Stabicraft foam filled hulls

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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote donny18 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Stabicraft foam filled hulls
    Posted: 15 Jul 2019 at 12:55pm
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Does anyone know what sort of foam (as there are quite a few) Stabicraft use to foam fill there hulls? Do they wrap it in plastic so as to not react with the aluminium? Wondering if it's a liquid pour and possibly something that can be added post build or if it's only an option while getting built type scenario. I tried to find the information on there website but couldn't .cheers
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Bounty Hunter Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Jul 2019 at 2:23pm
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i'd be interested in finding out too

in my opinion - they desperately need something to quieten their hulls
No disintegrations!
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote OuttaHere Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Jul 2019 at 4:34pm
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I would say it's a build-time thing, on ours the hull bung only goes to the sub-floor; pretty sure the pontoons are sealed up like a sealed thing when they are built.

The foam won't react with the alloy (unless they use some ridiculous foam), usually it's water getting trapped that cooks the alloy, but there shouldn't be any water inside your pontoons unless something has gone horribly wrong.
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote pompey Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Jul 2019 at 4:59pm
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Originally posted by Rozboon Rozboon wrote:

I would say it's a build-time thing, on ours the hull bung only goes to the sub-floor; pretty sure the pontoons are sealed up like a sealed thing when they are built.

The foam won't react with the alloy (unless they use some ridiculous foam), usually it's water getting trapped that cooks the alloy, but there shouldn't be any water inside your pontoons unless something has gone horribly wrong.

They do get leaks into the pontoons via cracked welds. Had that problem on a 609 still under warranty. After the usual Stabicraft excuses they agreed to have it repaired at a fabricator in Takanini. The fabricator told me it was quite common, they repaired quite a few.
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Bounty Hunter Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Jul 2019 at 5:34pm
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Originally posted by Rozboon Rozboon wrote:

I would say it's a build-time thing, on ours the hull bung only goes to the sub-floor; pretty sure the pontoons are sealed up like a sealed thing when they are built.

The foam won't react with the alloy (unless they use some ridiculous foam), usually it's water getting trapped that cooks the alloy, but there shouldn't be any water inside your pontoons unless something has gone horribly wrong.

water in stabi pontoons isnt unknown - they can slam so hard they crack at one of the chine welds.

i had a older model 459 - and each chamber had a bung on it. 

unfortunately they used a s/s screw for each of the plugs... awesome...Ouch
No disintegrations!
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Muzzfishing Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Jul 2019 at 5:47pm
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From what I have heard the foam has to be put in the hulls when the boat is being built.
    A Good Skipper Keeps the water on the outside of the boat.
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote out2sea Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Jul 2019 at 11:41pm
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I saw a similar question on Facebook recently. Had to go looking to find it. It seems stabicraft can foam fill the pontoons at a later date. See picture for what someone was quoted for a 2100.

I have only heard good things about stabis with the pontoons foam filled but would imagine it would make repairs a pain if you cracked a weld or dented a pontoon. Doesn't seem to happen that often though.
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote donny18 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 Jul 2019 at 11:25am
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I think this this question might be a bit hard for Stabicraft to answer for what ever reason, poor customer service or lack of knowledge on behalf of the people answering questions from Stabicraft, or maybe both..i don't know. Anyway, I've contacted Stabicraft and asked pretty much what I wrote up above and was replied to very shortly after with questions which i answered and then....nothing, silence. To be honest it was like talking to a politician of who you ask a question to which you have to ask the same question again without an answer. I've got no time for this type customer service if you can't ask a simple question and get an answer in an appropriate amount of time. I wouldn't have thought it would be to hard to answer, name of foam and how it's fitted.
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote cirrus Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 Jul 2019 at 1:16pm
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Why not phone Frewza or one of the other pontoon boat makers and  present your question to them. Ask why they dont use foam,or if they should then why. I thought pontoons were air filled and should not require extra bouyancy.
Not sure if you mean foam lining pontoons or actually underfloor.
With my Frewza the underfloor is sealed with a bung in the deck near the stern and also the standard bung in the stern of the hull. 
That in itself would seal air underfloor in the hull, and add to that the sealed pontoon sections and why would anyone need more buoyancy .
what purpose would foam serve.?
Seen too many boats on here where underfloor foam of various types has gone wrong and caused corrosion.
For that reason alone i would be very wary of foam in any form sealed into a boat..
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote pompey Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Jul 2019 at 12:59pm
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Originally posted by donny18 donny18 wrote:

I think this this question might be a bit hard for Stabicraft to answer for what ever reason, poor customer service or lack of knowledge on behalf of the people answering questions from Stabicraft, or maybe both..i don't know. Anyway, I've contacted Stabicraft and asked pretty much what I wrote up above and was replied to very shortly after with questions which i answered and then....nothing, silence. To be honest it was like talking to a politician of who you ask a question to which you have to ask the same question again without an answer. I've got no time for this type customer service if you can't ask a simple question and get an answer in an appropriate amount of time. I wouldn't have thought it would be to hard to answer, name of foam and how it's fitted.

