Can an 22 or 24 foot Aquasport be made Unsinkable???

[johne]

Can an Aquasport be modified to be unsinkable? I was going to foam mine below the deck,but wonder if the deck would just lift off if the hull sinks. Just wondering what others thought???

[MarshMarlowe196]

I highly doubt the cap would just lift off.  

It depends on what your definition of unsinkable is.  The Coast Guard's definition is a boat floating completely upright with the gunwale above the surface from bow to stern with multiple large holes drilled in the boat (that makes the boat full of water) with added weight equivalent to what the MFG says is safe (ie.: persons, motor, gear).  In order for this to happen, it takes a little bit of planned foam placement on the MFG's part.  

If you're just looking for your boat to not sink, then filling the bilge and other unused cavities/compartments with foam will most likely accomplish this (though it might float upside down or with only the bow / stern above water ).  

One thing you have to remember is that all that added foam is added weight.  It's also added material to absorb water if not sealed correctly, and therefore even more added weight.

In my opinion - I wouldn't worry with the foam - a well installed and maintained automatic bilge pump system will work just as well.

[funsuncpl]

Giant inflatable bag system, like those used in emergency water lifts

[johne]

I am thinking about being off shore fishing and a collision. I boat off New Hampshire and Maine where it is very rocky for some distance out. I go by Boone Island and the Isle of Shoals where rocks are very close to the surface at low tide. Both these islands are 7 or more miles off shore and I don't want to get in big trouble out there.
 I love my Aquasport but am thinking a Boston Whaler might be my only piece of mind. Thanks for your thoughts!

[orb]

I am working on a 77' 22-2 and an early 70'2 240. Both have foam flotation. The stringers on both are huge, and foam filled. Also, the space under the deck, on the outsides of the stringers, is also filled with foam. The original foam can absorb some water. If you pour poly foam in these spaces, the foam will stick to the hull, if the hull is clean. I am foaming in all void space under the deck on my 22-2, EXCEPT, around the fuel tank. I would think that if you knocked a hole in hull where the poly foam is poured, but not through the foam, the foam would hold the water out.

As Badonquasport196 said, I don't think the cap will lift off. It was hell to separate the floor from the stringers on my 22-2. There is no way it would come off in that situation.

I also have a 19' sundance, foam filled hull. When i bought the hull, the bottom of the hull was delaminating. There were multiple places where the fiberglass was gone, exposing the foam. The hull had filled partially with water, sitting about 12" deeper than normal, but it would not sink.  I did repair the hull with epoxy, but that just shows that enough foam will keep it from going under. How far will a 22-2 settle if flooded?  I am not sure. What model of Aquasport do you have?

[MarshMarlowe196]

I love my Aquasport but am thinking a Boston Whaler might be my only piece of mind. Thanks for your thoughts!

A Boston Whaler is unsinkable, sure, but its definitely not your only option.  Boston Whalers are infamous for poor ride quality and high price tags.  There's lots of boats out there that are unsinkable that will be easier on your back and your wallet.  In the 80's, the coast guard passed a law that any boat 20' or less had to be unsinkable, and many MFG's are making all their models of boats unsinkable.  If you find one you like, just do some research.

[johne]

I have a 1986 222XF that has been a great boat.  It's my 3rd Aquasport and I do feel very safe in them. I just started taking my grandchildren out and just want to be as safe as poss. I have talked with a few folks that have the Whalers and they all seem pretty happy with them. I will have to do some checking to see what foam options are available and how to do  it. Thanks again for your input.

[DOCREED]

I love my Aquasport but am thinking a Boston Whaler might be my only piece of mind. Thanks for your thoughts!

A Boston Whaler is unsinkable, sure, but its definitely not your only option.  Boston Whalers are infamous for poor ride quality and high price tags.  There's lots of boats out there that are unsinkable that will be easier on your back and your wallet.  In the 80's, the coast guard passed a law that any boat 20' or less had to be unsinkable, and many MFG's are making all their models of boats unsinkable.  If you find one you like, just do some research.

