spray foam + inflatable boat = save it or kill it?

[piggybeach]

my old metzler inflatable is still leaking and the fabric is pretty... crusty. i've applied copious amounts of various inflatable boat paints, glues, patches and unorthodox products including elastromeric paint and "barge" (contact) cement... yet she is still leaking faster than i am comfortable with. then i saw what appeared to be a "foam-filled" inflatable boat mentioned somewhere. is this a terrible idea?

[danjarch]

No but the canned stuff is propably to heavy, as weel as being expensive. You'd have to do some investigating to find out what foam to use.

[piggybeach]

Originally Posted by danjarch

No but the canned stuff is propably to heavy, as weel as being expensive. You'd have to do some investigating to find out what foam to use.

what do you think?
"special" foam i found is this...
Boat Ship and Pontoon Foam Insulation

[Oopsuhoh]

The problem I see with it, is most of the spray foams are rigid. The break when flexed. Since they would be flexing inside the inflatable pontoons they would quickly break into a bunch of tiny pieces, and water would fill the cracks. Defeating the purpose of the foam.

This is my theory only, observed from cutting overfill from around windows.

[wildcard]

I thought about doing this too but never did. I quite sure the foam would be more than strong enough as it would have a 12 inch plus diamater. The problem I see is as the foam shrinks, water will get traped inside. Try it, what do you have to lose? Hang if from the rear, cut a slit in each chamber and pour it in. When it's done expanding, patch over the hole and float it.
Let us know how it works out.

[wildcard]

Did I mention you woould have to use the two part pourable foam?

[sailingdog]

I think you'd be better off using a small air compressor or pump to keep the damn thing inflated and then quickly glassing over the tubes... Turn it into a fiberglass dinghy. Keep it inflated until the fiberglass cures. Then cut a small hole in the fiberglass and through the inflatable cloth and pour foam in to the opening....then glass over the hole after the foam hardens.

A friend of mine got a dinghy that this had been done to down in the French Antilles or somewhere like that... I never laughed so hard when I first saw it—really ugly—but it worked pretty well for her.... It was built from a high-pressure, inflatable floor model, but all the inflatable bits were glassed over with a light layer of glass (a couple of layers of 2 or 4 oz as my best guess) and filled with foam.

[danjarch]

I think at $700 hundred plus shipping for the foam you would need, I'd plunk it down on a new inflatable. I think the idea would work, but you could probably find a used inflatable or a nice dingy for about about the cost of the foam.

[piggybeach]

Originally Posted by danjarch

I think at $700 hundred plus shipping for the foam you would need, I'd plunk it down on a new inflatable. I think the idea would work, but you could probably find a used inflatable or a nice dingy for about about the cost of the foam.

good point. there is a cheaper foam available too: cheaper foam url

...however, it's not "coast guard approved."

[USCGRET1990]

The tubes are replaceable on (RHI)Avons, have you checked that Avenue? I'm not sure what you are dealing with there...maybe just go here and get a new one?!WholesaleInflatableBoats.com | Wholesale Inflatable Boats | Inflatable Boats | Rigid Inflatable Boats | Inflatable Boat