Typical Stabicraft. Wait till you buy one and something fails under warranty. You will blamed straight away, not operating the boat properly usually. Your experience so far is typical.
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote cirrus Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Jul 2019 at 2:33pm
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Can someone please explain why foam should be added to pontoons.
Thought the pontoon design was to create buoyancy and stability .
how would foam improve things.

As for warranty. Warranty is another marketing con.
Motors for example. Someone offers 5 year warranty. Next thing someone else offers 7 years . All trying to say our motor is best because of the longer warranty.
Yet try to get something remedied under warranty.
They will charge to look at it and then say they can find no problem.
Anything to avoid warranty.
And the other blatant con is when you purchase the motor they say that for warranty to remain void you must use their ( often overpriced) own brand  certified agents for servicing. This is not true.
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote OuttaHere Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Jul 2019 at 3:31pm
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It has two purposes. The first is if you punch a hole in a pontoon, and it fills with water, then it's not a pontoon any more. But doesn't happen with foam filled.

The second is for noise; the big hollow pontoons act like a drum, both water noise and anything you bang against them is very loud. But honestly, not much worse than any other alloy boat.

The old foam under the floor (Ramco/Fyran style) argument doesn't apply here. The foam doesn't cause issues, the water that gets trapped around it in these old non-sealed-floor boats is the problem. With a sealed pontoon that's full of foam, there shouldn't ever be any water inside there to cause corrosion. It's exactly the same as an aluminium box full of foam sitting in your garage, nothing is going to happen inside unless you use some deeply stupid type of foam, and I'm going to go out on a limb and say that most boatbuilders are using something inert.
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote cirrus Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Jul 2019 at 4:31pm
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Thankyou Rozboon.  Thought it would be hard or unlucky to put a hole in a pontoon,but yes it could happen, even a failed weld is possible.

Noise. Have a frewza f14,and thinking back maybe a echoing sound did come from pontoons sometimes. Dont seem to notice that anymore.
The fish dont seem to notice it either.

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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote notalloyit Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 Jul 2019 at 12:28pm
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Surely some of the closed cell foams had a percentage of peroxide in them , which including condensation build up could be a long term issue ? Reaction between alloy and foam. Even closed cell foam gets water logged after a period of time.
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote OuttaHere Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 Jul 2019 at 1:56pm
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Originally posted by notalloyit notalloyit wrote:

Surely some of the closed cell foams had a percentage of peroxide in them , which including condensation build up could be a long term issue ? Reaction between alloy and foam. Even closed cell foam gets water logged after a period of time.
.

I might be making a big assumption here, but I'm going to guess that whatever foam they're injecting, it's pretty inert.

Also remember that the chamber is effectively sealed, closed system, so there's only as much moisture in there as there is in the air when the chamber got welded shut.
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Got-ya Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 Jul 2019 at 9:11pm
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But after that weld cracks or salt water gets in somehow it is impossible to get completely out due to the foam. No way I would want foam in there no matter how inert it is. Once water gets into foam its there for good and if its salt water............ At least with empty pontoons I can flush them out with fresh water then repair.
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote cirrus Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 Jul 2019 at 9:24pm
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What is it about design of alloy boats that they need foam in the first place.
A 100,000 ton bulk carrier is made wholly of steel.  They have big open hatches. They float . Whether empty or fully laden with iron ore they float. They do not have foam anywhere .

Of course our alloy boats are small and more fragile,but could they be designed and built in such a way that they dont need added foam.
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Muzzfishing Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 Jul 2019 at 11:15pm
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Not all Alloy boats have foam in them, some have foam under the topsides so that if they end up fill of water, the theory is that they will stay afloat. Whats happened with Stabis owners can now get the pontoons filled with foam to deaden the noise, lots info on Stabicraft FB page. As far as I know its only done when the boat is being built.
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote SumoSid Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 Mar 2020 at 11:55am
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Not to sound too geeky, but Archimedes' principle applies here.  A boat will float if it is displacing more weight in water than it weighs.  Foam in a sealed pontoon does not add flotation as the water displacement has not changed due to the size of the pontoon size remaining the same.  Actually, one could argue that adding foam to a sealed pontoon will make the boat slightly less buoyant due to the weight added. Foam added to a Stabicraft is simply to reduce noise (drum affect), making the noise a lowered noise frequency, acting as a barrier from noise outside the boat vibrating the inside of the boat making it all less audible. 
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Originally posted by SumoSid SumoSid wrote:

Not to sound too geeky, but Archimedes' principle applies here.  A boat will float if it is displacing more weight in water than it weighs.  Foam in a sealed pontoon does not add flotation as the water displacement has not changed due to the size of the pontoon size remaining the same.  Actually, one could argue that adding foam to a sealed pontoon will make the boat slightly less buoyant due to the weight added. Foam added to a Stabicraft is simply to reduce noise (drum affect), making the noise a lowered noise frequency, acting as a barrier from noise outside the boat vibrating the inside of the boat making it all less audible. 

Also stops it sinking if you punch a hole in a pontoon :)

Assuming my Stabicraft-buying plans come to fruition in the next few years, I'll definitely be getting the foam fill; I want it for the "deadness" and the additional weight (yes, I want to make the boat heavier) but the safety of the relative unsinkability is a nice side benefit.
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