Whaler "unsinkable" status. If its under a seat of something it may even be there as a sound barrier or to stop vibration. If ya could supply some pics I could make a better call. But if your not sure, then by all means put it back Is it a soft open cell foam or a more dense closed cell foam? (closed cell will not absorb water)

ps. if its under the floor or touching the outside hull you should DEFINITELY replace it. It keeps the whole boat more rigid. Once fiberglass panels start flexing they weaken.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Foam..Important?? keep or remove

it's put there because the coast guard requires a certain amount of floatation, so it does not sink completely. 90% of it is not structural,

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=191283

 

[tallcanadian]

Re: Foam..Important?? keep or remove

sort of give you that warm fuzzy feeling that if your out in open water, and you start taking on water, that you may just make it out alive. i can't swim, so for the sake of a few bucks, give me foam. heheheh

 

[turfman]

Re: Foam..Important?? keep or remove

I asked this question a couple weeks ago. It seems there are two camps on this board. Some feel that if you put foam in it will rot your stringers and deck and is therefore not advised. The other side states that it could be a floatation issue and sometimes strenghten the hull.

My boat is 26 years old and has spent its entire life in the ocean. The deck is now rotted but the stringers are fine and the foam is moderatley wet. Problem is if I don't put foam back under the deck and I take on a decent amount of water I'm going down... So What I'm in the process of doing right now is finding some decently heavy plastic bags to place between my stringers and seal the bags up once the foam sets. Hopefully I'll find the best of both worlds in this progect.

turfman

 

[Lou C]

Re: Foam..Important?? keep or remove

I did replace the foam in mine, I noticed there were 4 main stringers, but only 2 tranverse bulkheads, one at each end of the gas tank compartment, so to me it seemed needed for stiffness.
I wonder if you had replaced the stringers using epoxy, which is supposed to be way more waterproof than poly, you would be less likely to have an issue down the road.
The way my boat was orginally, it lasted about 15 years before the rot got bad, and I have no idea how the past owners took care of it.
Now it has good covers, and a deck with no carpet, and all the holes drilled for seats and such were sealed with 4200, so I figure it should last long enough, I didn't want to regret not putting the foam in for safety reasons.

 

[Tail_Gunner]

Re: Foam..Important?? keep or remove

Foaming a boat is the last bastion of a good debate left on these board's....and with that said i better kool it or this thread or myself will get poofed......

In the end no matter what one does it will trap water aiding in contaminating stringer's. However the time between the inevitable say 15 years's, it could very well save live's.............Ohh just pour some 9lb foam in and you will find it does provide a great deal of structural reinforcement..

Just a opinion your milage may vary.....

 

[Robj]

Re: Foam..Important?? keep or remove

I replaced mine for the floatation, but more important to me is the structural stiffness it adds to the floor and hull. If I rebuild another boat, I will do the same. If it was there originally, I would replace it.

Have a great day,

Rob.

 

[rorypff]

For Flotation

For Flotation

For flotation why not use plastic bottles of various sizes to fit the compartments. Water then never gets trapped and also allows good circulation of air.

 

[Robj]

Re: Foam..Important?? keep or remove

Plastic bottles have been debated before. While they may add some floatation, they do not add stiffness to the hull or the deck, which in my opinion is something that you should consider.

Have a great day,

Rob.