When is flotation not flotation?

[dcurle]

...when it’s ballast!

We tackled the job of pulling out the old flotation from our DS1 today.

We pulled 130 pounds of the stuff from under the benches! And we haven’t even opened up the bow chamber yet.

We cut holes for 6” ports in the front of the benches, the surface facing the bow. Then started pulling out lengths of soggy 40-year-old styrofoam. I duck-taped the threaded end of a 3” hook to the end of a telescoping boat hook/pole, and used it to spear the blocks of foam that were all the way in and unreachable by hand.

I thought I’d post the pictures here, since it took me a long time to figure out what this job entailed. Maybe these pics will help some future new DS owner:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidcurle ... 661610522/

We’re letting the chamber dry up and then we’ll re-pack it with swim noodles as others have done.

[kokko]

Yep - that's how the job is done! It was good of you to post the pics. My wife and I noted Truelove floated higher in the water after the foam replacement.

[pnichols]

David

Thanks for the great post. I have not tackled this yet as I am still working my way through the myriad of restore jobs. Working on reconditioning the mast at present.

But pic's like you posted here are of great help. I was considering whether to go for the 4" or 6" access port but after seeing your pictures I decided the 6" was best. It fits well and creates a larger opening to pull out the old foam.

Thanks Again

[Peterw11]

130 lbs!....I believe it.

It's also on my "to do" list.

After 40 years, it's clear my DS1 has put on a little weight as well. I beached mine at the lake and after dragging it up on the sand all summer, it's got to be the heaviest 575 pound object I've ever experienced.

She's coming out of the water this week and I'd love to get that foam removed before the cold weather really hits. That'll give her all winter to dry out.

[dcurle]

I'd definitely recommend 6" ports rather than 4". It was hard enough to maneuver things around with the bigger hole.

And pull out the old foam before installing the port rim, that gives you a slightly bigger hole to work with.

[phil]

I have an '82 DSII which feels heavy. How common is the saturated flotation problem?

[MrPlywood]

Thanks for the pics. Very helpful. When you get around to installing the noodles I would appreciate a noodle count. I think others have posted their total, just curious what yours will be.

If anyone comes across a good online source for pool noodles, please pass it along. I was not able to find any decent sales up here (Victoria, BC) at the end of the season so they still wanted a pretty penny for them. I could get them straight from China but I don't know what I'd do with the other 2,000 I would have to order

[algonquin]

I could get them straight from China but I don't know what I'd do with the other 2,000 I would have to order

You could send them to all your friends at DaySailer.org Brad

[dcurle]

If anyone comes across a good online source for pool noodles, please pass it along.

Here's the best deal I was able to find in a few minutes of searching http://www.flaghouse.com/-item-8052 24 for $57.95 plus about $10 shipping. I haven't looked around town yet, someone suggested a dollar store.

[jpclowes]

I found mine at the local Dollar General store for about a buck a piece. It was off season. Keep an eye out, you will find them.

[seandwyer]

Phil,

It seems from what everyone says that it is very common. I haven't replaced mine yet either, but recently I removed the plugs in the benches and the keelson. Water poured out of the keelson and I pumped as much of the remainder out (that which lies beneath the level of the drain hole - I'm not sure how they came up with that stupid design!) but can't really get it completely dry. I'm pretty sure the water in there is from a torrential rainstorm this summer that caught me off guard and pretty much filled the cockpit before I could get home and cover it up with a tarp.

When I removed the plugs in the benches nothing came out, but I stuck my finger in and sure enough, the foam was wet - so I think my flotation is pretty much par for the course to everyone else's. I'm going to remove mine and replace it either next month or in the spring depending on noodle availability. I'm looking forward to a hopefully lighter boat making it easier to get on and off the trailer.

Maybe once we all get this stuff changed out we will all find it was the key to being able to plain or not to plain!!

[seandwyer]

OH - and DCURLE, please do post more pictures as you cut into the bow tank and when you replace with noodles. You have really given me a good idea of what this entails - you have a good illustrative eye with the camera!

[Steve B]

Allow me to throw my 2 cents in on this topic as someone who just completed the noodle-treatment a few weeks back.

First, I installed 4" inspection ports in the usual places (front of each seat & back of bow tank) because I thought it would look better than the 6" or larger ports. This was tight....REALLY tight. It can be done, but I would strongly recommend 6".

This is especially true for the bow tank. Once I cut the hole for the port, I was faced with a solid wall of foam - running ACROSS the boat as opposed to oriented lengthwise with the boat like the seats. What that meant was that I had to slice little 3" chunks off of each block (small enough to come out of the hole) until had enough room to rotate the blocks inside the tank to pull them out whole. This would go a lot faster & with less pain with larger ports. Enough said on that.

My boat & my technique were not significantly different than the other posters, so at the end of the project, I had used 76 noodles. I was able to buy 80 of them between two local Dollar Tree stores - $1 each.

From the practical side, that's all I have to offer on the subject.

From the entertainment side, I can tell you that this project is what led me to finally choosing a name for the boat. Since I was out buying up noodles at the end of our short summer season, my choices were quite limited. All that was left were red & pink noodles. So...because she's now firm on the outside and red & pink on the inside, she's now known as "Medium Rare."

(Not to mention that I've now set myself up for at least my next two boats: next should be Medium Well...and once I can really get it right...I'll need a boat named Well Done. I can hear all those jealous folks on the dock saying "Well done, Steve....Well done!" as I sail up in my 40+' sloop).

[ctenidae]

Steve B wins. Medium Rare. I like it. Especially the progression to Well Done.

I know a guy named Furst who has a trimaran named Furst Tri. He now no longer has the best boat name.

[GreenLake]

I recently did the bow flotation. Here are some pictures. I used a drill and a sanding drum attachment on a drill to cut the hole. That went surprisingly well, so that I'm not going to bother about hole-cutting saws. My foam was packed lengthwise. I used Styrofoam for building insulation because I had some left over that wasn't doing me any good in my garage. With the port, I can monitor and replace it, so I felt that even if it's a tad less waterproof than pool noodles, that wouldn't be critical.

(Cutting strips was a bit of a mess but a really sharp hand saw worked for me).

The bottom of it felt moist through the drain hole, and the foam was waterlogged to about 1/2 the total height. (The foam under my seats does not feel moist, and not all that heavy when I lift it, so I'll postpone dealing with it.)