Best strategy for foam & flotation in your aluminum boat

[@TinyBoatNation]

*Check out our Black Friday SALE!* tbnation.net/ Pour foam: tbnation.net/products/pour-foam-2-lb-density-2-gallon-kit Hydro-Turf: tbnation.net/products/hydro-turf-cut-groove-eva-foam-traction-mat AutoBoat GPS system: tbnation.net/pages/search-results-page?q=Autoboat

[@Cameron-ur2tk]

I may have missed it but two additional tips... removing the foam you can use a power washer with an oscillating nozzle and it'll cut right through it, Huge mess but its quick. Another benefit to not having all the foam in under the deck is it will help prevent capsizing especially if you add some into sides above the water line.

[@TinyBoatNation]

That only works if you have a very powerful washer. It can work in some cases.

[@AlIsUpOutdoors]

7:48 That’s where I made a huge mess! Putting a rod locker into my ice fishing sled. Poured some in (from the tbnation site) and it took a good while to expand. So I mixed more and dumped it in. 10 minutes later and I had a giant mess to clean up.

[@billwallenstein3387]

As someone who has had to replace large aluminum fuel tanks in offshore center console boats and pay for them. The biggest reason they fail is because they were encapsulated by two part foam. What happens is the condensation builds up and corrosion eats the tank. A lot of guys are coating the tanks first. Just my two cents.

[@TinyBoatNation]

I did forget to mention that painting the whole would help overtime, but it would only do it temporarily.

[@MadRat70]

@@TinyBoatNation probably a highlight-quality comment from Bill. Two part foam is caustic to aluminum.

[@BrwnShinobi]

Love your videos, content, and work on the boats. Gonna try this on my kayaks too!

[@ProverbsPoker]

Thanks for sharing your experience, lots of great lessons and tips here.

[@ryanyurcaba7132]

Great video! I am in the middle of a Tracker restoration. I have determined the old foam is still in great shape - clean and not water logged. I plan to keep it. However, in a few areas I have cut it for mods (TM pedal tray, larger rod box) . I think I recall seeing in a former video of yours you used some liquid solvent to seal this type of foam. Do you still recommend using that, and if so, what was it? Thanks for all your guidance! - RY

[@prestonb6064]

Ngl brotha I watched a couple of your vids and man you are very helpful

[@PunkR0ckz09]

Although this video was very informative, I would've prefered some drawings of some kind that explains the issues and how you would make it in certain situations (for example, flat bottom jon boat vs V-hull), as I am much more of a visual learner than a comprehensive reader/listener. I really appreciated it when you mentioned that pour foam touching the hull was a bad design and that it had to be elevated from the floor. It's just common sense that seems to be lost somehow. Anything that rests on the ground (floor in this case) will rot/rust overtime, because there will be moisture and water accumulations that will be stagnant, elevating the pour foam allows for the water to evaporate and/or move, thus reducing the issues. It's exactly the same issue with pickup truck beds, when it rains and the pickup doesn't move for a few weeks, it'll start to slowly eat away at the metal even if painted and yeah...

[@colonelbeanbagsfishing1488]

Awesome video man, love the advice you share in this video, keep up the great work man.

[@TinyBoatNation]

Appreciate it!

[@4ryanthomas]

Good video Mike… wealth of information!! 👍🏼 :) Hope you and your family have a Happy Thanksgiving my friend!!

[@TinyBoatNation]

Happy Thanksgiving!

[@mikemeyerphotopro]

Looks really impressive. But what if you need to pull some wires or plumbing? I guess you just make sure that's good first???

[@TinyBoatNation]

Their serviceable conduits for wiring throughout the boat

[@mikemeyerphotopro]

@@TinyBoatNation Gotcha. That makes sense :)

[@ahaga0997]

I have a Lund and going to be doing the pour foam in a couple months...with the garden hose drainage tubes, do you remove the hose once the foam cures? How to I direct the water out the back if my floor joist run bow to stern? Thank you for your time and consideration.

[@luchovelit5711]

Great info thanks!! Question:. Adding foam will it make the boat float more? I have a boat lifting to one side. Would adding foam to that one side (between the inner and outer hull) straighten the boat out?

[@Mudjunkie]

It sounds like the opposite side of your boat might be waterlogged.

[@pellabandgeek]

On a V hull, is there a way to calculate how wide the center channel has to be to make sure the foam won't be saturated? I'm looking at 10:28 in the video and it looks like the XPS foam would still get saturated if water pooled in between the ribs.

[@czfishing6361]

After working on a 1980’s bass tracker myself I would say a lot of the corrosion with the foam could be prevented if the manufacturer chose to paint the aluminum that is gonna contact the foam.

[@TinyBoatNation]

I 100% agree! Though it would have to be thick epoxy primer or the foam will just eat through the paint.

[@shaunbliss1396]

Great info thanks!

[@timothyedwards9298]

i just bought a 2054 monark it’s crazy it’s my jon yacht

[@TinyBoatNation]

Gotta love the Jon yacht!

[@poepflater]

Bac i nthe day you used to get plastic sheeting or bag with the foam filler cans... you'd line whatever you were filling with the plastic, then foam it, so it would fill the space, but not be welded to the sides... making replacing it later an easy chore.

[@TinyBoatNation]

A plastic bag will burst easily if the foam wants to burst through. It also gets really hot and has a chance to plastic cook get compromised and melted so I don’t plastic bags as anything reliable

[@poepflater]

@@TinyBoatNation I guess it will take some tweaking. But I'm not sure I like the idea of the foam welding everything together...

