Foam Supply

MultiHulls General Discussions (MultiHull/MultiOne)
1

On a related note for multihull builders, but open for monohull builders as well, I wanted to advise we are currently in the process of adding on a large addition to our jail facilities. :shock:

What this means, is that as 2-3 inch thick extruded foam insulation is installed for our cold climate, lots of cut-offs will become available for my pickup. I met with our Capital Facilities Planning group and looked at the construction specs, and was pleased to find the architect specified high density 25 lb./psi strenght stuff. I am told by the project engineer, you can walk on it without dents. Will have to wait to see.

As a strong proponent for building plugs using foam, I am willing to grab and ship quantities of whatever large sizes become available to interested builders. As always, the weight will be next to nothing, but size of the pieces will dictate freight. There will be no charge for any of the foam - but I would ask for postage coverage. Until pieces begin to show up at the dumpster (my designated collection point) I don’t know sizes, but I probably won’t spend much time on small stuff under 1 meter in length. If interest warrants, once spring arrives, I might be induced into shaping a few MultiONE hulls and floats that would need covering with cloth and finishing. More on that if/when the foam begins to show up. You can PM me here if there is any interest. Once I find what sizes will generally be available, I can then see what freight costs will run.

Bill - for you or any guys on the Minneapolis, Madison, Chicago, Kalamazoo, Lansing, Flint, Saginaw, Bay City corridor … free delivery might be possible if you are willing to drive to and meet me on the X-way on one of my trips back to visit family. Just thought I would mention this since high density foam isn’t typically found at most residential construction sites, but I would be happy to help out if someone wanted a few pieces.

Now if anyone has use of a semi-truck tractor - I know where a whole flatbed trailer full of trarped and shrink-wrapped 4x12 foot foam is being stored. For the next few weeks I doubt if anyone would ever miss it! yup - steal it from the local jail ! Ha-Ha & joking of course.

2

Dick,
I’m pretty sure that the standard blue Dow EPS is 25 psi. The higher density is called “Hi-Load 60” which is 60 psi. That’s what I’ve been using for the foam cores in my wingmasts, because it’s easier to work with without having to worry as much about finger dents when getting it set up in the vacuum bag. That being said, I would guess that 25 psi would be fine for hull forming.
Bill

3

The small samples I have are all cut so the Dow Product code is missing. Will search for a bigger piece to confirm.

4

Dick,

Don’t discount the small pieces. When I make a plug the largest piece I use (even on a J Boat) is the size of the cross section of the hull at the largest dimension. I normally use 2" thick pieces that I set inbetween the formers/bulkheads which are cut from the plan sheet and set on a building board at exact right angles. Then I just drop one piece of foam at a time into the slots and cut with a hotwire cutter. You can knock out the rough shape in minutes. Using a hardboard material for the bulkheads, simply because it is cheap… and the hotwire cutter has no effect on it… you could even use CARDboard if you wanted to for a small project that was not requiring extreme precision.

So… pieces even as small as 4x4" are useable… and in the case of you multi-hull guys… even smaller.

5

Dick,
I just ordered some new cores from my supplier ( http://www.flyingfoam.com/launch.html ) and he now uses a Dow “Hi-Load 40” product which is rated at 40 psi in compression.

Regards,
Bill

6

Our stuff (they think) is rated at 30 - but no one is positive. A few guys think it is more dense, since it is roof insulation and must resist dents from walking on it during/after install.

Looks like I will have to make a “dumpster-dive” visit. :cool:

7

Dick,
It doesn’t take much psi to support a person. If the surface area of your shoe is only 10 sq inches (a conservative number), then 20 psi will support a 200# person. I know the standard Dow blue foam (EPS) is rated at 25 psi. In any case, I’m sure 25 psi would be fine for model building.
Bill