to foam or not to foam

[rparis40]

:( hello...I am working on the floor of my Bay liner and found lots of water logged foam....is it true that you can leave this foam out when replacing the floor???? will this not compromise the stability? If I need to foam..can some one please direct me to the type of foam i need and where to get it? thanks alot.

[Jay R.]

you would need a two part epoxy foam I believe. you can leave it out where its just floatation. yours is probably also to support the floor.

[2shadow1]

im not famillure with bayliners but i would leave it out because if it was saturated it wasnt supportin anything anyway it was just weighin down the boat

[2shadow1]

i just replaced the floor in my boat and when i ripped the old one out there was a lot of wet foam under it i put a new honeycomb floor in it with no foam under it and it is solid as a rock

[rparis40]

Thanks for your advice......where is it that I can get this foam? I want to leave out some of the foam from the floor....but I want to put some flotation in some where. thanks 2shadow1

[e514jet]

2shadow1, where did you get your honeycomb floor? E

[bigboatin]

Hey 40 i don`t know how much foam u need but (great stuff) is what u can buy at any hardware store and can be used for floatation,it comes in little spray cans. just an idea..

[mr_velocity]

West Marine sells 2 part expanding foam.

[Mmenges]

great stuff will deteriorate if any gasoline or oil gets into it. You can order it here http://www.jgreer.com/Foam%20Page.htm , it took a little less then a week to get to me and its much cheaper than west marine. It's a good idea to put it into your boat because it provides support and god forbid anything ever happen flotation. West marine charges almost $100 for two pints and this guy can get you 2 gallons for the same price including shipping.

[Cobra1racer]

First of all how long is the boat. Anything under 20' needs by law leval flotation. And all of the choppergun boats like yours and searays, and what ever use it to hold up a cheep floor, most of the time it's 1/2". If you want to do away wth the foam go with a good 7 ply 3/4" ply wood. resin coat the udner side and then put it in. Get some fiberglass and tab the plywood to the hull. 8-10" in each direction, meaning wood to hull. This way the wood will bond to the hull giving you more strenght. And screw the floor down to the stringers as well. Leave drain holes front and rear so the water will drain under the floor and not sit there. This is how I did mine when I built the boat 14 1/2 years ago, and it still has the same floor in it.

[rparis40]

man guys let me tell you somthing.....this is the best thing I ever did..meaning joining this web site.....you guys are killer....thanks for the advice Cobra1....and thnks to the rest of you guys....my work is going alot smoother now. presheateit

[Cobra1racer]

No problem rp. Some times if you add your location in your stuff above. There might be some one close to you that could help you out. Just a thought.

[Jigsaw89]

Would marine grade 3/4" plywood be overkill or unnecessary for a 21' Challenger type boat? What type of wood is recommended for the 2 stringers? Please advise as this is going to be my summer project.
Thanks!
Dan


If you want to do away wth the foam go with a good 7 ply 3/4" ply wood. resin coat the udner side and then put it in. Get some fiberglass and tab the plywood to the hull. 8-10" in each direction, meaning wood to hull. This way the wood will bond to the hull giving you more strenght. And screw the floor down to the stringers as well. Leave drain holes front and rear so the water will drain under the floor and not sit there. This is how I did mine when I built the boat 14 1/2 years ago, and it still has the same floor in it.