Contest1
Well-Known Member
I,v inherited a battered inflatable and wonder if filling it with the expanding foam would work. My mooring bouy was filled and seemed a simple idea,
Plumbers foam for an old inflatable.
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sailorman
Well-Known Member
that sort of foam absorbs water
rob2
Well-Known Member
Builders' foam is open cell so will absorb water. Canoe builders use a closed cell foam which might work but it expans by a tremendous amount and you could end up with a very funny shape! I did hear of a certain well known car builder who inflated his dinghy and then encased it in fibreglass...
Rob.
Rob.
Keith 66
Well-Known Member
Tyre sealant works, some years ago a friend dragged an ancient avon redstart of the saltings & asked me if i would take it to the boatjumble, we pumped it up & half an hour later it was completely flat. A quick trip to Halfords later & a large aerosol of tyre sealant sprayed into its chambers, we then rolled it round & pumped it up again. It stayed up quite well!
Sunday morning arrived, Off to the jumble, pumped it up again & sold it to a dealer for £60 10 minutes later.
We then followed its progress round the site as no less than 5 dealers sold it on, each time making a few quid on it.
At the end of the day the last dealer was stuck with it & it ended its days hanging sadly from a skip.
The moral of the strory is be careful buying a rubber dinghy from a boat jumble!
Sunday morning arrived, Off to the jumble, pumped it up again & sold it to a dealer for £60 10 minutes later.
We then followed its progress round the site as no less than 5 dealers sold it on, each time making a few quid on it.
At the end of the day the last dealer was stuck with it & it ended its days hanging sadly from a skip.
The moral of the strory is be careful buying a rubber dinghy from a boat jumble!
prv
Well-Known Member
Also, the builder's foam doesn't really work to inflate a sealed bag and then set. I once tried to do that to make a shaped chock for a tank to sit on. The foam collapsed into a dirty smear of liquid and never set.
Pete
Pete
rotrax
Well-Known Member
I filled a fender step that had split. Made a small hole-8mm IIRC-at the bottom so any compressed or trapped air had an escape route and filled through the valve hole with a large can of foam from B&Q. Interestingly enough, no foam came out of the split, which most certainly was not airtight.
Still fine 4 years on, but it is never immersed. Raindrops seem to miss the valve as it protrudes slightly.
It worked for me!
graham
Well-Known Member
I tried to fill just the inflatable floor in a dinghy.you will need so many cans to fill a complete dinghy the cost will be prohibitive.I have also heard it will soak up water until you cant lift it
.The foam used in boatbuilding is different .It is formed by mixing two liquid components which then expand and set.
.The foam used in boatbuilding is different .It is formed by mixing two liquid components which then expand and set.
Daydream believer
Well-Known Member
some builders foam types need a damp surface to activate. They also need air. If you squirt some into a plasic bottle & screw the lid shut it will most likeley just revert to a messy globule
If, however, you do find a foam that will expand into your dinghy do not worry if it will absorb any more water. It will not as the dinghy itself is water & air tight
There are firms that do foam fill things such as buoys & trailer tyres etc so perhaps contacting one of them first would be advisable
Might be cheaper to buy a new dinghy or a 12 v dinghy pump
If, however, you do find a foam that will expand into your dinghy do not worry if it will absorb any more water. It will not as the dinghy itself is water & air tight
There are firms that do foam fill things such as buoys & trailer tyres etc so perhaps contacting one of them first would be advisable
Might be cheaper to buy a new dinghy or a 12 v dinghy pump
