Some of those chemically-produced foam materials are very prone to absorbing water, so that’s something to check before picking a brand. Otherwise, the “cheap kind” of Styrofoam, which is made from pressed polystyrene beads (like those cheap white coolers you can pick up in almost any kind of store for next to nothing) seems to the be standard small-boat flotation material, and I’ve never seen the stuff get waterlogged. I don’t know where to buy the stuff in blocks, but you could just stack properly-trimmed sheets of it in the float chambers.
The stock foam is mostly OK, but for a mouse house. I’ll be using the original foam with Great Stuff to fill in any mouse condos.
I had heard that Great Stuff was one of the foam products that is prone to absorbing water, but I don’t know that for sure. I guess for short periods of immersion the risk of waterlogging probably isn’t all that high.
I’d be using such a small amount, I can’t imagine that it would be any problem. However, since the white foam panels are available pretty inexpensively, I could just cut that to fit and glue it in place with waterproof glue.
You don’t want anything that flakes off, styrafoam, or holds water and gives a wet bottom.
That’s why this stuff is so good for it. It comes in as much as 1".
Of course Qruiser usually sits on a garden kneeling pad in (or is it on?) the canoe.
Cheap, low density foam doesn’t last Minicell doesn’t quit.
I’m building the press to un-hog the hull. It would be helpful to know; was the hull was flat at the keel or did it have a slight arc?
Allrighty … no responses … I’m going to guess that the hull was mostly flat at the keel until it turns up at the bow and stern.
@Schuylkill said:
…to guess that the hull was mostly flat at the keel until it turns up at the bow and stern.
Well yes sorta…Just make sure left matches right and the bow and stern are straight.
@Overstreet said:
@Schuylkill said:
…to guess that the hull was mostly flat at the keel until it turns up at the bow and stern.Well yes sorta…Just make sure left matches right and the bow and stern are straight.
The bow and stern are now vertically matched since I have most of the large crunch out of the stern. Before last week she didn’t sit flat on her horses. I’m trying to visualize what you mean about left matching right. We’re trying to avoid giving the whole boat a twist again, right?
Yes and inducing unwanted turns. Asemetrical (SP)
OK, got it … keep it centered, measure twice, press once.
Thanks!
This piece of extruded aluminum gunwale I cut off to straighten is proving to be ONE-TOUGH-CUSTOMER with the tools that I have! Note the pencil line. That is the approximate arc that I have to match. Time for Plan B … which is not yet formulated.
You’ve more patience than I. Keep at 'er.
@Schuylkill said:
This piece of extruded aluminum gunwale I cut off to straighten is proving to be ONE-TOUGH-CUSTOMER with the tools that I have! Note the pencil line. That is the approximate arc that I have to match. Time for Plan B … which is not yet formulated.
Go easy on any heating ideas. Only to normalize. Work hardening on “heavy” sections will cause splits.
The only heat I’ll be using will be when I braze the gunwale back together.
It’s looking a little bit better. Here it is the night I cut it off.
I have a couple ideas now to coax this thing back into shape. We’ll see tomorrow morning how Plan B goes.
I clamped it to a piece of oak pallet and beat it into submission with a dead blow hammer (a type of hammer that doesn’t bounce back when you strike something).
Now to finish massaging out the wrinkles and I should be able to braze the gunwale back together, reinstall the rivets and foam block and get to un-hogging the hull, which should be a piece of cake compared to repairing the tree damage.
Almost there …
