Is this a problem

[neil.mccrirrick]

Just about to have a clean in the bow under the Sunpad and I find a circular hole with no bung.

In it is what look like sponge that is wet and will have been for some time as water will easily get in.

So is this a feature 😄 and all is well or what?

The boat is custom made and aluminium so I'm not concerned about rot but I am concerned about how much weight I'm lugging about. Any ideas?

[ShinyShoe]

Sponge or expanded foam?

It a most has an anchor locker look...

[neil.mccrirrick]

Expanded foam now I've got more out. Ally floor is solid underneath

[ShinyShoe]

So I'm confused... Has someone used expanding foam to plug the hole or is the foam there for buoyancy.

Where does the hole go to?
By the sounds of it its not closed cell foam...

[neil.mccrirrick]

It doesn't go anywhere. There is a cleat on front of it. I'm thinking now the hole may have been made so a socket could reach the cleat,( no idea how cos my hand is too big to fit) and then someone decided to fill the void?

Weird. The void must drain though or it would be full of water and it's not the foam is damp but only let's water out if you squeeze it. I'm staring to think it's just a feature 😄 and no big deal

[jyasaki]

Is that foam rigid, or does it have the feel of whatever is in your sunpad cushion?

jky

[ShinyShoe]

Or was it used for some form of basic mast? For dinghy racing start line maybe... So just slotted into hole....

[neil.mccrirrick]

Foam crumbles if you squash it. It will break into chunks but any real pressure and it's small pieces.


Guess you could put a mast there the hole has deffo been cut for a purpose. Wish they had left a sticker under it stating the purpose lol

[Starovich]

don't think it would be a mast, that far forward in a boat would make it pig to steer, and unless you only wanted to go downwind, you would need a center board or keel.

Possibly for tow post?

[kerny]

Could it have been a swivel chair for big game

[ShinyShoe]

Originally Posted by Starovich

don't think it would be a mast, that far forward in a boat would make it pig to steer, and unless you only wanted to go downwind, you would need a center board or keel.

Possibly for tow post?

You only need a centreboard or keel if you are using the mast to sail with. A WAFI race needs a mast with an orange flag on it to mark a start line. Plus usually 2 other flags. I've certainly seen RIBs with short masts near the front for this purpose for small sailing club dinghy racing...

Didn't look terribly structural

[Starovich]

Originally Posted by ShinyShoe

You only need a centreboard or keel if you are using the mast to sail with. A WAFI race needs a mast with an orange flag on it to mark a start line. Plus usually 2 other flags. I've certainly seen RIBs with short masts near the front for this purpose for small sailing club dinghy racing...

Didn't look terribly structural

If you want to be technical, then I would call the pole you put flags on for race starting a flagpole and usually the start flag is amidships so people can look across the start/finish line , that far into the bow would not be practical.

[ShinyShoe]

If we want to be technical... ...the RRS use the term 'staff'

I agree ideally the one with the orange flag would be placed to allow you to look through it to the other end of the line.

Pretty sure I've sailed places where the prep and warning flags were on a forward "staff" presumably to avoid them being in the way of the main start line "staff".

[neil.mccrirrick]

Had a debate with myself and filled it full of water. On the plus front it took the hose pipe about 40 sec to fill it. On the negative it's not draining quickly. I'll leave it for a while and see how it goes but that amount of water is neither here nor there

Dry it out and bung it up I reckon. I also think that was what the attempt with the foam was as well 👍