Need extra buoyancy for starcraft Islander

[huller]

Hi everyone ,
I am new here. I need help to increase the bouncy for Islander
Please help me to choose correct method for this fishing boat.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, huller.

[Yetii]

It's too heavy? Floating unevenly? Please clarify why you want to do this? I have the close cousin to that boat, a Sylvan 22 offshore. These things are light as a cork! I added weight in the bow to improve the ride.

[capt jgw]

Are you trying to increase buoyancy or flotation? They're completely different things. Buoyancy is a function of hull shape. A particular shape of hull will displace a certain amount of water and nothing can change that. If that displaced water weighs more that the boat, the boat will float. Decreasing boat weight will cause the boat to float higher, but that's not changing the buoyancy, it's just using less of it to float the boat. If you're looking to increase freeboard, decreasing weight is the only way to do it. Adding foam to a hull increases its weight and actually makes it float lower. The foam only works if the hull is full of water, by decreasing the amount of water the hull can hold, thereby decreasing it's total weight to a point where the hull's buoyancy can support it.
If you're trying to increase flotation to keep the boat from sinking if flooded, then adding closed cell foam will do it.

[seahag]

Agree with what Capt. JGW wrote. It's really easy to add floatation if that's what you want. I also have a Sylvan which had a fair amount of foam underneath some of the compartments. I modified the boat somewhat, and added some foat underneath the new stuff, simple to just fit and glue in place. But that won't help the boat be more buoyant until it's full of water. That's why it has a bilge pump and a drain plug.