Removing foam out of Quintrex Runabout

[IIGnomeII]

Hi All,

I have a 4.5m 2009 Quintrex runabout with metal paneling around the port and starboard hull. After digging out the rusted in screws and getting the panels off I found that the builders have filled the voids with packing foam I assume for flotation reasons in the case of a capsize.
Due to the very limited floor space and storage around the boat I am trying to come up with ways to store gear.

Is there any risk in removing some of this foam so I can build in some storage solutions? Has anyone done something similar I can see your pictures of?

Also the boat has a sub floor fuel tank and there may be options for some storage around it which I have seen on other boat sales of the similar model. Anyone done something similar there?

Cheers for any responses!

[Crocodile]

Hello IIGnomeII,

Think very carefully before removing that foam.

Most tinny's have inadequate positive flotation and will sink like a stone or roll inverted when flooded.
Foam under the gunnels is intended to prevent the capsize.
If you are that short of storage maybe that is nature's way of telling you that you are taking too much stuff.
4.5m boats have plenty of room for storage boxes etc.
I once tested my 12 foot tinny by taking off the motor and replacing that weight with house bricks.
It was a well regarded brand and it sank like a stone, I was much more careful after that.

[stevej]

Quintrex fits the minimum required to achieve the flotation requirements

I wouldn’t be touching it

But then I have a fear of having to swim to save myself which next to no can do

[Noelm]

I guess to put it another way, foam is like life jackets, seat belts, fire extinguishers and insurance, none of them are needed, until they are! the foam serves no purpose at all, UNTILL the poo hits the fan, then you will wish you had double the amount.

[chris69]

Yer what the others have said don't do it your the skipper and your the one they will put in jail if something goes wrong out on the water.

[IIGnomeII]

Cheers all for the responses.
I did figure that the consensus would be to leave it alone, just trying to work out ways to fit gear around the boat that won't get in the way.
Might need to get creative some other way

[Chimo]

Hi

Sounds like you have a couple of options.

Take less gear ( too hard, I know)
Buy a bigger boat. (best option IMHO)

Where are you located, its not showing on your avatar.

Chimo

[banshee]

Maybe you can have your cake and eat it too..........I know I got a lot more foam in a tinnie I bought new years ago.When I pulled up the floor for the first time There were a lot of gaps so I filled them and shaped foam to fit snug to the curves up the bow.There is a formula of how much a cubic metre of foam will float,work out how much you need to be legal and start shaping it to fit the places that the factory leave empty then see what space your left with......might work might not.

[gazza2006au]

Can we see this metal panelling i am quiet lost as to how its laid out in a modern hull i am picturing from the gunnels to the floor..

Sounds almost as if someone has added this to your hull quintrex as far as im aware dont use panels on port and starboard sides..

If it has been added that alone could be excess weight that may sink the hull

I have owned a couple older quintrex's and the only foam was under the seats in a fishabout but my bigger quintrex had foam under the floor and under the gunnels

Sent from my SM-G900I using Ausfish mobile app

[Moonlighter]

For a while at one stage Quintrex got all caught up in the safety hyperbole and started offering models that had “level” floatation ratings, rather than the more common “basic” floatation (boat floats when swamped but not necessarily upright).

What level floatation standard required, was foam up the sides and under the gunnels, which effectively destroyed the normally expected side pocket storage area found in most boats. That area was covered with alloy panels to hold the foam in place.

I dont think they have continued to do that now because of the backlash from fishers about the lack of places to store the normal fishing paraphernalia that we all stash in the side pocket areas.

Removing the side foam would likely alter the floatation of the boat back to “basic”.

[gazza2006au]

Thanks for that Moon i personally have never seen it before

Sent from my SM-G900I using Ausfish mobile app

[bluefin59]

For a while at one stage Quintrex got all caught up in the safety hyperbole and started offering models that had “level” floatation ratings, rather than the more common “basic” floatation (boat floats when swamped but not necessarily upright).

What level floatation standard required, was foam up the sides and under the gunnels, which effectively destroyed the normally expected side pocket storage area found in most boats. That area was covered with alloy panels to hold the foam in place.

I dont think they have continued to do that now because of the backlash from fishers about the lack of places to store the normal fishing paraphernalia that we all stash in the side pocket areas.

Removing the side foam would likely alter the floatation of the boat back to “basic”.

Bluefin did the same thing for a while , mine was pre that idea

[Moonlighter]

Bluefin did the same thing for a while , mine was pre that idea

I think that some marketing boffin decided that the safety angle would win sales big time for them ....

Only thing is they forgot to ask the people that actually go fishing in their boats... just a minor tactical error...

[gaz066]

just use the storage area you want , build boxes etc and just relocate the removed foam to somewhere else in the boat , problem solved

[billfisher]

I think that some marketing boffin decided that the safety angle would win sales big time for them ....

Only thing is they forgot to ask the people that actually go fishing in their boats... just a minor tactical error...

Well it's worth having (level floatation), especially if you are going offshore. There have been a few accidents with boats hitting whales and sinking for instance. I'm actually retrfitting my 5.4m glass boat with level floation. I have done the calculation and there is enough room under the outboard well, gunnels, and bow area to fit it all without interfering with storage.