Fishing Victoria Forum

Does anyone know what type of boat this is? Be good to know why it nearly sunk.

(https://www.9news.com.au/national/2018/ ... g-on-water)

Based on the pictures posted on facebook there is a big split in the bottom of the hull. Very obvious from the damage that there was a previous repair.

frozenpod wrote:Based on the pictures posted on facebook there is a big split in the bottom of the hull. Very obvious from the damage that there was a previous repair.

Good eyes...I thought a boat that size would have an internal tank or sealed floor to stop it from sinking.

All boats should have positive flotation the problem is when there is a hull break it often floods the sealed compartment.

Most boats will have 2 or more sealed compartments so if one has a breach and floods the other will keep the boat afloat. Some boats have are air tight sealed sections whilst others use foam ect.

This boat probably does have positive flotation, probably why it didn't sink but just sat low in the water.

Just a suggestion for anyone here with a boat.

Flotation above the water line is a great idea and will help massively in preventing the boat rolling over if you are swamped by a wave.

Closed cell foam can easily be installed in the gunnels under the transom, in seat boxes in the cabin.

Most boats you can fit 1m^3 of foam which is enough to will keep the boat upright if things go wrong.

When you look at other pieces in the photo and compare their size to the crack.
It doesn't look like 5mm plate & the roller is in line with the crack.
Fatigue crack and wave pressure opened it up.

frozenpod wrote:Just a suggestion for anyone here with a boat.

Flotation above the water line is a great idea and will help massively in preventing the boat rolling over if you are swamped by a wave.

Closed cell foam can easily be installed in the gunnels under the transom, in seat boxes in the cabin.

Most boats you can fit 1m^3 of foam which is enough to will keep the boat upright if things go wrong.

Appreciate the tip...I've never been known as a safety conscious kind of person (Seems the older I get, the more I worry about things like this).

My boat has the same type of foam under the floor as the pool noodle type of things, but even less dense than them... It isn't even glued or anything either, it just floats around almost like a space filler foam is in a box... I feel like it would do very little in preventing a boat sinking.. am i wrong?

Edit: upon googling its Polyethylene or closed cell foam like frozenpod mentioned... I feel like polystyrene would work far better as flotation than PE?

Kimtown. The theory is the space the noodles take up won’t be replaced with water so it won’t sick. Closed cell foam is the best. But a lot of people have concerns with old foams that became waterlogged over time due to leaks making the hull super heavy and rotting out glass boats.

Personally I’ll probably foam my boat when I rip the floor up eventually.