foam pads inside 2013 Revo hulls

I see these 2 foam pads around the seating area inside the hull in my R 11, but only 1 in my R13. When I asked my dealer, he said it was probably stuffed in there to add support during shipping.

They interfered with mounting a handle right behind the seat from within (had to switch frim nuts to rivets).

Should I request a pad to match the lone pad in my R13 hull? Thanks.

The foam is "Positive Flotation" as a safety measure.

The foam amount an location varies by model, so no need to add more to the 13. We sometimes use it as a dual function for supporting seat or side rail areas on specific models.

Dealers should know this stuff.

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

Hello Matt,

How many blocks of foam are there supposed to in a Revo 11?

Just curious...

It adds rigidity to the hull. The small amount of cubic inches will do next to nothing in terms of flotation if the hull fills with water.

So what happens if you remove it all?

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Removal of ALL the foam negates the "Positive Flotation" Matt Miller noted earlier.
Don't mess with removing the foam....some owners have added extra pool noodles inside their hulls to increase the flotation just in case something happened that caused the hull to fill with water.
Guys who fish off shore or on larger bodies of water tend to be more cautious than the average user about flotation.

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Dr.SteelheadCatcher
Warrenton, OR

Anybody who has helped rescue a kayak which is full of water and doesn't have any flotation in it tends to be more cautious than the average user about flotation. I slide a lot of pool noodles into my kayaks. In addition to providing flotation, they can be used to keep gear from sliding into areas where you can't reach it from any hatch.

I do like the idea of using noodles to increase +floatation. I've started using my boat for adventure kayaking, so the extra flotation will ease my mind when loaded with my gear.

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Longbikermike
Valle Vista, CA

So all that extra foam under the new Outback seat is there to support the new floor design that no longer has the two hourglass shaped scupper tubes that acted as structural supports for the older model seating area, is that correct?