Hello everyone, i am a lucky new owner of a 1970's(not sure exact year) solcat 18. its in pretty good shape with only 1 minor soft spot that i filled with resin. the one problem i am having is with nose diving in moderate to high winds (25-30kmh). upon looking into the hulls there appears to be old foam that looks waterlogged. the foam inst attached to anything and just kind of bounces around in the fore and aft sections of the hulls. what i am wondering is; is there any way to increase hull buoyancy?
if i removed the old foam and filled part of the hull cavity with pourable foam would it do anything?
any advice is welcomed!
Greatbigsea13
Hull Buoyancy Solcat 18
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Posted: Jun 09, 2011 - 12:46 PM
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Posted: Jun 09, 2011 - 12:53 PM
I don't believe the foam is original to the boat, probably added to try and deal with hull leak issues. Putting foam in the hulls almost always ends up that way, with heavy waterlogged foam that impedes performance. I would remove it and then do a leak test on the hulls and reseal. If they are water tight, there is no need for supplemental bouyancy in the hulls. My has pure fiberglass hulls and no foam anywhere. Filling the cavity with foam is a really bad idea.
Regards,
Dave
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Dave Bonin
1981 Nacra 5.2 "Lucile"
1986 Nacra 5.7 "Belle"
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
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Posted: Jun 09, 2011 - 01:24 PM
The foam has no bouyance unless the hull is full of water.
Hobie had foam blocks in some boats. Don't know about other brands.
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Ron
Nacra F18
Reservoir Sailing Assn.
Brandon, Mississippi
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Posted: Jun 09, 2011 - 02:28 PM
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Foam blocks are common on beachcats because manufacturers may need to follow coast guard or international regs regarding reserve buoyancy. Now like Ron said, that foam only provides buoyancy when the boat is sinking, which is it's purpose.
Removing a heavy nasty waterlogged foam block from inside your hull will remove weight which is good. But if you don't replace the reserve buoyancy, realize that your boat could sink if holed.
DON'T GO SQUIRTING EXPANDING FOAM INTO YOUR HULLS OR ANYWHERE ELSE ON A BEACHCAT!! (the stuff is heavy and absorbs water)
The Sol Cat is well known for needing a lightweight crew and diving dull to small hull volume. Crew weight or technique is probably your problem and not the foam block.
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Damon Linkous
1992 Hobie 18
Memphis, TN
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Posted: Jun 10, 2011 - 07:51 AM
Thanks for the advice, i will see if its even possible to remove the foam, if not i may just have to lose some weight lol. -
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Posted: Jun 15, 2011 - 01:44 PM
I have a Solcat 18 too and it has a few loose blocks of styrofoam bouncing around in the hulls. THey must have been original because they are too big to fit through the access holes. Mine aren't waterlogged so I've left them be. One good idea that I've heard is to buy a bunch of pool noodles and stuff them into the hulls through the access holes. They are lightwieght and they will help keep you afloat if a hull gets holed and you can always pull a few out if the wind dies and go swimming!
I think that pouring in expandable foam would ruin the boat.
Good luck!
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