floatation.....

[HOTWATER]

Anybody ever try those little polystyrene balls they use in beanbag chairs to pour into a hulls cavities (like the Whip) for floatation? Seems like it would be quick and easy compared to fitting in blocks of foam between stringers etc....

-Kent

[1truckerdan]

You could use the expanding foam in a can called "great stuff"

http://greatstuff.dow.com/

[Heaving Earth]

I use pool noodles or bubble wrap.
I Stay away from great stuff, it's more like a sponge than anything. It will absorb water, or so I've been told by guys that have used it

[TheShaughnessy]

Great stuff is polyurethane based and closed cell unlike latex based foams that are open cell and can absorb water. Paraphrased that from this site http://building.dow.com/na/en/produc...windowdoor.htm Check it out for yourself

[HOTWATER]

You could use the expanding foam in a can called "great stuff"
http://greatstuff.dow.com/

Yeah...no thanks....have used the two part mix (pour in foam) in a mono but would not use it in a wood build with stringers...not good!

[Heaving Earth]

Huh, well thanks for the read. A friend tried some, he said after a while it had absorbed water. I'm wondering if he had punctured the outter skin that it forms to be water proof because it was in the way. My understanding would be that it needs the outter skin to keep water out

[Heaving Earth]

Maybe it's been re formulated over the years?
It says it forms a water resistant skin when cured, does this mean if the skin is disturbed water can penetrate and absorb? Mainly I don't like that it's hard to remove. Bubble wrap comes out easy as do pool noodles

[TheShaughnessy]

I think the skin does need to be left intact. I've used it twice. I would say it does hold some moisture but certainly not sponge like. I've notice pool noodles can hold some water too though. I probably wouldn't use it again. I thought it would be stiffer then it ends up being.

As for the little balls. I would fill up a baloon or something Like that and see how much weight they will float. Not sure how you'd keep them inside.

[HOTWATER]

I think the skin does need to be left intact. I've used it twice. I would say it does hold some moisture but certainly not sponge like. I've notice pool noodles can hold some water too though. I probably wouldn't use it again. I thought it would be stiffer then it ends up being.

As for the little balls. I would fill up a baloon or something Like that and see how much weight they will float. Not sure how you'd keep them inside.

Good idea on the weight check...

Btw...they would be poured into sponsons before the sponson tops are skinned....

Thanks for the input guys...keep them coming....

[SloHD]

I use great stuff all the time at work. When we install a fire sprinkler in a food cooler, the penetration needs sealed up and we use great stuff. I can say that it does formed a hard skin when totally dry, but the skin is not always perfect. It gets air bubbles that form on the skin while drying, thus opening up the skin in random spots when totally dry. It does indeed absorb a little water as well. This is why we use it because of the condensation that builds up inside the penetration, the great stuff helps absorb it.

I would never use it in one of my boats. Too messy and hard to get out in future. I vote pool noodles.

[marko500]

The problem I see with the polystyrene balls is if the hull splits or gets a hole in it, the balls will come out the hole, causing loss of floatation.
I have used the packing peanuts in larger gas boats but stuffed them into bread bags before putting them into the hull.
I use pool noodles in all my other boats.

[HOTWATER]

The problem I see with the polystyrene balls is if the hull splits or gets a hole in it, the balls will come out the hole, causing loss of floatation.
I have used the packing peanuts in larger gas boats but stuffed them into bread bags before putting them into the hull.
I use pool noodles in all my other boats.

Good thought on them spilling out if there were a collision or wreck...I will take that into consideration and will most likely bag them...thanks!

[NativePaul]

Anybody ever try those little polystyrene balls they use in beanbag chairs to pour into a hulls cavities (like the Whip) for floatation? Seems like it would be quick and easy compared to fitting in blocks of foam between stringers etc....

-Kent

Sounds like a reasonable idea if you only run alone on a lake with no obstructions like buoys, jettis, fountains, turtles, fish, geese etc, that has soft shallow banks, you only run in good water conditions and your boat isn't fast enough to blow over. If all those criteria are not filled you risk damaging the hull and having all those little balls float out as it fills up with water and sinks, to add insult to injury it will be a right PITA scooping up all the escaped balls with you fingers from the rescue boat as the warden looks on to avoid a littering ticket.

[tlandauer]

+1 on Pool noodles.
The great stuff might work but I bought a boat here from the F/S forum, clean boat, however the previous owner had that under the deck and underneath the hatch, I think it added unnecessary weight and the heavier hatch raised the gravity.
On the two part foam, the stuff Kintec sells is good, works great on FG hull, especially to repair and reinforce a weak hull and I have not observed any expansion-contraction under extreme ambient temp. There was another brand ( I don't recall for the moment---the name was very "industrial" to me, lol...) that does have that problem and was discussed here a year or two ago. Had another boat and came with that stuff, here in So Cal all I need is to take that boat outside for 5 min. and you can see the front deck caves in!!! Not enough to do damage, but the sight always worries me.

[Heaving Earth]

I can't think of any better flotation than pool noodles really. They're just the easiest and most convenient, and cheap!