Filling inflatable rib with two part foam? Has anyone done this or heard of it being

[harmarty]

I have an inflatable RIB Avon pic dinghy I am considering filling it with two part foam. Has anyone heard of this?thanks harry


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[Reefmagnet]

I read about someone that did this a long time ago. It was a disaster. It made the dinghy heavy and it fractured and crushed after a very short while.

[SkiprJohn]

Originally Posted by harmarty

I have an inflatable RIB Avon pic dinghy I am considering filling it with two part foam. Has anyone heard of this?thanks harry


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I had a friend that tried something similar. I'm not certain what he used but when he poured it in it melted the seams.

Anyway you could patch up what you have?

[gjordan]

A friend of mine did it, and said with the time and money spent, he should have bought a decent used one. And it was heavy. Not a great idea. Just my 2 cents worth. _____Grant.

[Cheechako]

Well, if you could successfully do it it wont sink! But you better have it sealed completely from water intrusion or it will migrate in the foam and you'll have an 800 pound dingy!
It may add 30-40 lbs to the boat also even with dry foam. If I remember right light foam is about 2.4# (?) per cubic foot...

[colemj]

We have cruising friends that did this. It added 80-90lbs of weight and within a year the foam had started to "melt" and deform badly. Really misshapen and almost not usable because the foam breaks and starts to hinge all over.

So if you want to spend a bit of money, add a lot of weight, and get a few months more life out of it - go for it!

BTW, if you do go for it (I recommend against), make sure you have experience with 2-part foam. This isn't a "mix it up and pour it in" thing - if you don't have experience with it, you will have a disaster and a mess of epic proportion.

Mark

[Nicholson58]

Originally Posted by harmarty

I have an inflatable RIB Avon pic dinghy I am considering filling it with two part foam. Has anyone heard of this?thanks harry


Sent from my iPad using Cruisers Sailing Forum

2-Part Urethane is an exothermic reaction. In thin pours, the heat can be dissipated. In a thick pour, it may become very hot and damage your RIB. In an extreme case, the curing foam billet can explode/rupture due to thermal stress.

Urethane is not absolutely water tight. It has a permeability and will eventually become water filled.

[UNCIVILIZED]

Do the math, based on your tube size & lengths. With 15" diameter tubes, at say 12' total per side, you're looking at 30cuft of foam, conservatively. And at 2lbs per...
What everyone else already said.