Pain free insulation solution

[B~C]

I moistened the towel with a bit of alcohol....just a bit cuz that was all I had left after mustering enough courage to start slathering

[breausaw]

I am in the process of spraying Delta T throughout the cabin of our boat. The masking off was probable the hardest task, especially around the helm area. I decided not to tackle spraying under the helm seat or under the galley, too much hassle and don’t think it will make that much difference. On the side windows I masked 2” on top and 1” below, and the front windows also got masked 2” on top with the rest masked off along with that entire mid-section area. You really need to be a contortionist to get around in the V-birth. When applying the second coat it’s really hard to tell how much you’re applying, a hand held light was necessary to get the reflections and contrasts just right.

I also decided to spray all bolt and screw heads but removed all wire mounting hardware.

I’m into day three of spraying; tonight will be the final coat. The first coat took about 5 L; I’m using a 2L pop bottle attached to the spryer that came with the product. Last night I was able to spray about twice that much on, to the point the surface looked wet…any more and it would run on the vertical surfaces. I have about 2 gallons of product left and sure I’ll be able to spray most of it on tonight.

I already had a good 2 stage air compressor but had to go out and buy a pressure regulator to attach at the spray gun, about $20. The whole process will cost close to $600, that’s $380 for the 5gal of Delta T, $25 for the spray gun, about $140 for FedEx shipping to Alaska (gun shipped separately), all the tape and other supplies, etc, etc, etc.

Transferring the Delta T form the 5 gallon bucket to the 2l pop bottle was a challenge. Dick the salesmen told me to use a cheap oil transfer pump, it didn’t work. What I eventually did was scoop the product out with a bowl and pour it into a funnel, than used a 1” dowel as a plugger to drive it down into the bottle; this worked pretty good actually.

All in all I would say the process is not for the faint at heart, it’s a major undertaking but hopefully will pay off in spades. I plan on eventually either painting the surface with a good interior bathroom latex or clear spar latex.

Tom (Bidarka II) was a big help.

Pictures to follow in album.

[Ron on Meander]

breausaw,
The masking is a lot of work but I think you'll find it worth it in the long run. I have no regrets in doing our 25. I covered the Mascoat with an acrylic latex exterior paint that was a close match to the original colour. After three years of use it still doesn't show any wear and the insulation seems to have made the condensation problems pretty much go away. Good luck on the final coat.
Ron

[breausaw]

Ron,
Thanks for the encouragement.

The wife made the mistake of looking at the weather this weekend but I won’t have the boat back together in time. I’ll be saving the latex top coat for a winter project; the added insulation should make this possible.

I would be concerned with using an exterior paint, especially inside the small interior of a boat. Exterior paint has a different viscosity or “recipe” than an interior paint so it can withstand the elements. And this means that there are a few more chemicals in an exterior paint than there are in an interior. This boils down to one thing, exterior paint has more fumes than an interior paint does. What I have been told is putting an exterior paint inside can be harmful because the fumes from the paint can take days, weeks, or in some cases, months to go away.

The paint I had in mind is Sherwin-Williams interior Duration.

On a side note, Dick said he has supplied the C-Dory factory with Delta T in the past, sure would be a bonus to have this done prior to delivery on a new boat.

Jay

[Aurelia]

I was looking for a spray free solution and not sure if I wanted to cover the whole interior anyway so I started by applying a 6ft strip of the stuff below three months ago. It is white, 1/8 thick foam tape 5 inches wide by 6ft long on a roll. They have a 1/4 inch thick version as well but we just wanted a bit of padding and light insulation. It is a closed cell type foam and has a unique adhesive I did not trust at first because of the intended use but it seems to stick very well and stays put on the textured fiberglass in the berth.

http://www.findtape.com/product378/Jaybird+Mais-30-Adhesive-Foam.aspx?cid=71&idx=2&tid=1&info=Foam%2bTapes%2b(Non-Adhesive%2bUnderwrap%2b%2526%2bAdhesive%2bPadding)

It stuck well and looks good so I recently bought more and put it in the berth tonight. I used 12 more rolls to cover the side walls and overhead area including all major corners up there. It is really easy to apply and edge matches and cuts well with a little strech to help fitting. We are going to spend a few nights like this and decide if we want more in certain places or just cover the rest. I am guessing it would take about 20-24 rolls to cover all exposed surfaces in the v-berth of a 25. The cost for that would be about 140 bucks shipped which isn't too bad for the ease of application. I would recommend this stuff for other padding/insulating needs as well. These links show just a couple pics from the camera phone tonight.

http://www.c-brats.com/modules.php?set_albumName=album1321&id=1102001822_G&op=modload&name=gallery&file=index&include=view_photo.php

http://www.c-brats.com/modules.php?set_albumName=album1321&id=1102001823_G&op=modload&name=gallery&file=index&include=view_photo.php

[JamesTXSD]

Interesting solution with the rolls, Greg and Cindie; keep us posted on how it wears.

Thanks,
Jim B.

[Sea Wolf]

The tape is a clean, simple way to add insulation later, after manufacture and delivery of the boat. Nice that it can be done in stages, as time allows.

Better yet would be to use the spray insulation and interior paint during the build process, before all the wiring and other hardware are in place.

This should be offered as a factory option on new boats, iMHO, but I'll bet it wouldn't be inexpensive due to the labor costs.

If all you want is the insulation in the v-berth, the spray in insulation is still a very good option for a a decent handyman who likes projects and a little labor!

Doing the whole interior is more of a serious project, time-wise!

Thanks, B~C!

Joe.

[Matt Gurnsey]

The factory does offer an insulated option. It's called the Venture Series.

[Don and Brenda]

I like the idea of the foam strips, keep us posted!

[thataway]

This is fairly close to a material we used on a number of boats:
http://www.sailrite.com/Headliner-Perforated-Foam-Backed-White

The product we used was from France, and not perforated, but it confirmed well to hulls, and could be put on thin plywood (3mm) for overhead pannels if you so wished.

It is 54" wide, and runs from $25 to $29 a running yard from Sailrite.

[localboy]

Those of you that have sprayed on the insulation do you think this type of gun would work? I couldn't find any specific info on the website about what type of spray gun is required.
http://cgi.ebay.com/UNDERCOATING-SPRAY-GUN-CUP-Auto-Truck-Bed-Liner-Coating-/200528410048?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2eb06cb5c0

I'm seriously considering applying it over the entire V-berth (at least). I have a nice compressor system w/ filters etc in my garage and thanks to all your tests/experiences, I think this would be a huge improvement in the boat. [/u]

[B~C]

thanks for the thanks Joe

I think that sprayer would do the trick. The price is right, if nothing else it would sure work to undercoat a VW

you're going to want to cover the insulation with some paint or hull linner as it will get dirty and is not real cleanable. The goo & paint I stuck in our boat is still looking good several years later

[seabeagle]

I refuse to believe that a 40 mil coat has an R-11 value. If this were true, 4 coats would have insulated the walls in my house.

[localboy]

[Aurelia]

It is working in one of two ways for the last few months of testing including some steamy overnights.

All of the foam tape stuck to the ceiling surface is sticking perfectly and has not budged a bit even though it covers all sorts of curves and contours.

Some of foam along the side walls releases partially overnight in the presence of condensation and I press it back in place in the morning.

The difference between the two surfaces is the texture. My overhead space is dimpled but smooth overall and it seems to stay put on that surface while the side walls are much rougher in texture and it just doesn't adhere as well there. I think it could be remedied with a little 3m adhesive spray so I will plan to test that out soon.

Stay tuned,

Greg