Floatation that works please

[Froggy]

I?ve lost three boats in the last 6 months and by sheer luck recovered one.
All of the boats had pool noodles in them and as much of it as I could stuff into the hull not one boat came to the surface.
The boat I found yesterday was a Ten Shock Mini Storm/ Dominator, it has been on the bottom of my lake for 4 months, the boat was completely in tact hatch was still taped firmly closed and it was full of water ??
I lost a Delta Force 26 yesterday stuffed with pool noodles same thing sunk and never came up I?m going to fish for that one today hopefully God willing I?ll find it.
Anyway I will not be using pool noodles in the future what are you guys using that works.

When I brought the Tenshock up it was frigging heavy, it?s only 17 ins long, when filled with water there?s no way the floatation I had in that boat or the others could support that weight.
Gotta come up with something more buoyant, please help I can?t afford to loose another boat.

One more thing, after 4 months on the bottom shelf f my lake which by the way is 10ft deep, the Ten Shock after flushing with fresh water and a good dose of compressed air and WD40 everything in the boat except for the steering servo works.lol surprised as heck.

[T.S.Davis]

I've been using pool noodles for a couple decades. The only boat I've lost didn't have noodle ion it.

Not sure what's going on for you.

[Panther6834]

I've been using pool noodles for a couple decades. The only boat I've lost didn't have noodle ion it.

Not sure what's going on for you.

I know...I'm trying to figure that one out, as well. Ships used to have hulls made from concrete, and those float, so there no reason why an RC boat "stuffed full with pool noodle" shouldn't float. Add long as the vessel on question weighs less than the weight of the displaced water, it will float...it might just be the bow peeking through the surface, but that's still "floating".

The fact that the boat sank to the bottom, and was "completely filled with water", tells me two things - the boat didn't have as much pool noodle (ie. not enough to counter the weight of the water it displaces)as the owner claims and/or r boat wasn't as "completely sealed" add the owner thinks it was. Using my stepdad's ProBoat Recoil (original 17") as an example, it comes work Styrofoam glued inside the bow...but, it's such a small amount that, when the canopy came off one time (that was before I told him to tape the canopy, as you don't want to trust that flimsy "latch"), while the canopy floated (it also has Styrofoam glued to it), the boat sank to the bottom. Thankfully, with Sunset Lake (Las Vegas) being fairly shallow, it was recovered.


~ More peace, love, laughter, & kindness would make the world a MUCH better place

[photohoward1]

Sometimes they get stuck in the mud too.

[Froggy]

I think they go stuck in the mud on the bottom,

[ray schrauwen]

Just an FYI... it's good to open up a brushless motor and spray in some corrosion block after being submerged since the steel stator plates rust like crazy in water and no motor is sealed. Bearings might be toasted too.

[Panther6834]

I think they go stuck in the mud on the bottom,

No mud on the top? Just kidding...the comment was too ripe for the picking...lol

Sometimes they get stuck in the mud too.

True, true...but, needs to sink first, thus the Ops initial question related to 'floatation'. Truth be told, 'anything' can sink (or be sunk), with the right ingenuity (tie a very heavy rock to a helium-filled balloon, and even the balloon will be "taken down"). Yeah, I know...sarcastic comment, but done for a purpose.


~ More peace, love, laughter, & kindness would make the world a MUCH better place

[ray schrauwen]

I always have said the pool noodles absorb water, how much is hard to know but I might try an experiment by soaking a cut noodle in water. I still use them even though on a few occasions when I soaked the inside of a hull I noticed the ones with lots of shaping and cutting could be wrung out and would weigh more. My guess or hypothesis is that over time they can absorb enough water to make it hard for a boat to surface once becoming dislodged from the bottom.

We will see.

[ray schrauwen]

No mud on the top? Just kidding...the comment was too ripe for the picking...lol



True, true...but, needs to sink first, thus the Ops initial question related to 'floatation'. Truth be told, 'anything' can sink (or be sunk), with the right ingenuity (tie a very heavy rock to a helium-filled balloon, and even the balloon will be "taken down"). Yeah, I know...sarcastic comment, but done for a purpose.


~ More peace, love, laughter, & kindness would make the world a MUCH better place

Sink first not really. When a boat stuffs it's still under power and that can and does easily force the bow into the bottom of a pond or lake.

[1coopgt]

Kind of depends on how fast it was going . It could act like a torpedo and buried it's self in the bottom of the pond . Then it has all the time in the world to leak in water through the stuffing tube.

[Froggy]

I was going 40+ I went to retrieve it with my pontoon boat, I saw small bubbles coming up for about 5 mins so I know where it is,
I just have to order a transducer for my Garmin for that boat to pin point it, I have a14ft long pool net hoping I can find it

[CJPB32]

Put on a scuba mask and dive for it from your boat. It's only 10 feet. In summer of course.

Our lake is 100 ft deep by the dam. I don't dive 100 feet but 20 feet is easily doable if the water is clear.

[Froggy]

The water in our lakes here are treated with chemicals to keep algae and fish at bay not a good environment to dive in, the visibility is only about a foot the lakes are man made.
I did a lot of diving when ai was younger I was a USN Search and rescue swimmer, not diving in this water, the temp and f the water is around 50 degrees

[Veloctiykingsracing]

Divinycell

[T.S.Davis]

Could just be that there's not enough pool noodle. The flotation needs to create enough buoyancy to offset the hull, hardware, electronics, batteries etc. You could almost weight your boat. Then tie weight to a piece of pool noodle. Give that a float to figure if you have enough.

I used to have this problem with my Maus Micro bullet. Zero chance of getting enough foam in there. Had to catch that thing before it sank. One time a water line come off. That sucked. It was close to shore. Maybe 15 feet. Ran out into 45 degree water. Young n' dumb.