Have you ever seen a whaler cut inj half??     VERY little glass there..

[MarshMarlowe196]

I love my Aquasport but am thinking a Boston Whaler might be my only piece of mind. Thanks for your thoughts!

A Boston Whaler is unsinkable, sure, but its definitely not your only option.  Boston Whalers are infamous for poor ride quality and high price tags.  There's lots of boats out there that are unsinkable that will be easier on your back and your wallet.  In the 80's, the coast guard passed a law that any boat 20' or less had to be unsinkable, and many MFG's are making all their models of boats unsinkable.  If you find one you like, just do some research.

Have you ever seen a whaler cut inj half??     VERY little glass there..

On the subject...





I know Whaler did it first in the 60's, but it's still a cool gimmick.  To be fair- BW uses a much higher density foam than most MFG's do, but that's the only way it contributes anything structural to the boat.  Other MFG's just use, well, stringers.  

[seabob4]

Level foam flotation and "un-sinkability" are really two different things, the latter what Whaler likes to tout.  The key is "level flotation".  

If a hull is holed, and an inrush of water beyond what the bilge pump(s) can keep up with (trust me, they won't be able too) is occurring, the key is that the boat remains more or less level with the water surface as it sinks further, until the inherant buoyancy of the foam offsets the water weight in the boat, and, viola, the boat doesn't sink.

The key is "level".  If, due to a weight imbalance, an uneven distribution of flotation foam, or whatever, the boat starts to favor one side or the other, the end result will be capsizing.  Whalers are unsinkable...but they will capsize just like all the rest...including KW, Jessie!

BTW, can I have the bow section in the pic?  Have a project gran may be interested in...  

[MarshMarlowe196]

Level foam flotation and "un-sinkability" are really two different things, the latter what Whaler likes to tout.  The key is "level flotation".  

If a hull is holed, and an inrush of water beyond what the bilge pump(s) can keep up with (trust me, they won't be able too) is occurring, the key is that the boat remains more or less level with the water surface as it sinks further, until the inherant buoyancy of the foam offsets the water weight in the boat, and, viola, the boat doesn't sink.

The key is "level".  If, due to a weight imbalance, an uneven distribution of flotation foam, or whatever, the boat starts to favor one side or the other, the end result will be capsizing.  Whalers are unsinkable...but they will capsize just like all the rest...including KW, Jessie!

BTW, can I have the bow section in the pic?  Have a project gran may be interested in...  

Isn't that what I said...?  

I'll see what I can do about the bow.. poor gran  :cry:

[Boatdood]

Interesting discussion on flotation here. Having done quite a bit of testing for proper flotation in my life I can tell you some are more stable than others when they are swamped. It depends on quantity and location of the flotation. Boats like Whalers put the foam where it has to be to hold the boat together. Others can put it where it ought to be to keep the boat afloat and stable.

[seabob4]

Interesting discussion on flotation here. Having done quite a bit of testing for proper flotation in my life I can tell you some are more stable than others when they are swamped. It depends on quantity and location of the flotation. Boats like Whalers put the foam where it has to be to hold the boat together. Others can put it where it ought to be to keep the boat afloat and stable.

Tom,
Glad to see your comments here.  Have had my fun with flotation testing as well.  I don't try to stop them when they decide to turn turtle...  

[waterman]

So a 20ft is unsinkable but my 21 explorer is not???

[seabob4]

So a 20ft is unsinkable but my 21 explorer is not???

I think you are looking at the word "sink" in ways that ways that you may not understand.  A "sunk" boat is one that sits on the bottom of the sea floor, regardless of depth.  An "un-sinkable" boat is one that will not do the same, but, at the same time, due to imbalances, may capsize, or overturn.  Thus, it floats, yet is upside down in the water, and thus has little use to the crew members as far as a means to hold on to the boat to preserve their lives.  Look at the 3 football players a couple of years ago that died off of Clearwater when their Everglades capsized and "turned turtle".  No, the boat did not sink, yet only one member of the party was able to survive, by somehow climbing the hull and holding on to the upside down Yamaha...