Foam in the boat

[MacGyver]

Had a email conversation with Gerry at Hutchins about the foam in the boat as it seemed to me to be a gray area overall.

What he told me is it is not for floatation which is a common idea.
So why the foam?
(Some of this I have put together being in the industry, along with what Gerry told me.)

The floatation is there so it can be lifted by a forklift. For those who don't know, a forklift (marine industry kind) is used to dry stack the boats to save on space.
The marina I work at doesn't use these forklifts. We just use slings to lift.
The forks go under the boat, on both sides of the keel, slightly spaced out like a set of trailer bunks do.

This foam in the boat keeps the compression from happening along with the bulkheads. Compression is the smashing in of the fiberglass basically destroying the boat.

Does it affect sling lifting ability on a boat? No.

The back section of foam under the cockpit floor is just a big block, used to support the floor.

If you remove foam from the areas that the bunk boards touch when trailering, is that a issue? Not as long as it it sitting firmly on its keel.

V berth, how much foam can be removed safely? All of it.

My thoughts: When I decide to modify those sections I do plan to use a HD foam (provides max floatation and impact resistance) after I make the cut outs I want for storage. I also plan to use wooden stiffeners cut to the contours to re-stiffen the boat just in case future owners utilize dry stacking. I wouldnt want to ruin a future owners experience by doing something the wrong way.

The HD foam I will use may possibly cause it to become positive float. I haven't done the math yet, but the numbers rate it really high.

Hope this clears things up if there was any question. I know I had questions still after reading everyones posts.

Have a great day! And Happy Modding!

Mac 

[wes]

Mac - doesn't much matter what kind of foam you use, at least as far as flotation is concerned. Flotation is created by displacing water. One cubic foot water weighs 62.43 pounds. If you have a 19 like me and if you believe the factory weight of 2000 pounds, you will need 32 cubic feet of foam (2000/62.43=32) to float her. That's a lot of foam - equivalent to a block 4' x 4' x 2'. If I tried to put that inside my boat, I'd have to leave either my wife or the dog on shore. Hmmm.

Wes

[MacGyver]

I will hopefully post this link, the foam I am looking at boasts a better float rate, actually they have like 8 different kinds.
mix 2 parts and the foam goes where it grows

Also, I had a post about weighing the boat, and it did come out to be 2060 lbs, which surprised me, so I am sure all 19s are close to that.

I might weigh what I take out and put in just to be obsessive about its total weight when I am done......... that will make my wife happy....... LOL

Mac

[NateD]

Also, I had a post about weighing the boat, and it did come out to be 2060 lbs, which surprised me, so I am sure all 19s are close to that.

Mac

Skip found that his 19, "as sailed", was closer to 2360 (or 2380, the post isn't quite clear).

http://cpyoa.geekworkshosting.com/forum/index.php?topic=5716.0

[skip1930]

At the All Sail Boat Show at Navy Pier in Chicago, Mr. J. Hitchins said that no amount of foam will keep a CP-19 afloat when filled with water. Not with the "weight of the keel pulling it down."

Glug, glug. We had this discussion about how much water need be displaced to keep it awash and that will never happen.

Want a non sinkable boat buy a French made Etap.

skip.