[Public-list] MY 1968 pre liner bilge

[Gordon Laco]

Hello Mike - 

I agree - I do not believe that there is any way to be sure that the foam
will not eventually become saturated.

Gord #426 Surprise (whose dinghy is a Boston Whaler Squall - great boat but
heavy...)






> Here's a personal experience I had with a foam-filled boat. You know how
> they advertise Boston Whalers to be unsinkable because they are foam filled?
> Remember seeing the ads where they cut a boat into thirds and all the pieces
> still float? (I'm not sure why that attracts anyone to buy the boat - I
> would never cut my boat into thirds!) What does happen, I found out, was if
> water gets into the hull and foam the boat becomes very, very heavy. Ah! But
> you say, the foam is closed-cell and doesn't absorb water!! While this may
> be true intially, after a few freeze-thaw cycles, I have found that the foam
> becomes absorbant and acts like a huge sponge. I wrote to the Boston Whaler
> folks and they sent me a complete set of printed instructions on how to fix
> the problem (think this has ever happened to anyone else?). The instructions
> started out by flipping my 17' Whaler over and cutting out large sections of
> the hull so I could dig all of the water-laden foam out...I sold the boat.
> They buyer was told that the foam had become water logged and replied: "No
> problem, a lot of them have that".
> 
> Just a word of caution from a personal experience.
> 
> 
> 
> Mike Lehman
> "Gilleleje" #505
> 
> ~~~_/)_/) ~_/) ~~
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ----Original Message Follows----
> From: "Matthew Hay" <haymatthew_ at hotmail.com>
> Reply-To: Alberg 30 Public List -- open to all <public-list at alberg30.org>
> To: public-list at alberg30.org
> Subject: [Public-list] MY 1968 pre liner bilge
> Date: Tue, 04 May 2004 00:08:54 -0400
> 
> Bill,
> When I had my engine out in my 1968 pre liner bilge i also had about a foot
> of silica type sand stuff in the bottom of the bilge in the V shaped
> section.  I did not have any sort of covering of fiberglass or any material
> over the sand.  I just had smelly oily sand.  Perhaps in an attempt to seal
> off the oily bilge smell or some other reason? someone poured a new floor
> over the sandy stuff??  In my 1968 boat the bilge under the engine and the
> small bilges under the cabin sole are not connected.  They are sealed of
> with a wooded wall between the engine bilge and the smaller bilges.  With a
> drain hole cut so any water in the forward bilge (or sand) is washed back
> into the maine engine bilge.
> Why would you want to fill your bilge up with expanding foam?  In my
> experience expanding foam in an out doors type application when left on its
> own and not protected from water etc. turns dark orangeish brown and starts
> to deteriorate.  Perhaps you should just wait until you can take your engine
> out sometime and then just clean out your bilge.   I would rather clean sand
> out of a bilge then expanding foam.  Also think of your re-sale value and
> trying to explain to someone that you filled the bilge with expanding foam.
> The floor over the sand does not make any sense to me.  I do not believe the
> sand to be functional since I found tools and bolts way down at the bottom
> of the bilge under all the sand.  Meaning that it collected somehow over
> time.  Your bilge is basically just the entire inside of your keel which is
> very solid fiberglass.  Maybe the missing section of the false floor is not
> really an issue?
> I hope this helps some,
> Matthew #314 1968  "Renard"
> 
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