Project Overkill (front deck waterproofed 8-15)

[SVOMike86]

Thanks for the idea Spark... Didn't think about them, we use them for some things in my business too. Might just have to give them a call tomorrow.

 

[Anonymous]

Niiice.

Excellent platform to start with.
Gon' be one fine and dandy boat.

 

[SVOMike86]

Thanks man, I can only hope it turns out the way I plan, probably just gonna take a little longer than I'd like. I should be getting my sponsons back from the fab shop soon though, I'll post pics of those as soon as I get them.

 

[Rat]

I don't think drilling one hole in the end and then tipping the boat to fill the sponson is going to work very well for the foam. What happens is the foam sets pretty fast and plugs the conduit, any foam poured after that just fills the cavity in front of the plug. When filling large side panel voids I drill pour holes (bigger holes) only as far apart as 1 cubic foot of space will allow, I also drill relief/viewing holes (smaller holes) much closer together to make sure I get the coverage and volume I need.

A six foot side panel that is 20 inches tall and 4 inches deep has a volume of 3.3 cubic feet. ! would drill 4 2" pour holes and seven or eight relief holes (you need to give the displaced air somewhere to go). I would mix and pour 8 ozs of foam at a time as this is about as much as I can handle by my self before it blows.

So, for your sponsons, I would think you will need at least three pour holes and several more relief holes between them to get full coverage.

However, there is an alternative. build the sponsons, pour the foam in them, and then weld them to the boat. You will loose a little due to the heat of welding, but not much I wouldn't think, and you can use heat blocking pasts to keep the affected area down to a minimum. I have never welded over foam so i don't know how it would work, try a test first, but i think that is going to be the best solution if you want foam.

That's what I would do anyway.

In fact, you don't really need the foam if your welding is good, an airtight chamber is good enough. you can test it with dry Nitrogen before you seal it up. I would put a plug in the rear tho for those times you puncture the sponson and need to drain it thoroughly to make a repair. I would use a brass plug and solder it in.

 

[Loggerhead Mike]

slick lookin rig cant wait to see how it turns out

 

[cubanredneck]

Why would the sponsons need to be filled with foam if they are sealed they will displace the same amount of water. The foam is just gona make it heavier

 

[SVOMike86]

My idea for the foam was in case the sponson did get a crack or rip in it, it would not fill up with water. After thinking about it for a while, and remembering that the metal they are made of is pretty thick, i may not put any foam in them. Hopefully I'll get them back soon, can't wait to see what they look like...

 

[SVOMike86]

So I still haven't gotten the sponsons back, but its supposed to rain here for the next couple days, so I'm not too worried about it. I'm trying to find aluminum L brackets to tie everything together before it gets welded. I looked at Lowe's and they only had galvanized. Anyone know where I can find aluminum or stainless L brackets?? Thanks.

Mike D.

 

[Rat]

Proly be easier to make your own out of Alum angle.

 

[huntinfool]

IF you decide to drill small holes and pour foam, please video the job and post it here! :LOL2:
Now two people have given a suggestion to use a big hole, hope you do

You can just weld them solid, but as you stated above if you were ever to get a leak then having the foam in it would still allow it to float. Me personally I would foam it. Good luck either way.
Can't wait to see how this turns out and how stable it is/isn't.

I'm leaning towards IS.

 

[baptistpreach]

Good looking rig. You've got all the right friends and all the right skills to make an incredible boat for an incredible price. Keep up the good work!

 

[SVOMike86]

Good idea rat on using aluminum angle... I look at myself as a pretty smart dude, but whenever something simple comes up, I always tend to overlook the obvious. Well, after much consideration, I think Im just gonna weld them and leave them hollow, but who knows, I may change my mind again a couple of times.

Mike D.

 

[cavman138]

Mike, I assume you live in the hampton roads areas. Any chance you know where I can get aluminum angle in the area for a decent price? I just bought my boat and I'm in need of aluminum to deck it out.

 

[SVOMike86]

Hey Cavman, I'd check for a metal scrap yard if I was you. The price of aluminum has doubled or more in the last three years, so its hard to find it cheap anywhere. I know there's one on Witchduck Rd. In Virginia Beach, but there may be one in Bowers Hill off of Rt 58.

 

[SVOMike86]

Well, I finally started fitting my deck bracing yesterday. It went a lot better than I thought it was going to. Its probably 90 Percent done, just need to do some braces for the hatches. I did end up using "home made" aluminum angle for the L-brackets. They aren't as pretty as store bought ones, but they did the job. I have pics on my phone but I'll have to wait to get home before ipost em. Overall, yesterday was pretty productive although I had to leave for an hour to go pick up a pond prowler for a friend. Oh well.

 

[SVOMike86]

Well, I've been slack on working on the boat for the last couple months. Kinda sucks but I've been working way too many hours, and its been WWWAAAYYYY to cold to do anything on the couple days I have gotten off. The boat is completely stripped, and I just got the sponsons back from the fab shop. They look awesome, I haven't measured them but they seem to be around 6" tall. I also got 3 seat bases, with 2 pedestals, an 11" one for the middle, and a 9" for the front casting deck. The extra seat base will be back by the motor, a little on the starboard side. I've got pics of the sponsons on my phone, but I'm kinda computer illiterate and need to get my wife to upload them for me Let me know what you guys think about these, I havent seen anyone with flotation pods quite like them, and I think they'll be a big help!

 

[SVOMike86]

Ok, i figured it out. I'm an idiot.

I'm going trout fishing tomorrow morning, but probably wont be out too long because of how cold it is. We might stop by Bass Pro on the way home, but when I get back, I'll take pics of the sponsons up next to the boat so you can see how they fit.

 

[shootisttx]

Glad you are posting again...I am really looking forward to see how your boat turns out.

This "Arctic Blast", as they keep calling it here, has put a lot of projects behind, I'm sure.

 

[SVOMike86]

So this is a crappy pic of the front of the sponson in the general area that it will be. Its hard to get good pics with a Blackberry. I'm gonna try to get a pic of the boat on its side, with the whole thing on it, but gotta wait for light after work. Im gonna have to raise the boat up probably 3/4" inch on the trailer to clear the fenders, but that shouldn't be hard. I'm hopefully gonna drill the holes for the livewell and soon. Theres a guy at work that has a TIG rig that im gonna try to get him to tack all the metal in so when it goes to the welding school, everything is already in place. Well, more pictures to come soon hopefully...

 

[SVOMike86]

Oh yeah, you guys like my sweet 12' V-bottom boat cover???