foam in the bottom of the boat

I see people putting foam under floor boards in aluminum boats. Does this help with floatation in a normal setting or just if the boat is turned over.

It only helps if the boat is swamped. Doesn't provide any flotation when there is no water in the boat, but it is worth it's weight in gold if something goes wrong and it keeps the boat from sinking.

Make sure you use closed cell foam. It does not absorb water like other foam. You can find it at Lowes. Or you can use the mix and pour foam but that stuff is a pain and it is real messy.

I would like to add that IMO, having the foam adds another benefit to the floor; sound deadening and thermal insulation. If your like me, you drop stuff from time to time on the floor while fishing, and if you're right over a crappie bed, it might spook them. I like the fact that the foam helps deaden any goof ups from me. I also like how it provides a thermal barrier between the hull and cold water and my feet.

How are you guys attaching the closed cell foam pieces? To the boat? or to the decking? and with what method?

Tfizz,

I didn't attach my foam to the boat or deck at all. I have a mod v, and I did have to build up the foam in sections, as the hull of the boat is 4" below the top of the ribs in the middle, and 2" below at the sides; ribs are flat all the way across. I used double sided tape to hold the pieces together. Then I just laid them in the boat and covered them with the flooring.

If you ever need to take the flooring out for repair or anything, the foam can just be lifted out. Makes it much easier to deal with, and it won't go anywhere with the floor covering it.

I put foam under my plywood floor. I use 2 pieces of foam that were 3/4" thick stacked on top of one another, and cut it to fit tight between the ribs. I glued the foam together with gorilla glue. It is so close to being even with the top of the ribs that when I put the plywood down it made a perfect support for the wood floor between the ribs. No flex in the plywood at all. There is no reason to attach the foam to the hull. The plywood floor holds it down fine.

Plus at the end of the season I can pull it all out and clean it it very easily. I suppose a couple of strips of double sided adhesive velcro would work fine just to keep it in place if you wanted to do that.

I attached my plywood floor to the deck using industrial strength self adhesive velcro. I put 3 pieces on each rib. one on each end of the ribs where the floor and side of the hull meet and and one in the middle of each rib. each piece is 2" wide (same as the ribs) and 6 inches long. I put both pieces of velcro together and peeled off the adhesive backing on one side and stuck it to the rib and then peeled off the other side of the adhesive and laid the pywood on top of it so it would stick to the ply wood and walked around on it to get it seated. That velcro holds so good it takes 2 people to get the floor off of it. Now I don't have to worry about the plywood flying out of the boat while Im towing it down the highway or if I get bounced around on the water. I got my velcro at Home dep.

Thanks Skidz and Reedjj.....Reedjj you answered another question I had planned to post about how people are attacing their floors. I'm new to the game and have to start from scratch. Thanks again guys!

I plan on using pool noodles for flotation. I got the idea from someone on here. I did a quick google search, and it seems you can get a case of 24 for around $60. Each noodle is said to float 250lbs. I think 2 cases will be plenty for my 16'