what is this

Discussion in 'Fiberglass and Composite Boat Building' started by gainey, Jun 29, 2013.

  1. gainey
    Joined: Jun 2013
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    gainey New Member

    Hi everyone,

    as I was taking the floor out, I notice under it was like a foam susbstance almost like honey comb is this asbestos??? I am not sure and very new..
    also should I take the foam out , as the floor is very wet and so is the foam. IMG_0265[1].jpg

    IMG_0266[1].jpg
     
  2. Petros
    Joined: Oct 2007
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    Petros Senior Member

    not asbestos, looks like what is left of a real beehive. Is it waxy by any chance? Otherwise might be fragments of a nomex honeycomb core material, the color is right for it. the nomex core is a plastic/cardboard looking substance.

    If is is all saturated, take it out. Nothing good will come from anything, no matter what it was before it fell apart, that holds moisture inside the hull. might have been bonded to the bottom of the floor panels to stiffen it? what kind of boat, size, hull material, etc?
     
  3. gainey
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    gainey New Member

    boat

    the boat is a pride 17ft fibre glass, in the hull it is fibre glass, then the foam stuff under the floor not sure of the year or anything as I labels and plates are warn down and cannot make it out,
     
  4. waikikin
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    waikikin Senior Member

    Hi Gainey,

    most likely some 2 part expanding pour in foam... like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0LZcZXu68Q

    Not to say you cant get asbestos in old boats, sometimes asbestos flock was mixed with resin to make filler, also found on exhaust lagging, engine gaskets. Mostly before 1980 or so. Found some sheet on an old Pearl Lugger around the stove a few months ago.
    Jeff.
     
  5. CDK
    Joined: Aug 2007
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    CDK retired engineer

    To me this looks like some polyurethane resin around a shard of timber that someone left there assuming nobody would ever see it.

    I once bought a new sports car that made erratic noises on uneven roads. The dealer tightened all fasteners and liberally used silicone, but the noise remained.
    Only when I removed some upholstery to install speakers I found a handful of caps from German beer bottles in a hollow compartment!
     
  6. PAR
    Joined: Nov 2003
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    PAR Yacht Designer/Builder

    I see both bits of wood and some open cell foam. Depending on the year of the boat, this once was a common form of floatation.

    It will absorb moisture, so you'll have to hack it out of there. It comes out easy, with a knife or pretty much any tool, though a hand saw offers some control, to get against the hull, bend the blade to conform to odd shapes and isn't running fast enough, to do much damage, like a power tool can. Remove it in chunks, grind the areas clean and start again, preferably with a closed cell polyurethane foam.
     
  7. Petros
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    Petros Senior Member

    I heard a similar story about 40 years ago of someone buying a new Ford. they would hear a double "clunk, clunk!" every time they closed the door. It did not sound right so they took it back to the dealer. The mechanic removed the interior door panel and found an empty soft drink bottle rolling around inside the bottom of the door. Maybe the caps ended up in your car!
     
  8. PAR
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    PAR Yacht Designer/Builder

    Anyone that's done some remodeling (land or marine) will find all sorts of stuff. I recently found a 30 year old pair of vice grips, left in a wall from a previous repair. About a decade ago, I found an old Coors can with the punch dot top on it, in a concrete wall that was cut for a doorway. I don't know when they stopped the old punch dot top cans, but it wasn't any time recently.
     

  9. waikikin
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    waikikin Senior Member

    I found my own pair of vice grips a few years down the track... still gripping the last nut on a pushpit..
     
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