[Rhodes22-list] Fw: [rhodes-list] Replacing Floatation Foam & Finishing The V-Berth Area

[Bill Effros]

Todd,

Did anyone forward this to you?  This was Roger's reply to Denny's question:

Bill Effros

----- Original Message -----
From: "Roger Pihlaja" <cen09402@centurytel.net>
To: <rhodes-list@sailnet.net>
Sent: Monday, December 31, 2001 10:07 AM
Subject: [rhodes-list] Replacing Floatation Foam & Finishing The V-Berth
Area


Hi Denny,

The best way to replace your flotation foam is use the 2-part polyurethane
pour-in-place product.  Check out the 2001 Defender Marine Buyers Guide on
P.56.  One quart of prefoam mixture (resin + catalyst) will react & expand
to approximately 1.5 cubic feet of rigid floatation foam.  Defender will
sell you containers as big as 5 gal of resin & 5 gal of catalyst.  Depending
upon where you will be putting the foam, you may need to build some
temporary forms to keep the prefoam mixture from flowing into places you
don't want it to be before it cures in about 20 minutes.  Think of it like
pouring concrete.  After the prefoam mixture starts to cure, you will even
be able to trowel the top surface for a nice smooth, level finish.  Just
remember to keep your trowel wet with water & clean it off immediately
before final cure.

NOTE: The resin, catalyst, & prefoam mixture are BAD SHIT!  Be sure you read
& understand the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) that will come packed
with the product.  The prefoam mixture is incredibly sticky, the fumes are
noxious & flammable, & the catalyst & resin are moderately toxic by skin
contact & ingestion.  This is definitely a good time to wear a disposable
Tyvek jump suit, booties, rubber gloves, & hair net.  If you have a
respirator with an organic vapor cartridge (the same cartridge specified for
painting), then use it.  Otherwise, ventilate the cabin as much as you can.
As much as possible, use disposible containers & stirring sticks to mix &
pour the prefoam mixture.

The bow floatation foam on my 1976 R-22 was basically intact.  However, the
old foam was a little friable.  If you bumped it or rubbed up against it,
little particles would flake off as dust.  At the aft end of my V-berth,
there is a 15" wide storage area under the cushions.  The fresh water tank
is installed in this middle of this space & takes up about half of the
storage area.  I encapsulated the vertical surface of the foam in this
storage area by rolling on a couple coats of thickened epoxy.  This made a
nice smooth, waterproof finish on the inside of the storage area, stopped
the pieces from flaking off, & stabilized the old floatation foam.

My original V-berth cushions were made with a 1/4" thick plywood backing.
The original V-berth had no covering under the cushions between the cushions
& the floatation foam.  The original design depended upon the rigidity of
the 1/4" thick plywood backing to span the 15" wide gap at the aft end of
the V-berth.  1/4" thick plywood might be OK to support little kids.  But,
for bigger people, you're going to want something stronger under the
cushions spanning this gap.  A few years ago, I replaced all the original
interior cushions in my R-22.  New interior cushions from GBI do not have
the plywood backing.  I used the old cushions as a template & made a V-berth
"sole" from 1/2" thick marine grade plywood.  I made the V-berth sole in two
pieces, hinged along the centerline with a 72" long SS piano hinge.  You
will find that you can just fit the folded V-berth sole in thru the
companionway hatch & then let it unfold like butterfly wings as you push it
past the mast compression post.  The V-berth sole is a very nonlinear piece
of joinery.  Be prepared to take the pieces/parts in & out several times &
do a lot of fine trimming with a block plane & sanding to get the final fit
just right.  At least I had to; however, your cabinet making skills may be
much better than mine!  The floatation foam supports most of my new V-berth
sole.  However, my new V-berth sole does span the 15" wide gap at the aft
end of the V-berth, which is why I used 1/2" thick plywood.  I have two 15"
wide X 18" long hatches in the V-berth sole to permit access to the storage
area.  My hatchs are hinged with 12" long SS piano hinges.  I bored 1" ID
finger holes thru the hatch covers for a place to grip for opening.   I
would have to remove the V-berth sole to get my water tank in & out.  So, I
simply anchored the V-berth sole with several  #8 X 1-1/4" countersunk SS
wood screws at the bow & aft bulkhead.  I wasn't certain how to finish my
V-berth sole.  I just left it natural for awhile.  Then, last summer, I
finally decided to paint it gloss white with an exterior oil-base enamel.
This turned out very nice, sealed the wood grain, it's easy to clean, &
mildew resistant.

Hope this description & suggestions help, good luck with your restoration
Denny!

Roger Pihlaja
S/V Dynamic Equilibrium

----- Original Message -----
From: "Dennis J Sitler" <djsitler@gmpexpress.net>
To: <rhodes-list@sailnet.net>
Sent: Thursday, December 27, 2001 10:19 PM
Subject: [rhodes-list] Technical question


> Hi All,
> I just got my 1974 Rhodes in my garage and am taking the interior of the
> cabin apart to fix up. I was up in the v-berth and the starboard side was
> totally loose and slid down past where it was glassed to side making a
> grinding crackling sound. I wondered why it was going down so far if there
> was foam under it. I checked the port side and that was loose part way, so
I
> loosened the rest and looked under thinking there should be a block of
foam
> there. What I saw was about 3 1/2 garbage bags of small pieces of foam,
not
> enough to fill the cavity 1/2 full. This made me wonder if it was over 1/2
> full of water and the rest full of pieces of foam surrounded by water,
> wether it would stay afloat or just rest lighter on the bottom. What is
the
> floatation on the new and reconditioned Rhodes like. I am open to
> suggestions or ideas other than blow it up. I still have good hopes for my
> boat and want to have it ready by late April, but one of the reasons I
> wanted a Rhodes was they aren't suppose to sink and I'm not sure of that
on
> this one. I'm afraid to check under the cockpit.
>
>
> Denny
>
>
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