Sad that they put all this foam (sponge) in boats these days.

I watched this video, and I cringed about all the foam they seal into the hulls and stringers of boats these days. It's great when new, but if water does get into this foam, it's not going anywhere. My recent project has shown me that.

https://youtu.be/ktZUSQbt7aA?si=dzTANUC9FTBl2L0r

Here's where I break into a sealed compartment in my 1996 Sprint Fiberglass boat and "find a lake".

https://youtu.be/PimLwPTK1Zs

My stringers were rotten too, and they are supposably sealed as well, but nothing is really sealed. Water gets everywhere, and that foam just acts like a sponge, once it enters into that foam, it is there forever! The absolutely terrible thing is, to inject the foam on my boat, they drill a hole. And they did not even attempt to seal that hole up. So every drop of water that sank into it, was still there.

I'm still watching this guys series of videos about his bass boat getting built. I wanna see if they seal up those foam injection points in that boat. I will see.

I just seen where they cut the foam where they sprayed it on the bottom of the cap compartments, before seating the cap. All I see is that they unsealed that foam by cutting into it, and made it more sponge like!

Yes I'm ranting again, but foam holds water. They need to come up with a better solution.

I know this is an aluminum boat, but it's shows how bad foam is once it gets wet:

https://youtu.be/yThrlVAwPl4?si=lXxfhmN8ptKOrMDs

And yeah, you can seal fiberglass, but can you guarantee it's sealed, cause water gets everywhere on a boat, after all, it's a boat.

When I added the floor to my 1860 Landau in 1998 I used the blue board foam sheeting like used in residential housing ... but I stacked the pieces vertically between the ribs so that water could still get to the boat hull strakes and make its way toward the transom drain hole ...

That blue board sheeting is still in as good a shape as when I installed it in 1998 ...

Plus ... it’s easy to remove for working certain tasks ...

Attachment 486051

Rickie


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Originally Posted by rnvinc

When I added the floor to my 1860 Landau in 1998 I used the blue board foam sheeting like used in residential housing ... but I stacked the pieces vertically between the ribs so that water could still get to the boat hull strakes and make its way toward the transom drain hole ...

That blue board sheeting is still in as good a shape as when I installed it in 1998 ...

Plus ... it’s easy to remove for working certain tasks ...

Attachment 486051

Rickie


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That’s awesome Rickie. That’s what ima gonna do too. Gotta have drainage.




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That compartment is for positive flotation too. Should be sealed. All cookie cutter boats in a mid price range are built the same. Pull the cap & play guess who's boat it is. You don't see any gelcoat on that raw fiberglass work do you?

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Originally Posted by Rojo

That compartment is for positive flotation too. Should be sealed. All cookie cutter boats in a mid price range are built the same. Pull the cap & play guess who's boat it is. You don't see any gelcoat on that raw fiberglass work do you?

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Yep, no gelcoat means water can make it's way though if it sits on it long enough, right?

And yeah, positive flotation only if sealed to keep the water out. Mine had negative floatation, full of water, could fish in it, or at least keep your minners in it! lol

:popcorn, I was thinking about a project boat but ……hmmmm….uhhhhhhhh…….wifey……….mowing……….painting…… …….doctors…………brain meltdown ……….. maybe…

yeppers ,everyone copied the ole whaler builds from back when , and sadly when they leak a bit , they stay WET forever ....:banghead

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Originally Posted by Ketchn

yeppers ,everyone copied the ole whaler builds from back when , and sadly when they leak a bit , they stay WET forever ....:banghead

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Those Whalers were pretty tightly built and a lot less complex. Plus they had scupper holes so water did not necessarily collect in the bilge. Kinda like my Key West 1720. Water never sloshes around in a bilge after a rain storm, just runs off the floor. Bass boats have a drain in the floor to the bilge area, so there's almost always water there sloshing around the bottom of the boat. IMHO

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Originally Posted by Slab

Those Whalers were pretty tightly built and a lot less complex. Plus they had scupper holes so water did not necessarily collect in the bilge. Kinda like my Key West 1720. Water never sloshes around in a bilge after a rain storm, just runs off the floor. Bass boats have a drain in the floor to the bilge area, so there's almost always water there sloshing around the bottom of the boat. IMHO

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once them whalers get old the leak a bit though and NEVER dry out , my lil puddle hopper was just divine until she developed a few hull isuues , once she started to leak a bit ,she went from an empty Styrofoam cup to a porcelain cup full of coffee quickly

Thought I read somewhere where the new stuff is closed cell stuff. Not supposed to absorb water

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Originally Posted by DockShootinJack

Thought I read somewhere where the new stuff is closed cell stuff. Not supposed to absorb water

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Not supposed to and what it actually does is two different things. Yep it’s closed cell, but it seems those cell doors ain’t shut very tight! lol


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Fair enough. I know the old open cell stuff was awful

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Originally Posted by DockShootinJack

Fair enough. I know the old open cell stuff was awful

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Funny thing is, here in Florida, I built a house a couple 2 years ago, and they used open cell foam for the exterior walls and bottom of roof, not closed cell foam like they use up north. They say they use open cell foam so in the event of a leak, it can be found. The water will run down through it, and not along it to 20 or 30 feet away. dono, but that's what they told me.

