First Post; Lurked Plenty: Adding Hull Buoyancy To A Vhull 14 Foot - Looking For Ideas/Suggestions

A thought that came to me after I hit post

Tow an inflatable "supply barge". Deflated it would fit in the 14ft'r.

 

Last year I used 3 inflatables for 20 each from Amazon. My friends where to scared to put gear in them, so they rode in them instead. There was about 1 1/2 foot waves and boy was that **** funny. 1 started to deflate on the original journey and another popped a few days in. Every day in the woods the loads get lighter so it worked out but I'm trying to find something more permanent.

Any sites you know of that carry affordable rigid inflatables for a reasonable price? Normally rigid inflatables are pretty expensive.

 

If it was me I would just get a bigger boat. Meyers makes nice boats and I am familiar with them having tested them for compliance with Fed Regs back in the 90's. But small boats have a specific maximum weight capacity and exceeding that involves a lot of risk. Some good ideas have been floated here, such as towing another boat whether rigid or inflatable, as a cargo boat. Canoers do that quite frequently. however, a tip. I saw this on pinterest but now I can't find it. A man built a set of outriggers using PVC pipe and beer coolers. He put the frame of PVC over the width of the boat and fastened the coolers to act as both storage and pontoons. He effectively increased the load capacity and the stability at the same time. Might work with a 14 foot boat.

 

Lol, hey IKE! I have actually had conversations with you in the past from your website directly. I have also stumbled across a lot of posts on this forum over time, with tons of useful information so thank you for that.

As of right now I am trying to source cheaper supplies from alibaba.com for either foam type pontoons covered in PVE or some other type of flotation secured to my boat like ocean wire floats. I have calculated the buoyancy of PVC before and using 6 or 12 inch pipes to make a pontoon is far more money then I feel it is worth with how much they weigh themselves.

But realistically I feel like I would get harassed by rangers/the coast guard more then I would like during the life of my boat, to take one of those more obvious jimmy rigged looking routes.

Currently I am looking for:
A 10ft aluminum boat (I called the highway patrol and they said hauling boats stacked is legal as long as it stays under the trailers weight limit and the load is secure, similar to hauling anything else on the highway).
Calling around for quotes at local weld shops to add flotation pods on the rear or sides or even possibly just cut my boat in two and weld on 2-3 more feet in the mid/stern area, I am actually a certified MIG welder but I hated TIG so much in school I regrettably ignored it. I know for a fact I couldn't make a water tight weld with TIG.
I just bought a 20hp motor from a guy that had a rigid inflatable, he was talking about throwing out because mice chewed some holes in it, it is only 3 years old and barely used, just like the motor. so I plan on looking into that to see if it is something I can patch to make use of, he just wasn't willing to pull it out yet, it's still pretty cold up here.

I also plan on filling the bench seat cavities with 2 part 2.2lb buoyancy foam to increase my swamp rating and safety.

I totally understand the best thing would just be buy a bigger boat. But I have put so much time/money and effort into the solar panel, lighting, fuses, circuit breakers, wires, control panel, etc etc etc, I definitely do not want to start over. I love my little frankenturd and honestly turning into a tri-hull with smaller removable aluminum pontoons one day is the goal.

 

Expansion foam could lead to aluminum corrosion. If there is sufficient access to the buoyancy chambers, I would use materials that could be removed between trips.

 

Can or will? Could you elaborate a bit more please? If it's definitely a known issue, I could just pack that full of noodles. No there's no really good access to it. On the bottom corner of each seat there is a few inches of the corners missing, about enough too fit your hand in and let water pass. I planned on leaving the water channels open and closing the holes with plywood during the filling process then just removing any excess.

 

I think what he is referring to is expansion foam's tendency to absorb water. Doesn't always happen, but it happens often enough to be a real problem. It is well documented. I even participated in a research project done by ABYC on that problem. The way to get around that is to use block foam. It doesn't have that problem because it is made under very tight specifications and close cell is closed cell. The other way is to bag it. Put a large bag of polyvinyl in the chamber and shoot the foam into the bag. The foam will still expand to fill the compartment but it will have a barrier between it and any water that gets in. However that does not stop water intrusion from causing corrosion. You need to seal the compartment (good luck with that), or put a drain in the bottom. If the flotation boxes are out of the bilge, say under seats, then not a problem. Everything stays dry.

 

OK that makes sense, I actually knew it did that and forgot about that. It definitely wouldn't stay dry for the last few inches by the floor under the seats. The compartment isn't sealed and pretty much any water that needs to pass to the back to get pumped out gets stuck in that area, probably the most annoying thing about the boat is draining the water, when it rains etc because of how the water channels are. I can't fit any type of rigid foam into the cavity without cutting a huge hole into the benches. So I am thinking packing it with noodles would probably be the cheapest way to fix this problem. I know those will absorb some water too if exposed to it long enough but checking the bottom few every now and again and replacing them isn't really cost prohibitive.

