Mine is open down the center in the bow and under every compartment I can remove. In severe weather temp changes, it will sweat a little. I open the lids and circulate air ..
Mine is open down the center in the bow and under every compartment I can remove. In severe weather temp changes, it will sweat a little. I open the lids and circulate air ..
I thought mine was to. Looking in the bilge hatch the center keel area is open all the way to the second bulkhead. Last one before the bow. In the first couple of pics in this tread. You can see the foam down there to. But you can't see that area from inside the rod locker.Originally Posted by pitcrew1025
Have an adventure everyday !
2006 PT 175 TX 60 HP.
I can pour water trough it ... Had to when I was searching for a leak .. The sides are def packed tight tho ...
Oh,mine is a Triton as well ... Can't take deck off without a cutting wheel :-/
The one good thing I found was the decks looks brand new still. There is 2 pieces. 1 is half of the front deck. Full inch thick, roughly 3' at top 5' at bottom and 4' long. What surprised me was the cockpit floor. It's 3/4" thick and starts at the seat well. Then runs up all the way to the front bulkhead. So the the 2 compartments and half the rod locker is on top. To get the floor out you have to take out the compartments. Which that whole frame comes out as a unit.
The kicker is the floor deck is one solid piece. 4'6" top edge, 5'4" on bottom by the seats. And 5' long. And yes I checked it numerous of times. You can't cut that out of a 4 x 8 sheet. So it's something that tracker has specially made for that one piece.
But Iam going back with metal and no carpet this time. But it will be able to remove should the need arise. Hoping never
Have an adventure everyday !
2006 PT 175 TX 60 HP.
Well I got all the old foam out. Under the seats, the big floor pan was riveted in pretty good. There was water in that foam to. Here is a shot of the foam in the back sponson's. Where the two small compartments are. You can see the discoloration that start about 8" down from the top. Man was it heavy to.
There just isn't anyway for the water to get out. If you raise the bow. Any water has to make its way through all that foam. To where the beam stop at the transom blocks. There is a 2" hole there. For the water to run down to the lowest point at the drain.
Have an adventure everyday !
2006 PT 175 TX 60 HP.
Man , that's just wild how much of it is soaked but if it has no way to drain I guess that's what you get . Fishing in the rain will never be the same again !
It's all good !
2016 Ranger RT188 White
Yamaha 115 sho
motorguide Xi5 80 with pinpoint gps
Lowrance elite 5 ti with total scan console
Lowrance hook 5 bow
It wont be bad (hopefully) anymore. When I done, she won't sink, but she'll drain.Man , that's just wild how much of it is soaked but if it has no way to drain I guess that's what you get . Fishing in the rain will never be the same again !
These boats with longitude stringer system. Makes for closed off sections that the water, when it gets in from the top. Just don't drain out the bottom. What I have seen, is there is no aluminum boat out there. Without some water stuck in it somewhere.
Have an adventure everyday !
2006 PT 175 TX 60 HP.
This isn't really an aluminum problem. Fiberglass can get just as bad. I had a Carolina skiff that I ended up doing some repair work on, and the inside where the foam was was completely filled with water, and soaked foam.
2017 Xpress H20B
115 Yamaha SHO
Oh I here ya.
i have set a chuck of this foam out. A 6x6" piece. Over a week it drained a 1/2 cup of water out. Put was still soaked. Giving an escape, real quick. Is what this stuff needs.
It it takes up space (key word is space) that if water could use. Would sink a boat. The way it put in is the problem I feel.
Have an adventure everyday !
2006 PT 175 TX 60 HP.
I hope the engineers designing boats get to take a look at this thread. It would cost very little to build into boats a drainage system to solve a problem they may not even know exists. They probably think spraying in the foam eliminates the water holding areas under the deck, filling all the voids. That is what most of us thought before you tore into yours, and apparently closed cell foam isn't near as good as we all thought either.
The engineers and manufacturers know exactly what happens. If it costs $50 more to install a drainage system that is $50 less profit....for an issues that 99.99% of the people out there don't know or care about.
The foam is doing exactly what it was designed to do....keep the boat from sinking. Beyond that tracker or ranger or whoever doesn't care if the boat holds some water. It costs them nothing.
Well when a boat is new. And the foam is tight. It would work as advertised. But heat and cold cycles over some years. The foam does degrade down a bit. When it shrinks in on it self, and pulls away from the edges of the compartment it in. Then water get in, and speeds up the degeneration. And the only way the water can get out. Is to travel the entire length of the boat. To have a spot to get pass the beams. And there is at least five more of those compartments to go through. It's just asking for trouble. If each of these compartments had a 1/2" hole in the beam. So water could drain down to the keel. Problem solved. With only 5 to 6 of those little holes in a 10 foot beam wouldn't have any structural strength problems.
Have an adventure everyday !
2006 PT 175 TX 60 HP.
One problem for boat foam is that it has to be resistant to fuel. This may limit what is available to manufacturers.
