My old 119 has zero added flotation. Would filling the small ends with spray foam be worth the effort? I am thinking spray foam because the areas are small and fitting solid foam in would be a pain and it's cheap. Does spray foam get water logged and would compressing it while it dries make it more or less efficient?

Thanks, Merlyn

Take a read through this thread. They discuss marine foam.

https://bwca.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=forum.thread&threadId=954054&forumID=15&confID=1

Sure it's needed. A lot of plastic canoes do not, as they will float simply by the density of the materials used. I assume you have an Old Town Disco, or another 11 foot Royalex/plastic canoe.

butthead

A little more info. The canoe was stolen from a summer camp around 1990 and an attempt was made to confuse ownership including obscuring the serial number, so I'm not sure of the manufacturing date. The canoe is an Old Town, 11foot 9 inches long and came with a cane seat and back and is I believe plastic/poly, weighting in at 43# without the seat. Without the full serial number I can't figure out how to get more info. (
I bought the canoe after it had changed hands several times but was able to discover the original owner and was told it was covered by insurance years ago and I was able to get clear title and register the canoe.)
I checked out the marine foam section but except for standing the canoe on end, guessing the amount and pouring in the liquid I just figured spray foam would be much easier.
Thanks again to everyone on these forums who are so helpful and keep me sane till tripping starts (May 17 for me)

merlyn: " I checked out the marine foam section but except for standing the canoe on end, guessing the amount and pouring in the liquid I just figured spray foam would be much easier."

We used to stand 17' canoes on end and fill with 2 part foam. It shouldn't be a problem with an 11'9" boat that weighs 40 pounds less.

Beware of great stuff spray foam as it expands greatly. So much so that it can bulge or crack an enclosed structure/compartment. There is a low expansion version I believe in a blue can for windows. I may suggest filling in lifts, let cure, and add more as needed. Also, don't get that stuff on your hands, it will be there for days or weeks!

I assume you are talking about an Old Town 119. If that is the hull you have, it is constructed of 3 layer polyethylene and the entire hull acts as a floatation chamber of sorts due to a middle layer of closed cell foam.



This type of boat does not need floatation tanks in the bow and stern.

thebotanyguy: "I assume you are talking about an Old Town 119. If that is the hull you have, it is constructed of 3 layer polyethylene and the entire hull acts as a floatation chamber of sorts due to a middle layer of closed cell foam. This type of boat does not need floatation tanks in the bow and stern."

I once had a kayak with the Old Town 3-layer material. I really liked it because it adds stiffness. Just one caveat, though: if you puncture the hull, the inner layer will absorb water and become heavy, with no way to get the water out. This happened to me when I stopped at a garage for a car repair during a trip and the mechanic pulled too hard on the rear strap and cracked my kayak. I got the crack repaired, but noticed the extra weight of the kayak afterward. The way to recognize Old Town's 3-layer material is that the inside of the hull is beige rather than matching the exterior color.

If you are adding foam for floatation, you must use marine foam, which is expensive stuff. It is closed cell and will not absorb water, the standard stuff does. It is a 2 part product.