That darn FOAM

B

bksah2

Junior Member
Seem like every boat I owned has had the foam under the deck and yes all the foam was water loged and weights a ton,,, I going to rip out as much as i can get to and leave it out... any thoughts
 
Replace what you take out with new, if using expandable be careful it does not overflow.
That foam is vital to keeping your hull afloat in a swamping or overturn.
The few seconds or minutes it keeps your hull afloat could make or break you getting out from under or keep you afloat long enough to organize and recover.
 
You'd be surprised just how little that (the correct) foam does absorb, the average boat may be around 5 gallons.
The wrong foam will be as bad as a sponge. Can't remember which was which.
The usual problem is water trapped between the foam and it's way to drain.
 
tsubaki said:
You'd be surprised just how little that (the correct) foam does absorb, the average boat may be around 5 gallons.
The wrong foam will be as bad as a sponge. Can't remember which was which.
The usual problem is water trapped between the foam and it's way to drain.
Click to expand...


Open-Cell foam IS like a sponge...millions of tiny air-pockets soak up and hold water...on the other hand...

Closed-Cell foam has no air-pockets and is more resistant to soaking up water...but water, over time will eventually find its way thru about anything...including gel-coat and into the tiniest of places in Closed Cell...it's just a matter of exposure to water over time...
 
My 91 V cuddy got filled with water a couple winters back when the drain hold got plugged up with debris. I am guessing that the foam is under there completely soaked. Is there any way to dry it out short of pulling up the floor and removing the foam?
 
I've heard of people drilling holes in the hull and letting the water drip out although that techniqe makes me cringe. I suppose it beats the alternative - rotten stringers & floor.
 
Once it gets saturated it is impossible to get all of it out.
On one project, the boat was filled with leaves and water for a little less than a year, drained it cleaned it up, drilled/cut access holes and backed it into the garage for several weeks to help dry out. After the initial draining we got less than 5 gallons from it over a 3 to 4 week period and then it was down to a few drops here and there. To our amazement, the boat still weighed about the same.
Know a guy with a Whaler type hull that hoisted it up in the tree by the bow eye for near a year, strange site seeing a boat dangling as if hung by the neck till dead, he said there was no appreciable difference in the weight, even letting it drain that long.
And definitely not debunking reel, he is correct!
 
I hate having the foam in there, no mater how tight the boat water always makes its way to the foam and with all that water just sitting there its a recipe for rot the v20s of the 70s had very little foam,, todays boats are loaded with it, i would rather have wide open stringgers ,,bulkheads etc. so the air can freeflow throw and keep everything dry thats y i am going to rip out as much of the water soaked foam as i can and not replace it..I dont think it has any structural benefit except for reduceing sound ..if i were to sink i think the water soaked foam would take me down faster or maybe not
 
I would bet that if you pulled your boat to Arizona and left it out in the desert for the summer, it would dry out.

I know it sounds crazy, but it is really dry out there.
 
go to sherwin williams or any paint store and get some elastomeric paint and mop this over the foam if you can reach it all and this will protect your foam from moisture intrusion and uv breakdown
 
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