Makes sense

Slab's going to need a Foam Smashing Emoji. Respectfully speaking I will always reinstall the expanding closed cell 2# foam in any work I do. My Champion, I sealed the foam in with Epoxy everywhere I could. Too mush structural integrity is lost unless a much more substantial stringer system is installed to replace the foam which acts to prevent torsional movement and dampen hull skin damage on stickups by providing some backing to the skin between the ribs. Take a look at race boat stringers where they don't use foam and you will instantly understand what I'm saying.

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Originally Posted by Rojo

Slab's going to need a Foam Smashing Emoji. Respectfully speaking I will always reinstall the expanding closed cell 2# foam in any work I do. My Champion, I sealed the foam in with Epoxy everywhere I could. Too mush structural integrity is lost unless a much more substantial stringer system is installed to replace the foam which acts to prevent torsional movement and dampen hull skin damage on stickups by providing some backing to the skin between the ribs. Take a look at race boat stringers where they don't use foam and you will instantly understand what I'm saying.

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I looked and didn't find race boat stringer images, I'll keep looking. But good to know. I'll add something, we'll see. I have to add something anyway because I'm lowering the floor in front of the seats.

I will look for a good example in the morning too.

Attachment 486099
Found this under high speed boat stringer designs. So it shows tons more stringer things that go across from port to starboard. Called bulkheads perhaps? dono, but I can do that? We'll come up with something. And hopefully it wont break up and sink! lol

From what I read on line, ( they're never wrong, right???), what happens with the closed cell foam, it gets compromised by a puncture, scratch, or some way for a bit of water to enter. In cold weather it freezes, and expands, making more cells compromised, and an area for more water. And this continues till it is replaced. Sorta makes sense to me and my feeble mind. Donno.

My Jon boat stunk from wet foam. I removed the foam. The boat is somewhat more noiseier but it doesn't stink and probably 100 pounds lighter. The foam is a bs regulation.

I have no intention of sinking the boat. None of my previous jon boats had any foam.

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If it is a recreational vessel with a Horsepower / Capacity rating it has enough foam (in the seats and bow) to float level if swamped. Commercial vessels are not required to do the flotation or be Coast Guard approved but they are not supposed to be sold for recreational use.

Slab, the second picture is what I was referring to, more transverse stringers as well as stringers located on strakes or other load (Lift) generating transitions in the hull. Also you want your decking to connect with the stringers running the main longitudinal run as well as in strategic transverse locations for torsional stresses.

Brian Latimer did some videos of them building a new bass boat. Very cool to watch them all. Thought interesting when they joined them together and glued certain sections around 10:30 min mark.

https://youtu.be/PtoIiKaJaG0?si=ggFUSMgSSIjZaNRD

I saw these a while back. Good videos. Their stringer is totally another fiberglass molded part with foam filling.

I have always thought that plastic bottles would do good for flotation. Not the crushable water bottles. More of the heavier duty ones like with gatorade, powerade, etc. They are usually built stout and a little hard to puncture. I would think if you were to glue the lids on tight and stack them into areas as tightly as possible that it would work good.

It would take a long time for them to probably degrade, they should hold air perfectly and there is nothing for the water to soak into. I should just run between them and out the area. Only thing I could think of is the possibility of expansion and contraction in hot/cold weather. Might affect the bottle some or the area if packed too tightly causing some distortion. Or could rattle around some if not packed somewhat tight. But for aluminum boats I think this would be acceptable.

Now I have not tried it or currently know anyone that has, but in theory it should work great.

Attachment 486327

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Originally Posted by SuperDave336

Brian Latimer did some videos of them building a new bass boat. Very cool to watch them all. Thought interesting when they joined them together and glued certain sections around 10:30 min mark.

https://youtu.be/PtoIiKaJaG0?si=ggFUSMgSSIjZaNRD

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Yep, he's the one who did that first video I posted. That's what I'm talking about. Unless fully encapsulated, and water tight, water's gonna get in and never come out! On my Sprint they stapled the floor down to the stringers and those staples eventually rusted and let water down into the stringers, and into the rest of the foam too (they missed the stringers with the staples on many many staples, so when rusted, those are just holes down into the foam).

Saw a pic years ago where a guy used plastic quart oil bottles all put neatly in his before he reinstalled the floor. Should certainly float and last a long while.

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Originally Posted by Linhardt

I have always thought that plastic bottles would do good for flotation. Not the crushable water bottles. More of the heavier duty ones like with gatorade, powerade, etc. They are usually built stout and a little hard to puncture. I would think if you were to glue the lids on tight and stack them into areas as tightly as possible that it would work good.

It would take a long time for them to probably degrade, they should hold air perfectly and there is nothing for the water to soak into. I should just run between them and out the area. Only thing I could think of is the possibility of expansion and contraction in hot/cold weather. Might affect the bottle some or the area if packed too tightly causing some distortion. Or could rattle around some if not packed somewhat tight. But for aluminum boats I think this would be acceptable.

Now I have not tried it or currently know anyone that has, but in theory it should work great.

Attachment 486327

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