hull insulation

[wallypog]

I want to line the hull of my boat to reduce condensation. Locally we have a product called Ayrfoil, It is 3/8 inch thick and comes in rolls 4 feet wide. It is made up of 2 layers of bubbles sandwiched between 2 sheets of aluminum foil. They claim it is equal to an inch of fibreglass. Has nyone used this or similar products? If so does it do the job? John

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[oldsaltoz]

G'day John.

I have used cork tiles in areas that are prone to splashes of salt water and carpet tiles on walls in dryer areas without problems, Steel hulls need a more substantial coat, spray, or, stick on foam works well.

Hope this helps.

<hr width=100% size=1> Old Salt Oz /forums/images/icons/cool.gif Growing old is unavoidable. However, growing up is still optional.

 

[tcm]

the stuff sounds flimsy, no? Denser foam, or cork would be more durable in case of a soaking and so on.

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[StugeronSteve]

Whatever you decide to use make sure that you maintain a vapour barrier over the surface of the insulation, otherwise you will just finish up with trapped condensation and a consequential mould problem.

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[Abigail]

We are just completing insulating our 40' GRP ketch, so this distils what we learnt!

We have used 9mm closed cell foam (bought in large rolls from a company called Keeling Rubber and Plastics in Wolverhampton who were the cheapest we found when we were buying this time last year. This has worked v well, and we have had v few condensation problems this winter though we live aboard and it's damn cold.

Some tips:

(i) used closed cell foam because the stuff you're talking about will get wet and will rot by the sound of it.
(ii) 6mm will do - we went to 9mm and regretted it because it is hard work to fit into the curves
(iii) don't bother with preadhesive - it's useless.
(iv) use eg thikafix or thixatropicTX528 - ie a gel contact adhesive, which doesn't run when you're working above the head. (we really wish we had used this from the start - spray adhesive too light, liquid contact adhesive too runny.)
(v) we covered it either in auto carpet from an RV fitout store (stuck on with the spray adhesive), or behind plywood covered in foam backed headlining, or foam backed headlining directly on the insulation (also using the spray adhesive.)
(vi) get lots of cheap wrapping paper/brown paper/lining paper for your patterns and draw carefully!
(vii) ventilate well as you do it - the glue is well smelly and you should use a respirator too.
(viii) when you put it back together remember things are some ml smaller.

Hope this helps. Oh yes - do one cabin at a time if you can!

Sarah & Pip


<hr width=100% size=1>Sarah&Pip