Here is another question. Now we are talking a bit more of water in the boat. Is there any thing I can add or buy to get rid of the swarm of flies in the boat after a few days of the standing water? I can never get all the water out unless the sun cooks it out or the boat is out of the water completely. But the small puddle left swirling around seems to be a fly breeding ground in the woods. Any tricks you guys have heard or used yourself to reduce this?

Ohh one more thing, is there a place you guys buy your boat information panels from? The one attached to the boat, you are not supposed to paint over, then try to wire brush clean to realize it is just printed on and now still unreadable..

 

Doesn't this boat have a drain plug? If not, buy one and install it as low in the transom as possible. Then when you take the boat out of the water, pull the plug. Just don't forget to put it back in before you put the boat in the water. It can be very embarrassing. Some have a chain so they are always attached to the boat. Mine doesn't so I always keep a spare with my boat keys, plus that long ago I asked my wife to remind me to check the plug and she is really good about it.

Do you mean Labels?

 

Yeah the labels with the boat SN, make, model etc.

It came with a wine cork and was bored out from the previous owner. I fashioned a not so easy to remove brass pipe end cap with a gasket to be water tight and just cranked it in there. I normally only take it out when trailered.

But now I bought a new motor, I don't need the bilge pump submerged in the water to supply my engine with cold water. The motor that came with the boat was so old and a Japanese model no one could find parts or even had record of the engine SN. So I replaced the impeller with a bilge pump attached to a pipe on the rear of the boat to cycle water for the engine, it's worked for 3 years now. So without that attached, I could just fully shore it again and pull the plug.

 

Okay; the foam idea inside the boat reduces buoyancy until you fill with water. Not sure where that idea is coming from....

I take a 10' fishing boat into a backwaters and it is just not quite big enough. We use a large 60" rugged inflatable designed for pleasure tubing. It has handholds we use for ties and is designed for towing. Cost for a larger quality tube is a bit high, but sure packs out ez. We put two coolers on it duct taped shut. This way, if shtf, the coolers still float and the contents stay dry, ftmp.

I take a 16' canoe into a lake for gillnetting and it is a two trip operation. Two one mile paddles.

A 14 foot boat would be best supported by a tow boat or tow tube. Second is a bigger boat.

None of the other ideas make economic or even practical sense, imo.

 

The foam in the boat is only to increase swamp rating, so yes if the boat fills with water. I am going to meet with a local weld shop next week to get an idea what he can fab and weld onto my boat. This is no longer about practical or economic sense. It is just me making my boat exactly how I need it to be. You know how many times I have been asked verbatim " IS THAT A FUCKIN SOLAR PANEL!!!?!?!?!?!?!" while cruising around the local harbor and river and literally anywhere I have ever launched my boat. I guess thats what happens when you have a 4ft x 3ft solar panel on a 14ft boat.

 

Here is my boat pics for anyone asking the question why. I think the answer: because I want to, is obvious.

Imgur https://imgur.com/a/6sJamlr There is also a group of 3 headlights on the bow of the boat, I forgot to take a picture of.

 

That is a big solar panel! If all else fails you could use it as a sail. Just kidding.
labels. I doubt you can get another label from the manufacturer. But who knows. Their website is Meyers Boat Company - Official home of Meyers boats, Michicraft and Sportspal canoes, Snark sailboats, Seacycle waterbikes, and Walden kayaks https://www.meyersboat.com
The Hull Id Number is (or should be ) on the transom in the upper right hand corner (right hand from outside facing the transom) Although in the pics I see a block of wood there. You may have covered it, but take a look. It will be a twelve digit number starting with MEY. If the boat is older than 1972 it won't have one unless the state of Ohio has assigned one. the HIN should also be on the registration. You don't need it on the label. You can actually make a label yourself. It's not difficult, and it's legal. All you need is the numbers to put on the label, an inkjet printer, and some laminating plastic. Here's a link. Boat Building Projects | Building the FL12 | Page 2 http://newboatbuilders.com/pages/fl12-2.html Its at the bottom of the page after the chart, under Making A Label. where you see my name at the bottom of the label put MEYERS BOAT COMPANY, ADRIAN MI. Meyers gives the capacities of various models on their website.

 

It is pretty limited for sure, two would be enough for that boat, rather than buy another small boat, I'd think selling this one and buying another larger boat would seem the better idea.