: Dear Kayak enthusiasts: What type of spray foam would be best for filling in
: enclosed areas that are not used and where one wants to accomplish two
: functions, These are: 1) Add bouyancy to the boat
: 2) Keep water out once capsized

: Thanks
: rdm

Your goals can be accomplished by installing bulkheads in your boat. Trapped air creates bouyancy. (Foam is bouyant because of all the little air pockets in it.) As others have already noted, expanding foam isn't a good idea. You don't need to cut hatches in your hull if you're not planning to haul cargo, but putting either an inspection port or a breather hole in the bulkhead would be a good idea. One option would be to make bulkheads out of 3 inch mincell foam. In an earlier thread a couple months ago, someone (Paul Jacobson? was that your idea?) described how to make a removable bulkhead that is a smaller plywood core sandwiched between two larger diameter pieces of foam with a handle protruding from the middle of it, sized so that it will fit snugly into place like a plug.

Julie Kanarr