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BassBlaster

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I remember a year or so ago, someone did a test with the blue and pink foam boards where a piece was weighed and then submerged for several days and then weighed again. If I remember correctly, one of them absorbed a small bit of water and the other didnt absorb anything. Anyone remember that thread or the results? I cant seem to find that thread. For the life of me, I cant seem to use the search feature on this site efectively.(I absolutely love this site, but hate the search feature) I got my steelflex done today and will be painting in the next few days, so I'll be ready to start decking within a week. Need to know which foam to get.
 
That stuff costs more than my boat.

I'm talking about the foam board they sell at the BORG. There was a debate a year ago about which was better so someone did a test. I'm thinking pink won but cant remember.
 
BassBlaster said:
That stuff costs more than my boat.

I'm talking about the foam board they sell at the BORG. There was a debate a year ago about which was better so someone did a test. I'm thinking pink won but cant remember.

Yeah, my post didn't come out right. I just posted that link to show that the blue board is what they use in marine applications.
 
Jig, thanks, your post makes since now.

Yes thats the thread I was talking about. Thanks for linking it up. For the life of me, I cant operate the search feature here and actually find what I'm looking for, lol.
 
how about the foam that is white foam that has blue backing on one side and silver on the other? i have a bunch of that in 1" left over from a previous project.
 
I used the blue on the floor and side walls of my boat after looking at both in the big box retailers. The blue is more dense than the pink, whether or not that has anything to do with bouyancy/water retention, I don't know, but it looked better to me. Incidentally, I needed it to be 1.5 thick and found it at a local building supply company (not HD or Lowes).

I bought the pink in 1/2" to use on the sides of my livewell. Not so much to provide insulation (which may be an added benefit) but to snug up the fit of the livewell in my bench.

I never thought to do a comparison between the two because they aren't the same thickness. I think I still have some of both if anyone want's me to do a test on either one.
 
I used regular old white styrofoam board from HD. Everyone says that it will soak up water but I never did. I also made my floor removable so if I did have to replace it it would have been easy. I stacked 2 foam boards on top of each other to get them level with the ribs. They supported the plywood floor great between the ribs. No sag at all.

I had the boat for 7 months and it sat outside the entire time in Fl (so you know it got rained on). When I sold it the foam board was dry and as light as it was the day I bought it.

If I had kept it I would have replaced the foam with the pink stuff though.

That probably does not help you any...Sorry!
 
I got it all figured out now. I'm going with the blue stuff.

Brine, thanks for the heads up on the building supply store. I also will be needing it in 1 1/2" so I guess I'll just not waste my time at the BORG.
 
BassBlaster said:
I got it all figured out now. I'm going with the blue stuff.

Brine, thanks for the heads up on the building supply store. I also will be needing it in 1 1/2" so I guess I'll just not waste my time at the BORG.

Back when I was looking for it, I thought someone on here had said they found it at HD; however, none of the stores within a 50 mile radius carried it in Atlanta. I couldn't remember which member had said it or what part of the country they lived in, but after doing the research, I found that the 1.5 is used primarily in commercial applications and is why no one stocked it and of course, no one wanted to special order 1 sheet for me. In your search via the internet or on the phone, the term folks in the indursty use for it is... "foam sheathing" and if I'm not mistaken, the only mfg of the blue is DOW.

Hope that helps.
 
Blue is made by DOW. Pink is made by Owens Corning. Green is made by Greenguard or BASF.

For 1-1/2" you have to go to a contractor yard. Most if not all contractor yards carry 1-1/2" and 2" foam. It's used to insulate foundations. For you guys around bigger cities, try something like an 84 Lumber or try your local contractor yard. The big box stores (Lowes, Home Depot, Menards, etc.) wont' carry it.
 
Thanks for the help guys. I do have an 84 Lumber here in town and a Carter Lumber just down the street so I'll try those places first.



SVOMike86 said:
BassBlaster said:
I hate the search feature
BLASPHEMER! You take it back! On another note, thanks for bringing up the foam question, gotta tackle the same issue shortly... :wink:

Sorry, I can't do it, lol. I absolutely love this site and the people here. I spend more time here than any other site on the net. I'm also on a local fishing forum and everytime someone has a tin boat question, my first reply is check out TinBoats.net!! I have referred a lot of folks here and will continue to do so but that dosnt change my opinion about the search feature here, lol. Also, there may not be a thing wrong with the search feature. It could be entirely me. I'm a little slow figureing these type things out!!

My biggest complaint is that the search is so general. I type in a keyword and it will find every post in the entire site where that word is mentioned. On other sites search features, you actually select a specific forum before doing a search so you are only searching that forum then it will bring up each thread that mentions your keyword rather than each post. Here, you could have an entire page of results from the same thread. Just makes searching a lot more time consuming for me. Again, it could entirely be me.

Did I mention I love this site!!!
 
Been thinking about using the foam board as well. I'm considering getting some of the blue or pink stuff(Foamular) in 1.5" thickness to cover the floor between the ribs of my flatbottom Lowe Big Jon and then placing some FRP (fiberglass reinforced plastic/paneling) over the top of it for use as a floor. I would then get some 3M non-skid tape to put down sparingly to help with the slick surface.

Has anyone else tried this? I just can't stand the thought of putting heavy plywood in my boat as a floor. And aluminum is just too expensive.
 
Fish, check and see if you have a construction safety rental place near by. I went to a place called PSI, they rent arrow boards and road cones and what not. I asked if they had some old signs they couldnt use anymore that I could purchase. They gave me an entire skid of old road signs, most of them in perfect condition. Thats what I plan to use for all of my flooring. Someone else here purchased a highway sign from the street department in thier town and used it as well.
 
Those signs are all aluminum? Sounds like a plan. I have my front deck cut out of 3/4" ply already, but if I could get a 4X6' sheet of aluminum I'd gladly redo it. Whats the normal thickness of it??
 
Yes, they are all aluminum. I checked the thickness with my dial indicater when I got them. Cant remember what it was exactly. They are just shy of 1/8" though.
 

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