A Fun Project

I have been looking forward to finishing the installation of expanding polyurethane foam in the seatbacks, a project I started earlier but didn't have enough foam to finish.

Seatback Foam Overflow

More of the two-part foam came yesterday and here's a shot of some of the cured foam that overflowed.  I wanted some overflow to make sure the compartments were completely filled, but this is a bit much.  I could have had less by doing a lot of tiny pours, but I didn't want to do a lot of tiny pours!  I'm not that patient, and I think it would have been harder to get the foam in all the nooks and crannies doing it that way.

Seatback Foam Trimmed

After the foam cured I was able to trim it very easily with a saw, then sand it down for a nice fit.  As I say, it was one of the more fun projects, for me anyway.

Wider Shot of Floatation Foam in Port Seatback

The manual calls for cutting up bits of foam panels and cramming them in the seatbacks, the same as in the bow compartment and under the cockpit, but I felt doing it this way in the seatbacks made sense.  Some builders have used expanding foam in the bow compartment also but I decided against it because if water gets in there I think it would be a lot harder to get out.  The seatbacks are completely sealed and no water should ever get in them unless a hole is punched in the side, and if that ever happens I will probably have much bigger problems to contend with.  (The bow compartment is sealed pretty well also, but I suppose the bow eye could eventually leak.)