Have any of you guys added flotation to your comercial hulls?

My new boat has none. My kiddos In the boat all the time, have me thinking I want some.

I'm thinking of adding it to my front storage compartment.

What can I use for flotation?

You can put blue styrofoam under the floor. If you have any enclosed areas you can shoot a certain kind of expanding foam in to the box. I would suggest getting up with a boat builder for this. I know the flotation debate has been beaten pretty thoroughly. But, this is different. You are an individual adding flotation to a commercial vessel that is not being used for commercial purposes (I'm guessing here). So say you add some foam here and there not using any USCG formula and you flip/sink/swamp your boat and someone is, heaven forbid, injured or killed. You bear the brunt of all of that. Have someone do it so the lawsuit papers go to their mailbox.

Here's a little info on expanding foam. Mainly, how much you need.

http://www.jgreer.com/pour_foam_faq.htm

Also think about this, if ya put floatation just in the bow, it may not be enough to float the boat if it flips which would just be a waste of time and money. When factory built hulls come with floatation, it has enough to keep the boat floating level with max load and a motor on it and you see how much that consist of by looking at a Go-Devil boat. Basically, alot of usable area is wasted by styrofoam. Other words, just a little floatation might not help.

Ok genius..put a sheet of 2" blue styrofoam under the floor and tie balloons around the gunwales.

I'm not lecturing you. JUst throwing out there that there is a formula to how much foam and where you need to put it so that the boat floats level when swamped. See the Go-Devil recall for more information.

Balloons ya say? Now there is a he'll of an idea! Why didn't I think of that?

bright pink, yellow, and orange ones work the best, especially during duck season. If you hunt from the boat, try adding some lime green ones for camo.

life jackets.


and done.

sorry, but I won't own a commercial hull again. This knocks out several boats that I would like to own, but when it sinks (and it will sink) I take comfort in knowing that my kids have something to sit in or at least grab ahold of till help gets there. Swimming in freezing water, with nothing to hang onto makes you think aabout such things

Im with Hizz. I would like to have a boat that has floatation, but my options are limited. No matter what any of yall say, i highly doubt half of yall have been in freezing water.

I went in on the Arkansas River 3 years ago. Long story short, i went to the other side to pick up a wounded bird that swam across. All morning long the river had been rising, and when i tried to cross back i was 4 inches from the top of my waders, my next step (in the channel) would have put me at my neck.

That morning it was 15 degrees and there was ice floating down the river.

I had to cross, so i swam across, and filled up my waders and when i got back to where i could stand up, it was almost impossible. I pulled my waders off and tried walk back, but the numbness was unreal. I got back to the trucks (all of them were diesels) and 30 mins later the trucks were warm.... Well needless to say i will never hunt that river ever again without a boat. And for the record, flood control rivers suck..

But anyways, I couldn't imagine being in 30* water that i couldn't stand in. Walking it in was hard enough. But swimming?? If my boat sank?? No chance sorry.

From what I have observed, many builders just use sheet or block styrofoam cut to fit. I've only seen the two part expanding foam used in fiberglass boats.

It is a shame that some of those sleek custom boats aren't available with floatation, but I can understand it not being an issue in some areas.

Up here floatation is a must for all the reasons others have noted. It is not about having "some". You either have enough or you do not, no in between. .5 cubic feet can be the difference between a boat floating level, sinking or flippin over. The caculations are not more then simple algebra, but you have to know the weights, displacements and variables to do it right.

Some do use white foam, problem is it deteriorate and ends up no good over time, the expandable (we have used this) is good, but it is highly flamable, the pink/blue and green board or block is the best we have found over time.

We do not put anything under the floor, water and fuel will damage it over the long haul.

So in short, there is alot more to adding floatation then just sticking some foam in the front or under the floor etc.

If you are going to do it, get with someone who actually does this everyday and have them assist you to make sure your efforts are not just something to ease your concerns, but actually will help if you get into trouble in the water.

PW

Just use airtight chambers for floatation instead of foam that can get water logged over time. Pretty sure its 62.4 lbs of floatation added for every cubic foot of sealed airtight floatation chamber added.

I would like to weigh in on this one----no pun intented. I have a 1542 rivetted jon a 24 hp honda go devil( kinda heavy) I lined the floor of my boat with styro foam and then laid a thin sheet of diamond plate across the ribs. with that said I can tell it made a difference in the way the boat handles. I used several sources for my research, the following formula is for foam floatation values.LxWxH= cubic inches divide by 1768
1cu foot equal to 60lbs of floatation . I am going to try and upload a "back yard boat builders guide" take time to read it's got alot of good stuff.

i give up on the upload here's the linkhttp://files.dnr.state.mn.us/educat ... ilders.pdf

Link no workie...

Put the right type of foam in a boat and you do not have to worry about it absorbing / holding water or about it being degraded by contact with diluted gasoliine, like you would find in bilge water.

I think da issue of weather to have or not have floatation depends on where you run at and what you feel comfortable in. Personally I spend 95% of my boat time in da basin. So I know dat der is allways a bank near by and most da time shallow enough to touch bottom when standin. And before sumone says you'll change your mind when your boat sinks. I have sunk 3 boats out der, and been wit others 4 times when der boat sunk. All but once we were able to recover da boats wit in a couple hours wit come-alongs and da other one it took us all night to recover it because of all da barge trafic at dat location. Now keep in mind dis boat sinkin stuff don't happen often. Dis is spread out over da twenty one years I've been goin out der.