safety question about foam flotation

[john]

Hello , I just wanted to confirm what I always assumed was true about my 1988 170. My understanding is that as long as the weight amounts stated on the coast guard plate are not exceeded there is enough foam flotation installed in this boat to make it essentially "unsinkable". In other words I have always operated under the idea that the worst case would be that the boat would be swamped ( damaged) :cry:  but that it would not sink.. If anyone disagrees with this ,please let me know.  Thanks,,  john

[warthog5]

Unstand that the term "unsinkable" mean's that the boat doesn't go to the bottom.

The boat could float rightside up or upside down.

[Argo]

Unstand that the term "unsinkable" mean's that the boat doesn't go to the bottom.

The boat could float rightside up or upside down.

that is a good thing though when you are miles from shore and need something to hold onto and get on top of to get out of the water.

[RickK]

The boat could float rightside up or upside down.

that is a good thing though when you are miles from shore and need something to hold onto and get on top of to get out of the water.

Lets hope that doesn't happen to any of us - usually where I'm at, if my boat were to flip over I'd just stand up and walk to shore  

[Pat Green]

Guys, my dad and I built boats in the late sixties and early seventies.  We (the company)built about three thousand boats. The boats where called Power Cat and where built in Victoria, Texas. We used a foam floatation product that was mixedn 50/50 and pumped under the floor. The floatation was designed to hold the boats upright even when completely submerged. I have learned over the years that this 40 year old technology causes me to be concerned about buying boats from this period because this foam material actually absorbs and holds water when penetrated(This happens when holes are drilled through the floor and when water is allowed to stand in the boat). A good test of any boat would be to get the original weight at manufacture and weigh yours and if your boat is several hundred pounds heavier, then you can be assured that your floation is water logged.  Trying to be helpful, Pat

[john]

Thanks for the comments. I too hope no one has to find out ten miles from shore(where I sometimes fish) :cry: that the boat that they" thought " would not sink, actually did. I think the idea of comparing the original weight of the boat with the existing weight is a great idea for us "nuts" who fish ten miles out in the ocean in a 17 foot boat... thanks again...john

[JimCt]

If you're out that far, think about getting a kicker.  If the main engine dies, it can save your bacon.

[Radioshop]

I think most of us here are under the assumptions that our foam is waterlogged or will be at some point.  In most cases when major restorations are done the old foam is shoveled out and new closed cell is installed or, no foam at all is put back in.

[Seadog]

This may be a little off the subject but when I opened up the stringers on my 1970 222, the foam was NOT 'waterlogged'. That is, the foam itself was dry. The water accumulated in the small air pockets in the foam. Some of the pockets were tiny, others were pretty big but they ALL were full of water. Thousands of tiny water filled air pockets turned out to be several hundred pounds of water, I would guess.

To my understanding the minimum foam flotation specified by whoever, is the minimum floatation to have the boat float 'awash' if the hull is breached. That's the hull floating just at the surface of the water - enough to hang onto and wait for help. God that sounds scarrry!

http://www.classicaquasport.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/226/sort/1/cat/all/page/3

[RickK]

You sure that is not a toy boat???  Look at the hand holding the boat on the left side.  

[Argo]

I fish 50-60 miles offshore regularly and often take my 6 year old.  I would much rather have a boat to hold onto while waiting for a rescue than to be floating free of anything.  A boat is easier to see from a chopper too.  I am going to fill it with the foam  There is very little foam still in my hull, the only place I can find any is the space right under the console and in the stringers I am sure.  The front of the hull from the extra water tank forward, about 8', is just empty space and the bilge is also just empty space.  I will not fill in the bilge but I will fill in the front of it under my anchor box and take out my accessory bilge pump that is up front.  If I have a hole in my hull I would hope that that much foam would keep me afloat, maybe even enough to get met to shore if I still have power.  My entire bilge has filled up one time with water and I was still able to power into port, slowly but surely I made it.  It took an hour to drain the hull.  Water was leaking in around my mounting holes on my bracket that was on there.  I will install the new bracket myself and make damn sure it is sealed tight.  The more I think about it the more it scares me.  I would beach my boat if need be.  where I fish regularly in port mansfield is about 30 miles north of the jetties(inlet for you east coast guys) but is only 5-20  miles off the beach.  I will put that second pump in the back of my boat as a backup/secondary and put an alarm in there.

[Bluesbrother]

I am now finishing filling the entire hull, with 2 lbs closed cell foam. The only place I didn't fill is behind the tank coffin between the two stringers. I mounted two bilge pumps there, one on each side of the hull divider. They are wired and switched seperately in case of a malfunction one of them has to work. I even filled the hull sides all the way with foam, it's a lousy job, but the hull feals much more rigid now.   If I spring a leak she won't go down! Here you are 95% of the time in open ocean, and waves can be large. I am going to take a piece of the cured foam and do a test in a bucket of water, I'll post the findings.