Delam help

I have read alot of current and old post on delam fixes, however why could you not use insulating foam instead of the methods that I have read it seems the other methods add alot of weight. This foam adheres very well to glass and foam and is firm when cured. When filled the normal method for plugging holes and then re-gelcoat. This may be crazy talk but I was thinking outside the box. This is a top deck issue, I worked in the water ski mfg industry years ago and worked with foam cores and lamanating tops and it seems the bonding of the top glass to the foam is the issue. As far as structure if the tops bonded to the foam this should create the stiff structure for strength. Someone with knowledge on this issue please help maybe with a HC it will not apply. This again may be crazy but I came across no one asking this fix solution. A different type of foam might be the answer not the canned variety. HELP the 76 in TX.

Several problems with foam...

Expands and pushes the structure apart and weakens it.

Too much foam will weaken the structure.

Insulation foam is not typically closed-cell and will hold water.

Not dense enough to support the structure.

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Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

Matt's right for sure, plus I've found on other projects the the foam will not cure inside of a closed area. Spray some inside of a pvc pipe and seal the ends, it will still be soft and gooey in a month

A friend of mine worked for a small fishing boat manufacturer years ago, when their marketing department decided they should go after some of the growing Laser/Sunfish little sailboat market. They thought if they filled the fiberglass hull with foam, the boat would be unsinkable. But no one in the company was an expert with foam, so they guessed about the best mixture and how to use it. The company actually sold quite a few of the boats, until temperature and humidity variations caused the foam to expand some more, and blew the hulls apart. They had to recall every single boat.

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What - Me Worry?


2006 Hobie Wave 7358
"Ish Kabibble"