Wet Foam under floor

[fnshrmaster]

I was out in the garage stripping the Eluder down to take to the factory in December for some interior and deck work when I pulled the carpet out I noticed the foam seemed wet under the floor.After pulling a drink holder out of the floor and sticking my finger into the foam it was soaking wet.Does the foam have any structural job or can I cut open the floor,gut the foam and cover back up,or do I need to repour this water absorbing crap?My Starflight had 93 lbs of wet foam,I bet this little Eluder has 600 to 700 lbs of wet foam!I bet that will give a big increase in speed when that dead weight is gone.What should I do?

[cooperider]

THe newer foams are not as absorbant so they will take longer to get water logged again. It took a long time for that foam to get wet. So if you are gonna take that boat to Checkmate for your resto go ahead an take the wood out scrape out that foam out. Put new wood back into it and when they get it down at Checkmate they have a foam gun and can refill those areas with modern foam in about 15 minutes.

[samjr]

Is this something i should be looking at on my 1984 Abassador? I diffenatly dont want to be trailering around a bunch of extra weight.

Thanks in advance!!!

[INXS]

How hard is it to take the foam out? My Starflite must have some cause I found water in the floor storage area, i guess it's from sweatting as I keep it out of the water for weeks at a time?

[fnshrmaster]

Inxs,Check your bow foam.I tore 93 lbs of wet foam from the bow of my Starflight.As far as the foam under the floor you will have to get acsess to it to check it.Poke a hole or something in the floor.if water is present you will know for sure.

[INXS]

fnshrmaster, do you have to replace the foam you take out?

[fnshrmaster]

No.Not in the bow.Sometimes it serves as structural support,not the case with bow foam.Tear that crap out,I would almost bet yours is wet.What year is your rig?Mine was a 92.Losing 100 lbs of weight sure makes a difference,especially at the nose of the boat.

[jrumon]

Easiest way to remove foam...."a match"??? http://checkmate-boats.com/6/ws/,s,8626072361/Graemlins/devil.gif
>>>JUST KIDDNG.... unless it's in a bayliner!

That old foam sucks!!! You can almost count how many have water saturated foam out there...and it gets worse with time!!! It is an incredible task to remove and I hear there is better "closed cell" stuff out there.

I did one boat years back and left out the foam...the boat really felt light, but you also HEARD every wave slap the hull. If done right, I'm sure the foam must help stiffen things up a bit.

P.S. Anyone know what the LAWS are as far as having foam flotation??? I remember reading that after a certian size they don't need foam??? Also, several of my customs did NOT have any foam right from the factory...any guess as to why???

[jgreen]

I think that the break in foam or flaotation boxes starts at anything over 20 feet in length, if it is longer than that, it doesnt need it, or at least not as much.

[jrumon]

Not to scare you... but have you ever seen a bulsa cored boat that the coring got saturated??? Talk about a MEGA SPONGE!!!

You can imagine how IMPORTANT it is to SEAL EVERYTHING you attach to the hull!!!

[Victorious1]

That saturated foam and balsa really makes one wonder what would happen if all that absorbed water froze solid!!!!

Vic

[jrs1958]

When I replaced my floor I put the foam back in. I got the foam as a kit from:

http://www.uscomposites.com/foam.html

I used 2LB Marine foam and I bought the 16 lbs. size kit for about $50.
I poured it into the hull in layers and once it all expanded it rose to about 1” above the center beam. I just sanded it down level with the top of the beam with a locked DA sander and a 40 grit disc. Then vacuumed up the powder with a shop vac and installed the floor.

It expands really fast and you have about 30 seconds to mix the 2 parts together. If you install the floor then drill some holes and pour this stuff in you could damage the hull or heave up the floor.

The 16 lbs. kit gives about 480 lbs. of buoyancy and along with the rest of the foam in the hull should prevent the submarine effect if you accidentally ‘hole’ the hull.

Another thought to consider is that by accident the boat sinks and the insurance company recovers it and finds the foam missing they probably won’t cover the claim.

1984 Predictor 1968 Mercury 1250 I-6 125 HP

[jrumon]

Good point and well stated!

I wonder how BOSTON WHALER does it when they put the expanding closed cell foam between the hull & deck layers... How do they control it from "heaving" everything all over??? Jim.

[Chris E]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by jrumon:
Good point and well stated!

I wonder how BOSTON WHALER does it when they put the expanding closed cell foam between the hull & deck layers... How do they control it from "heaving" everything all over??? Jim. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

It involves an exact measure of foam. 2 much and it splits. Wahoo had a recall on boats with not enough foam in them. We had to remove the bow rail and drill holes at the base plates of the rail then pour the foam into each section. It then expanded and filled the whole area. What a pain. I beleive that most companies install the floor then add the foam through holes in the floor.

[HemiBee]

When I foamed my floor I drilled holes in a similar pattern to the factory holes I found when I removed the old floor. Starting near the transom, I worked my way forward filling at each hole until the foam almost overflowed. Then I would cover the hole with a piece of wax paper and a scrap of wood. This would force the foam forward instead of up through the hole to fill the cavity. Move to the next hole and repeat.

At the forward most hole I just filled and left the hole uncovered. If the foam has an escape point it will not buckle or crack anything. Just take your time and only mix enough to pour through 1-hole at a shot.

I also foamed the new tank in place. I did this by pouring around the tank before the center floor was screwed down. After the tank was foamed (sides and bottom) I installed the center floor and poured through the holes just like above.

Last, epoxy or glas a piece of cloth over the holes.

Take a look at page 3 about midway down for some pictures....
http://checkmate-boats.com/groupee/forums?a=tpc&s=8626072361&f=3506095561&m=838006446

[jrumon]

Hey... I actually got direct e-mail from B'Whaler employee... They leave the deck and hull in the molds during all the stringer placement and rigging tubing steps... place the hulls together and foam them. The molds prevent any foam from lifting or buckling, and make a solid fill on everything... sounds like the BEST plan but timely on the molds!!!