Other Instead of foam

[Etheraldreamer]

I recently read a thread to which someone responded with xft using pop bottles in the hull with/instead of foam. my knee jerk reaction was to laugh. but as i thought about it more i think that is actually a really good idea. i know a lot of people run NO foam to cut weight. that also poses a much bigger risk of sinking the ski as if water does get in it fills the voids quickly and will let the ski go straight to the bottom istead of barely floating with the tail up like the foam lets it do. what about using pop bottles and then foaming around them? seems like that would be a lot less weight while giving even MORE bouyancy than the foam would (as its the air pockets in the foam that float and this is mostly all air). they are strong enough to hold up under the pressure...i was thinking maybe even of putting gatorade bottles (because they are a little more solid) in the voids and pouring foam around them so my ski doesnt sound like a maraca. what do you think about that idea?
lol i may even slap a small gatorade sticker on the boat if i do it as a small joke.
in short i think my WCF conversion is getting gatorade bottles in the foam unless someone convinces me otherwise.

 

[Matt_E]

Why not use foam that doesn't absorb water, instead?

 

[Etheraldreamer]

thinking this will be lighter.

 

[Shadow7874]

There was a guy who made his own island out of coke bottles nets and pallets. It was pretty big too!

It should work, but i dont know how well. Should be cheap though

PS Make sure the bottles are filled with helium!

 

[chrisdoc0608]

give it a shot, but realistically how much weight do you really think you can save?

 

[clkwrkorg36]

ping pong balls

 

[suva]

plastic Booze bottles are tough

 

[Matt_E]

thinking this will be lighter.

I very seriously doubt that. I know how much the foam weighed that I used, and it could not have been more than a few ounces.

Of course, we're not talking pounds of difference here. :biggrin:

What the heck, go for it and try it out. Innovation is great. Be sure to use Mountain Dew bottles.

Because Mountain Dew is the greatest soda ever made.

 

[steve-uk]

ping pong balls

:fing02: x2 :headbang:

 

[Etheraldreamer]

ping pong balls

thats a great idea but how much would it cost to get enough to fill a ski?

i know the weight savings wouldnt be THAT much at all, but on the pro side, it is a LITTLE weight and its impossible for the bottles to hold water if the hull was breached, plus its cheap and i can use less foam.
fill em with helium? LOL why dont i just make it all air tight with a one way fitting and pump the entire hull void with helium? thats gotta save a few lbs.

 

[Shadow7874]

Ping pong balls would fill up alot more of the void but the platic to air ratio changes alot. Bigger containers will hold more air with less plastic so bigger bottles would be better. And if your really serious about it then find a way to cut the tops off of the bottles and fuse the bottoms together. Most bottles get alot thicker around the neck and cap area to allow more strength for threads. More strength means more weight, plus i can squeze a bottle pretty hard without it busting so the bottom halves are plenty strong enough and still super thin

 

[kingnothing3]

look up my jetski build! this is EXACTLY what I did. I actually used all mt. dew bottles too. it took about 7 -2liters and then I used 2lb. closed cell foam around that. look it up I think is "kingnothing is back" turned out great and I would do it again. I think my hull weighed 88lbs after footholds.

 

[chrisdoc0608]

you could put a little draino and tinfoil in a bottle and get it to expand alot to minimize the number of bottles you use...or it might explode, but either way it will be cool

 

[Waternut]

No matter what you do... Make sure the foam is sealed! Next time I redo the foam, which will be soon because my foam is soaking wet after a couple months, I will try to pressure check it like an engine crankcase.

 

[chrisdoc0608]

thats what I did, its amazing how many little holes you see bubble up when you do it... at least that was the case for me

 

[Etheraldreamer]

No matter what you do... Make sure the foam is sealed! Next time I redo the foam, which will be soon because my foam is soaking wet after a couple months, I will try to pressure check it like an engine crankcase.

how do you plan on doing that? sounds like a good idea but i dont understand how you will get pressure into it without a fitting of some sort to plug the air pump too.

 

[chrisdoc0608]

how do you plan on doing that? sounds like a good idea but i dont understand how you will get pressure into it without a fitting of some sort to plug the air pump too.

I installed drain plugs in mine so I was able to hook the air hose directly in the plug and go

 

[Waternut]

I installed drain plugs in mine so I was able to hook the air hose directly in the plug and go

Yeah pretty much. I don't think you'll be able to get a true seal without doing some funky stuff but you'll be able to track down most of the leaks and the rest shouldn't be very noticeable.

Right now, I dump out more water at the end of the ride than I used in fuel. :banghead:

 

[augustaf]

Why not use foam that doesn't absorb water, instead?

I'd love to! Ensolite or styrofoam would be nice. How would you do it?

 

[Idok]

I woud so do this the next time I ripped open a ski...

plastic bottles, ping pong balls, and the blue foam...combo of any and all....glass the hell out of the tray and install some drains

that woudl be the last time in there outside of carnage