[Jason Slocum]

I have a frenzy ocean kyak, and was thinking about filling it with foam. I don't see any downfalls to doing this, but adding extra buoyancy would make me a little faster, and able to run through the waves a little better. Good idea or bad idea? Jason

 

[herefishy]

Based on over all boating I would say that is a bad idea. Air is lighter than foam so you will not get added bouancy. Additionally, if you are using the spray foams they DO absorb water(as even does cut styrofoam over time). On top of this it takes a LONG time for the foam to dry out. If you are having a problem with leaking into your hull try repairing any holes and thru-hulls first. If you are worried about bouancy for safety I would go with bouancy bags available through West Marine or Boat US.

 

[Lou]

Thought of the same thing

but for a different reason.
Some one correct me ,, if I am wrong,,,,
but by adding foam,, in reality you are just adding weight. Unless the yak capsizes and fills with water. The reason I say this is ,, the yak is floating just fine with out foam. And by adding the foam you are just filling air space with a substance that weighs more than air. Of course you will be adding rigidity to the yak and this is what I had in mind.
My yak has a dent in the bottom that tends to pull me to the right. Not bad but noticable.
If you do decided to use foam,,, BE SURE it is closed cell otherwise it will absorb water and get VERY heavy.
good luck lou

 

[Jason Slocum]

yeah when I load it into my truck it rests on the tailgait, and bends in, also while its being stored it just sits on the ground which to my understanding over time is a no-no. I get about 12 ounces of water for about 5 hours in the water, so I'm not too concerned about leakage. just guess I am hard headed, but I still think it would sit higher up in the water if it had foam inside due to the shell being harder w/foam making it less likely to sink? Jason

 

[Royce]

The guys are right about the foam. It will actually cause the kayak to sit deeper in the water. The bouyancy is dictated entirely by the total weight of the object, and the foam is heavier than the air it would be displacing, thus a heavier object.

On the other hand, I've wondered what happens if I get a hole in mine. In that case a bit of floatation sounds really good.

Anyone tried making thier own floatation bags using the expanding foam and some sort of bag? It should be able to be custom fit the the kayak that way.

 

[JettyJumper]

I agree with the other fellows...

by fillin with foam, you will just be addin more wieght. if you could trap air in a box that would be better than foam, but you cant do that. LOL... by addin foam you will not get "swamped". the foam just takes place of the air and it won't let the water fill that space when swamped, therefor it won't let as much water in the hull as with out usin foam...... I would fill it with foam for the safety reason. and you won't increse draft more than 1/2" max by addin foam. heck, a 'yak drafts less a few inches so you reallly dont change much by addin foam..... just my 2 cents........JJ

 

[SkipJack]

Don't fill it with foam? Of course we know that now. Just thought I would add another detail in there that you guys are missing.

Boats don't float due to them being lighter or with added bouancy. Boats float by displacement of water. Basically, the area that is displaced in the water is lighter than the water that is displaced by the boat. If you fill the area with foam, you are making the area displaced heavier. We know that foam doesn't float in the air so air is obviously lighter than foam. Filling the boat with foam is redundant except for a safety purpose, You can't sink your yak if it is filled with foam. Also, When you increase the surface area...(the are that touches the water) of the boat you increase the buoancy of the boat.

So, if you want to make your boat more bouyant, increase the size of the boat. This can become redudant to a certain extent. You can make the boat so big that it doesn't even go very fast. To solve that problem, the longer skinny boats are much faster than the wide boats. To increase the speed of the boat you need to decrease the friction in the proposed direction of travel. Skinny boats have less surface friction in the direction of travel and the longer skinnier boats are faster than the wide boats. But, wider boats are more stable and less likely to flip over.

Basically, get another kayak.

 

[jonfshng]

Ditto...Skipjack

 

[Jason Slocum]

Thanks

thanks for the advise, I am just going to have to deal with the yak I have. Thanks for the replys. Jason