[@neptarclepuffin]

To get the melting to the minimum use HDPE film not the low density with lower melt point, I believe 3m makes a suitable product (Just searched it but YNYN). The Ductape will break down over time if exposed to water (ask me how I know used it on a tarp but it was exposed to UV and heat cycling).

[@stevechittenden750]

In the process of removing saturated foam from my 22’ v-hull aluminum boat. What is the best way to keep the new pour off the floor so water can drain through to the transom?

[@TinyBoatNation]

Make a subfloor all the way back- and front. But the right v hull will funnel water to the middle channel anyways so it’s okay to install it on the floor. Make sure to primer the floor before you pour.

[@stevechittenden750]

Unfortunately mine had no way for water to escape… what subfloor material would your recommend and what primer? Thanks for your response!

[@paulschulwitz7712]

I'm ripping the flotation foam out of my 2019 Tracker. That shit absorbs water and becomes heavy as hell over time. What makes this stuff any different? How do you keep water from pooling on top and eventually absorbing, especially if you have your boat docked and exposed to the elements all season??

[@paulschulwitz7712]

Nevermind. I finished watching and see you addressed it. I won't go back to that expanding foam crap though. I'm installing owens corning foamular sheets vertically to allow for water to flow down to the hull/bilge. Boat has an internal fuel tank so I won't have to worry about gas onboard.

[@BrianBalentine]

2000 sea ark zx200 pour foam in floor Y/N

[@pokefins]

Is it ok to use a 4lb or 6lb vs 2lb foam? I have a princecraft Yukon dlx. The foam seems only to be in the floor and rear voids. The floor foam is completely saturated. 25hp efi merc has to workouts guts out to get on plane. Need the foam out but I want to put better than mfr spec.

[@regkershaw]

Could this pour foam be used to make blocks . So instead of just pouring it in you make blocks and then place the blocks in the boat

[@TinyBoatNation]

Yes, you could. The boat won’t be as rigid, but you would have filled the void regardless

[@avalanironcladttsm]

If I were to make a PVC raft to float on a slow moving river, would you recommend this product to fill the PVC?

[@TinyBoatNation]

Yes

[@Travis-e3m]

If for some reason you hit a rock with the bottom will the water not penetrate the foam?

[@TinyBoatNation]

It right away. But it will overtime if you don’t fix it.

[@ryanprice4789]

What primer do you recommend to paint the hull with before pouring the foam?

[@TinyBoatNation]

Epoxy primer

[@noworriesmate5903]

He just made 3 pours in the front????

[@salvadorhernandez6374]

So is one 2 gallon kit enough for a 16 foot deep v hull tracker?

[@STiMPUTELLO]

Depends on how deep the hull and subfloor is

[@hardyparty2622]

will that 2 gallon be enought for an 18ft boat

[@TinyBoatNation]

You probably would need four 2 gallon kits

[@mortalmeerkat]

Lol I just foamed my boat tonight using the 14-16ft vhull videos as a guide. Fuck me

[@TinyBoatNation]

If it was a V hull, you’ll be all right

[@citylimitsbassin]

Have you ever used rhino liner before adding pour foam on the hull?

[@TinyBoatNation]

No but that could work

[@johanbergqvist5357]

Is it possible to use PET-bottles as floating material?

[@TinyBoatNation]

I don’t know what it is, but I wouldn’t use any type of bottle as floating material

[@johanbergqvist5357]

@@TinyBoatNation Plastic bottles that you have for example soda in, have been used in some boats I know🙂

[@Rockers1121]

Duct tape ... damn thats good to know.

[@TinyBoatNation]

It changed the way I do things for sure

[@Rockers1121]

@TinyBoatNation I'm about ready to do a makeover on an 87 sea nymph .. .. gonna have to dig that old foam out ... this will be my second boat build dealing with 2 part foam... the first was an 81 gregor.... this one, im really hoping the hull will be OK and free of pitting. There was lots of pitting in the gregor ... this sea nymph is unfortunately riveted the gregor was welded .. but I've heard some good things about the way they were constructed .. I'm thinking I'm gonna cover up all the rivits in gluvit and then spray it with primer before pouring any foam... I'm gonna use 5052 .090 for all my flooring and decks .. no wood . .. I'm gonna see if I can get away with .062 but we shall see.. what are your thoughts on coosa board for the Transom ? Is it worth the money ? Or should I just settle for a sealed marine board transom ? .. idk .. this build will be expensive ... it's a bigger boat than my 15ft gregor .. it's a 17 or 19 ft ....idk I'll pick it up tomorrow. ... anyways I'll add this .. that 2 part foam saved my gregor from sinking to the bottom of the lake... that boat floated off from dock (long story) then caught in a storm and bashed into rocks so hard it knocked holes in the hull... it did not sink .. I was able to pull it back on the trailer and strip that boat of all the expensive stuff I put in it ... I'm so glad that it stayed floating .. so glad I put that 2 part foam in it.. it floated for 2 days before I was able to retrieve it.( I didn't have another boat to go and get it sooner and didn't know anyone with a boat that could help on short notice).... my own experience, and this video has me convinced that the 2 part foam is probably the best option. .. I'd rather be safe than sorry . And I'm glad that nobody was hurt in the incident with the gregor. Thanks for your videos. They help guys like myself a lot.

[@Nobadcasts]

First 😎

[@TravelingStacker]

Congratulations. You should tell your friend what you did.

[@Nobadcasts]

I did. They were so proud of me

[@TinyBoatNation]

Lmao

[@andrewiannello6548]

The tiktok people don't understand modern pu foam. Marine PU foam will not disintegrate submerged in fuel. The stuff that disintegrates was builder's foam, the stuff you still get at the hardware store.