Filling the hull with foam

Alim

New Member
Very new to the laser world. I was gifted an old model laser with a few issues and need some help.
The first issue I had with the boat was the deck was separating from the hull. I with some PL Premium and some pop rivets, I hastily put it together and put the boat in the water. After being tied to the dock For the weekend, I pulled it out and there was 5 inches of water in hull when looking through the stern inspection port. Not having the ability to repair it properly, can I fill the hull with foam to displace the volume of water that will enter the hull? I know it's not a fix, but a Band-Aid, will it work? And will it still sail as it should? Thanks. Please don't tear me apart. I know nothing.
 
As Randy Jackson once said, "That's gonna be a no from me dawg."

Adding foam to the entire hull will likely do these things:
1. It will probably blow the hull/deck apart due to the pressure it will exert during expansion.
2. You will still have water getting into the hull, only now it'll be lodged within thousands of pores within the foam itself.
3. Assuming #1 doesn't happen, you'll find the boat is more sluggish when sailing, as you've likely added a considerable amount of weight in foam.
4. If you want to do a proper repair in the future, it's going to be impossible to get all of that foam out.

Not a bad idea on paper, and if you want to try it anyway by all means feel free. It is just not something I would try on my own boat, no matter how beat up it is. There are a lot of threads on this forum about fixing common leak areas of the boat (bailer, hull/deck joint, and mast step) I would take a look at those and see if any of those methods could be applied to your boat. Best of luck.
 
Someone else asked the same question a few months ago, and the answer is still no! The boat won't be a Laser anymore, it will add a crazy amount of weight, and won't solve any leaks even. (I agree with bclark except I think it's a very bad idea even on paper.)

If the boat leaks while floating still in the water, then the problem is below the waterline. Bailer likely, centreboard opening possible. Need to investigate.

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