bodger65
New Member
I have an 11ft foam filled dory,the foam is waterlogged so I am removing it,any ideas as to what i can replace it with please.
Waterlogged foam
- Thread starter bodger65
- Start date
sarabande
Well-Known Member
are you splitting the inner and outer hulls?
There has been discussion of this problem, and one suggestion was to split, then use cut slabs of closed polystyrene cells to form an in-between hull and then join the separated parts again.
The view was that injecting any foam was almost guaranteed to over-expand the gap in some places.
How are you removing the old foam, first ?
Pics would be useful please.
There has been discussion of this problem, and one suggestion was to split, then use cut slabs of closed polystyrene cells to form an in-between hull and then join the separated parts again.
The view was that injecting any foam was almost guaranteed to over-expand the gap in some places.
How are you removing the old foam, first ?
Pics would be useful please.
oldsaltoz
Well-Known Member
First up, make sure it is a 'closed cell' product. anything else will almost certainly fail again.
If you split the inner and outer hulls you could use those bright coloured pool sticks, closed cell and very popular because it's cheap.
There are 'some' builders grade expanding foams that claim to be closed cell but I'm not convinced they will stand up to the pounding some hulls suffer.
If the gap between the hulls is small you could inject Micro Balloons mixed with epoxy resin with small holes on a 60 mm grid and a syringe, working from the bottom up, but only if the gap is less an inch or things could get rather hot should the mix go exothermic on you.
Good luck and fair winds.
If you split the inner and outer hulls you could use those bright coloured pool sticks, closed cell and very popular because it's cheap.
There are 'some' builders grade expanding foams that claim to be closed cell but I'm not convinced they will stand up to the pounding some hulls suffer.
If the gap between the hulls is small you could inject Micro Balloons mixed with epoxy resin with small holes on a 60 mm grid and a syringe, working from the bottom up, but only if the gap is less an inch or things could get rather hot should the mix go exothermic on you.
Good luck and fair winds.
gordmac
Well-Known Member
Enough space for small plastic bottles or small plastic balls?
caiman
Well-Known Member
Noodles-no,not beef and tomato-these are closed cell soft foam 'sticks' that kids use to whack each other with.Also used as toys in swimming pools.About 4inch diameter,4foot long.Really cheap.Cut them to shape with a Stanley knife and pack them in.I sold a Dory to a mate and he has used them.Excellent job.
Hope this helps.
Cheers.
Sorry Oldsaltz-should have read your post.
Cheers
Hope this helps.
Cheers.
Sorry Oldsaltz-should have read your post.
Cheers
Last edited:
bodger65
New Member
Hi,thanks for your reply,I've taken the floor out and removed the foam leaving about 2" all the way round which will allow me to put plywood right up to the edges of the boat,sealed and screwed then,put the original floor on top of the plywood and fibreglass all the way round. Before that the inside of the hull will be laid up with fibreglass matin and resin and filled full of playpool balls for buoyancy,put a drain plug in the transom to drain out any more water that may get in in the future.
sarabande
Well-Known Member
sounds good and practical and unsophisticated.
How about some pics to encourage us ?
How about some pics to encourage us ?
ronsurf
Well-Known Member
I wouldn't use polystyrene foam - it soaks up water and it won't drain back out. You could try a cutting up surfboard blank (about £35) or possible some slabs of insulation material from an old fridge.
PCUK
Well-Known Member
The foam also strengthens the hull so using loose foam won't be any good. You can get closed cell foam from GRP suppliers. Pour and trim off, then cover with ply as proposed.