Back in the day we were not too concerned about that, and being very aware of the water absorption problem, we used blue builders insulation foam to fill voids in the modified jon boats we were building.
It was available in sheets in a variety of thicknesses and was somewhat structural when used under floors etc. I don't remember ever testing it for water absorption, but we always thought it a better choice.
Here are some industry test results:
https://www.constructionspecifier.co...posure-occurs/
Last edited by csurp; 04-02-2017 at 08:12 AM.
4 pound foam is structural support! 2 pound foam is flotation. Both are super buoyant. The closed cell foam once penetrated will absorb water. So do not cut channels in. Also if you have holes that can drain water from the inside of the stringers it's a 2% gain for a possible 98% f-job. If you never have rain water or spear a wave it will ever so slightly drain foam that will inevitably get wet. But if you do get 8" of water in the builge it will penetrate fast and hard and won't come out worth shit. Example put a 12 oz beer in a garden hose and lift straight up with it in your mouth, unless your a recent college graduate with a party attitude I'm sure that measly 12 oz will spew from your lips it has so much pressure but once water is in foam it's nearly weightless so it won't come out given surface tension and or sponge like material. You can not have condensation if there is no air. Your only good plan and solution for water would be to fully fill everything where as now with the foam removed you have to start over.
Make is sure to replace foam in spec with original specs on weight, make sure you understand how temperatures affect the weight. Also you boat was built with up right, level floatation. This is key and very specific to each boat. If you put to much foam in the bow at the wrong weight ie 1.5 pound it is possible to make the bow to buoyant. Why would this be an issue? Because your transom/ motor may be 3-4 or even 16' underwater while the bow floats. There is zero foam infront of my cockpit on my glass boat because glass floats at 1.28 pounds of bouyance to each pound of glass/gel. Yes aluminum sinks so foam is needed but not to much. Also 2 pound foam can dent in the bow as you beat waves and mar the running surface permanently.
I just watched your video, it matches my experiance as well I left a block standing up in the garage for a month I should have weighed it at the beginning and end but other than the concrete being wet under it for the entire month it was still heavy, having holes to drain it is so irrelevant, you said it your self this price has been out overnight... But the day you had the bilge full would have done more harm in an hour than sitting in a dehumidified 70* garage can purge in a year. Best bet put it back together the way you got it, maybe spray all the rivets with flex seal and add an auto builge pump and definitely pay attention to screws you put through the floor as well as our two boats we ditched the flush mount seat bases since that's how we figured our water got in.
You are exactly correct. That's why I feel there should not be sandwiched in. To the hull. The problem with these boat (aluminum) is that water gets in everywhere. There are open seams around deck, floors, not to mention compartments. There is no dry sealed areas in these boats. So having the water, (in rain or pressure washing decks) be able to have avenues to run write passed the foam to escape fast. Is much better then having clogged and sitting there exhorting into it. So you have to add a little more in height to compensate for whats not actually sealed to the bottom of the hull. You still can get the flotation. You are right in the balance, to be achieved. That's the tricky part.
No rivets on this one. And pretty sure it is 2lb. foam.
Last edited by gatorglenn; 04-02-2017 at 12:21 PM.
Have an adventure everyday !
2006 PT 175 TX 60 HP.
U might regret removing foam. This boat is far from a "tank" lol
Don't get me wrong guys foam is going back in.
Just not the way it was. This foam was definitely not structural in it's use. For instance, the two main sponson's on each side of the bilge. Both had a 1/2" gap, all along the out side of the hull. And a fingers width crack down the inside panel to the bilge. And a concaved gap the length of the top over an inch. Now weather the foam shrank from age. It's hard to say. But the aluminum was clean where it set except for three spots where it was touching and stuck to it other than that it was almost like it was floating. Now up front only half of it was tight to the bottom of the hull. And most of the floor sections where not tight to anything. They popped out as a chunk. So if it's for structure, then they failed miserably!
Have an adventure everyday !
2006 PT 175 TX 60 HP.
Physics 101. Foam added to the INSIDE of a hull will NOT increase flotation. In fact, it will actually make the boat float lower in the water because it has added mass without adding volume (increasing density of the vessel). Flotation is based on density and displacement of fluid. The boat will actually float higher in the water without the foam. The foam, if it fills compartments in the lower hull, will help to keep the boat afloat in case of a hull failure (hit an object, bust a weld, etc) by displacing any water that would otherwise enter the boat in that area. You've seen the video of the cutout of the ranger tin floating. The water simply can't fill the hull and make the boat sink because the foam is taking up that space. However, with that said, the foam does nothing for flotation in an otherwise good hull. It does, however, dampen sound and could add to structural integrity if done right. I'm not recommending that you remove the foam. I like the added mass because it adds to the stability of the boat, especially when fishing (boat doesn't rock side to side with movement nearly as much).
No one said the foam adds flotation when the boat is operating normally. Everyone in this thread is talk about if the boat has a problem and begins to sink.....
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