Foam in a Grady?

S

Saltyone

GreatGrady Captain
Joined
Jul 13, 2018
Messages
296
Reaction score
86
Points
28
Location
St Helens, OR
Model
Express 265
Was just doing some random google searches and came across this on the actual Grady White website.

"Despite the fact every Grady-White is unsinkable thanks to sprayed-in foam flotation, you can swamp the boat and encounter an uncomfortable situation."

Be Grady-Wise! Inspect your through-hull fittings regularly.

As part of routine maintenance, inspect your Grady-White's through-hull fittings at least yearly and...
www.gradywhite.com www.gradywhite.com

Guess I've just never heard of people talk about foam in Gradys before.
 
I believe all boats under 20' in length are required to have foam flotation but some brands like Grady White have them also I believe on all of their boats. My previous boat was a 21' Arima and that boat had the foam flotation in it as well, though most of the time when they say that it's "unsinkable", that means that it won't go to the bottom. The boats, if they take on that much water will still typically give you something sit or stand on hopefully until help arrives, but it could be fully submerged under water.
 
I'm coming from an aluminum boat, and foam is not your friend with aluminum. That's why when I bought mine, I made sure it was above the 20ft length and they didn't use foam. To many stories of hulls corroding from water-soaked foam against the aluminum hull.

The research I've been doing on the 265s and Ive not once heard foam mentioned.
 
Saltyone said:
I'm coming from an aluminum boat, and foam is not your friend with aluminum. That's why when I bought mine, I made sure it was above the 20ft length and they didn't use foam. To many stories of hulls corroding from water-soaked foam against the aluminum hull.

The research I've been doing on the 265s and Ive not once heard foam mentioned.
Click to expand...
there is some minimal foam outside the stringers. It might be enough to keep the boat upside-down on the surface.
Probably does more to deaden sound than anything else

You can see it if you remove the tackle drawer under the outside sink. Not the foam on the fishbox...look down.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Saltyone
The foam provides support for level floatation in smaller boats and basic floatation (boat likely turtles) on larger boats. Sprayed behind fishboxes and the like for insulation as well. The old pics on GWs website showed the foam between the stringers which also provided additional rigidity.
 
Saltyone said:
I'm coming from an aluminum boat, and foam is not your friend with aluminum. That's why when I bought mine, I made sure it was above the 20ft length and they didn't use foam. To many stories of hulls corroding from water-soaked foam against the aluminum hull.

The research I've been doing on the 265s and Ive not once heard foam mentioned.
Click to expand...
Did you happen to look in the archived brochure on the Grady White website? I believe you said you're looking at a 2000 GW 265 Express? Of which if you download the brochure and go to page 3 you'll see where it says..."We build in sure flotation by spraying foam into the hull, deck and liner, ensuring that the boat, motor and listed capacity of people stay afloat even if the boat becomes completely swamped." Also, a Google search of "Are Grady White boats unsinkable?" will give you a link to this website where it says... "All Grady-White boats have basic foam flotation and boats smaller than 20 feet have level flotation."


www.fishtale.com

Fort Myers & Naples Boat Dealer | Blog | Fish Tale Boats

Fish Tale Boats publishes blogs monthly about new boats for sale, boat shows, and more. Read now.
www.fishtale.com www.fishtale.com
 
You must log in or register to reply here.