Pontoon boats (eg Stabicraft) - Does foam filling make them quieter?

[charleville]

I understand that pontoon boats such as Stabicraft can be a bit noisy when under way. Not sure if they are any more noisy than a standard aluminium boat but I could understand if they were because the pontoons might act like drums around the boat being hit all the time by water.

I have heard of people getting the pontoons filled with foam.

Has anybody the experience to know if that helps the noise issue, please?


BTW, I note from a US Patent document that foam filling of pontoons is not without its own problems as shown below ...

Due to the safety problems of punctured chambers the U.S. Coast Guard has implemented rigorous standards with which the boats under their jurisdiction must comply. One such regulation is the mandatory use of foam in the chambers to reduce the amount of water the chamber would take on in the event the chamber wall is punctured. There are many problems with foam injected chambers. First, it is very costly to inject foam into the chamber; the foam must be distributed evenly and the injection equipment is expensive to purchase and maintain. Secondly, If the foam filled chamber is punctured, repair of the chamber is difficult to impossible. It is somewhat difficult to remove the water that is soaked into the foam. Further, the aluminum wall that defines the chamber must be welded to recreate a sealed chamber and the heat from the welding process will melt the foam, creating noxious gas and leaving a portion of combusted foam no longer of use for floatation.

Reference: http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/6520107-description.html



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[Dan5]

Hey mate i've spent a bit of time in a stabi and an ocean cylinder and never thought that they were noisy compared to any other ally boat's my self.We had 4.5mtr rib on the roof of one of the boat's i used to work on and the owner filled it with foam it did'nt seem to have any ill effects on it for the 12 months i used it.Dan........

[joeT]

If noise is the only issue, I think some sound deadening material applied to the inner surfaces will probably help.

The noise is from the water splashing between the pontoons and the Vee and I can't imagine adding foam just to the pontoon would make it any quieter.

[fishing111]

I understand that pontoon boats such as Stabicraft can be a bit noisy when under way. Not sure if they are any more noisy than a standard aluminium boat but I could understand if they were because the pontoons might act like drums around the boat being hit all the time by water.

I have heard of people getting the pontoons filled with foam.

Has anybody the experience to know if that helps the noise issue, please?


BTW, I note from a US Patent document that foam filling of pontoons is not without its own problems as shown below ...

Due to the safety problems of punctured chambers the U.S. Coast Guard has implemented rigorous standards with which the boats under their jurisdiction must comply. One such regulation is the mandatory use of foam in the chambers to reduce the amount of water the chamber would take on in the event the chamber wall is punctured. There are many problems with foam injected chambers. First, it is very costly to inject foam into the chamber; the foam must be distributed evenly and the injection equipment is expensive to purchase and maintain. Secondly, If the foam filled chamber is punctured, repair of the chamber is difficult to impossible. It is somewhat difficult to remove the water that is soaked into the foam. Further, the aluminum wall that defines the chamber must be welded to recreate a sealed chamber and the heat from the welding process will melt the foam, creating noxious gas and leaving a portion of combusted foam no longer of use for floatation.

Reference: http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/6520107-description.html



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Another way to go would be to cut inspection hatches in the pontoon's. I think stabi's have a collar of 5 or 6 pontoon sections around the hull, so you would need 6 hatches fitted. Then you could get those foam noodles, and wrap them in builder's HD black plastic and slide them in until they are really firm, and that would take a hell of a lot of noise out of the pontoon's. It also has the effect of making the boat virtually unsinkable, in the event you holed a pontoon. The way the US Coast Guard would do it would not be as good in my book, as once it's pumped in there it may absorb water over time, it may also react with the aluminium if not wrapped in plastic, and you couldn't do any welding without making a right mess. You see plenty of post's in America where old boats from the 70-80's are opened up, and the foam inside is basically sludge.I believe the best method for a pontoon type boat, or any boat for that matter is foam wrapped in plastic, (moulded to fit of course), that can be inspected and be totally removed at any time. Bearing in mind what Mr Bean said about plywood floors and there pissy screws holding them down. If a boat turtled and was only held down by screws in rough seas, I wonder how long a plywood floor would stay in contact with the boat, there would be huge forces at play, and it would not be a great feeling watching the floor come up, the boat's foam scatter and boat obviously going down with only bit's of foam floating around once where your boat was:'(

[Smithy]

My Stabi is far from noisey underway. One thing I would do with all boats, both aluminium and glass is specify delux fitouts with carpet on every surface you can get it on. My current Stabi is fully lined inside and out, my Mclay was the same and it was also a quiet boat for a plate boat and a couple of the Seafarers I have been in were also decked out with carpet everywhere. Like JoeT alluded to I think that does the most for you. It has other benefits as well like when you sleep in the cabin in winter it minimises rolling over and touching a freezing cold surface and minimises condensation on the inside from your breath. Non-carpeted boats tend to get little beads of water on the inside of the cabin on cold winter nights.

[charleville]

These are all terrific answers, fellas.

Many thanks for your advice. :)

I have a Quinnie at this stage but there may be a Stabi in my future and like all things that I do, I research the topic to death for months before doing anything. It would be a shame to specify a boat's features and then find that I did not have the right information. You have corrected my understandings about foam filling.

Many thanks.

[Wayne Holland]

Although the American Coast Guard recommend foam.....they have certified the ACBs Aluminium Chambered Boats do not require foam.

Foam will most definitely quieten a boat particularly when it is going quick in heavy conditions which RBBs are designed to do.

The mob who make the noddle foam ( closed cell foam) that is being used extensively in Boat Building also make a "mat" that can be laid on the floor of the boat...Naiad have used it.

Foam will add extra weight to the boat.

An Aluminium boat with a flat dead rise of around 14 degrees will be a lot harder riding and bang more than a boat with a deeper V

Typhoon boats have just completed a 5.7 meter 19 degree dead rise RBB with foam in the floor and pontoons, by owners request . It adds roughly $1500 to the cost.