flotation / displacement formula

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george

I'm considering adding positive foam flotation to my Oday 222(approx. dimensions 22' x 8' 2200 lbs.) There is room under the berths which is fairly acessible. Does anyone know a good source for closed cell foam and how much (in cubic feet) would be needed to provide adequate flotation under swamped conditions? Thanks
 
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Ken Cobb

skeptical

I am not sure that anything fitting under the berths would be "flotational" enough to offset a swamped boat and cabin. At that point the boat would be displacing more than 2200 lbs., because it also would have the extra water in the cabin. I will be interested to hear further comments on this.
 
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Bill O'Donovan

Cheer up

It sounds like you've gotten discouraged reading "Hard up," the thread of postings about running aground. Seriously, we're all curious what your motivation is.
 
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Garry @ S/V TASHTEGO

Foam

Sea water has a density just under 65 pounds per cubic foot. You can probably get a foam weighing about 5 pounds per cubic foot which will give a net buoyancy of about 60 lbs/cu ft. For your 2200 lb boat almost 40 cubic feet of foam would be required. Denser foam will require a larger volume. This will only allow the boat to float with decks awash and the hull and cockpit full of water. In bad weather waves would be breaking right over the boat and the risk of being swept off the boat would be very high. This amount of flotation would be about 2' x 2' x 5' on each side of the boat. Spray on, conforming foam rather than rigid foam is probably your best bet. Don't worry about the water in the boat, it has the same density as the water outside and doesn't weigh anything when submerged. The alternative is an inflatable bag of about the same volume and a CO2 bottle to inflate it. Don't use your life raft because if it doesn't work you will have lost both the boat and the raft.
 
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Peter Roach

Are you interested in saving you or the boat <EOM>

Are you interested in saving yourself or the boat? If it is you a life raft stored on the deck is a much better alternative.
 
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