TNRIVERRAT wrote:If the boat is probably not gonna survive a catastrophic event is there any real purpose of putting it back in? I'm removing my float boxes down the sides now and need to make sure there is no structural purpose for them to be there.

The foam boxes on the very outsides are just for flotation and most people remove them. I am also not replacing my airbox in my Vulture but I am just going to leave the foam that is there now up under the deck. Thats all I will have for flotation in mine and other then the airbox, Thats all it came with. Also mine is a pre 80's so the flotation rules were different then.

Yea good point. I couldnt find any pressurized cans with mixing nozzles at Home Depot or Ace. Ill put it on the low priority to do list.

If the boat is probably not gonna survive a catastrophic event is there any real purpose of putting it back in? I'm removing my float boxes down the sides now and need to make sure there is no structural purpose for them to be there.

You can buy foam in pressurized containers with hoses and a spray / mixing nozzle. It's used in new home construction. The kits can be bought at your local Home Depot or equivelant.

OR
Find a spray foam insulation contractor in your area. Take the boat to where they are working and have them spray it in.
The aresol foam it stuff won't stick. I tried.
If you refoam your gunnels, you might want to hang in some drain pipe for rigging and foam around it. You can get rigid or flexible.

Hmm, so then how do you get it in the upper part of the deck? Do you have to turn t e boat upside down and pour it? I imagine you would need a spray gun that combined the two chemicals as it was spraying.

What if you simply had two spray bottles (like old 409 bottles) and simply sprayed a thin layer of one chemical, hen sprayed a thin layer of the other chemical on top of it? Would it mix and expand? Anyone tried this?

Its nice to see its cheap at least.

The foam is sold in cans in 2 parts. You dump the 2 liquids together, and it blows up into foam (pretty fast).

http://www.mertons.com/Floatation/index.html

Yea, I cant imagine that foam holding up the V6. Anyways, What kind of product do I want if I want to spray my own foam? Is there something special? Does it come in a can, or Do I need a fancy Mixing Gun? How do I do it.>?

Most every damaged Stream I've seen sunk anyway, especially when the deck comes off. The "newer" ones may be a little better, since 1980 or so, the Coast Guard put in the upright flotation rule, so they may be a little better.

Boats from the 1970's didn't float well after an accident, and in the newer ones, the foam is frequently saturated or removed.

The best policy is not to run alone. If you wreck the boat, and the deck stays on, they will usually hold enough air in the bow to float nose up for awhile, so the chase boat can recover the damaged boat and driver.

There's no future in hoping one of these things will float after an accident, the odds are not good.

I would suggest some floatation. I like to fly my boat. I don't plan on sinking either but plan for the worst and expect the best.

It was put there (in the high spots of the hull) to stabilize a swamped boat. Without it, it will roll. I took mine out for the same reason and filled the bow foreward of the footrest. At least mine will float bow up. Easier to attach a tow line.