Floation - is some better than none?

TinBoats.net

Help Support TinBoats.net:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

aeviaanah

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 13, 2011
Messages
573
Reaction score
1
Location
Stanislaus County, CA
Just gettin to the point where I am going to add flotation to the boat. I have done the math and I need a ton of foam to meet required flotation. My question: is some flotation better than none? I keep telling myself its a dumb question but I need to ask. Seems like it will buy you more time if the boat is capsizing. But if its going down, its going down right?
 
No. Almost keeping a swamped boat afloat is the same as not keeping a swamped boat afloat.

Now, the difference could by made up in that on the day you may or may not swamp the boat, you could be running a lot lighter than a full load, but for all intents and purposes, it's an all or nothing deal.
 
agreed, if you don't have enough foam to displace the weight of the boat, all equipment and the boat full of water, there won't be any advantage. It will either float or sink. Look at a tennis ball, it floats, if you fill it with water it sinks as fast as a lead weight.
 
I agree that the PFD is the most important flotation. But a swamped boat and a capsized boat are different. With no flotation or inadequate flotation, they are both going down. But the capsized boat will normally have trapped air that will keep it up for at least some period of time.

How well do you swim ??? :wink:
 
$hit happens, but I've never seen a capsized tinny. How much insurance is too much? Some folks are insurance poor.
 
aeviaanah said:
I have a great pfd. I can also swim very well. I am concerned about losing my 15 hp motor I just purchased!
If you can swim, put the PFD on the motor. :LOL2: :wink:
 
Its kinda like being pregnant - Either you is or you isn't.

A boat in the water either floats or sinks. There is no half-way point.

When it comes to flotation, anything less than enough is the same as none. Sinking slowly ? Do you really want to have a time limit ?

Just .02 from a belt-and-suspenders kind of guy.
 

Latest posts

Top