Insulation

[Tony]

Howdy Y'all,

In your esteemed opinions, what have you found to be the best material to use for insulation in a boat to mitigate/prevent condensation? What is the best way to go about applying said insulation? I did read about what you did on glissando, Tim, with the foam between cleats, I'm just wondering what other materials/methods are out there :-)

Tony

[Dave, 397]

Friend of ours used 3/8 closed cell foam (he got it cheaper by buying backpacking bedroll ground pads on sale at K-Ma-Part) over which he spray-glued some marine naugahide or similar. Ran some lines of stitching in them just to spiff it up, and spray-glued to the seawalls. Does a very good job of insulating, and looks pretty smart.
Dave

[manos]

I used an insulating material that is used mostly on cars and which is called Armaflex. I had to use glue to stick it up. Take a look here:
http://www.sailingboatefaki.gr/New%20Uphlolstery.htm

[kaynee30]

Nice tip, manos. Thanks.
I was looking at closed-cell foam, but couldn't figure out how to fireproof it. I reckon the Armaflex is very flame-retardant. Auto safety, and all that.
Jeff

[daysailor17]

Hi Manos,

I really like the looks of this product and your application. Can you give me a rough idea how much $$ it is per square foot? Adhesive cost?

E

[A30_John]

I had a steel boat once that used cork tiles on the ceiling to reduce condensation. The cork was put on with some kind of adhesive, then varnished. It looked good and didn't take up much headroom.

[Jedediah]

The price for Armaflex AP sheet here in Seattle is as follows:
1/2" thick, 48"*70' is ~$300
1" thick, 48"*35' is ~$315
I didn't price the adhesive they recomend, the paint (although any good latex paint will work they said), or NP or any of the other products.
For 1" I think that was coming out to around ~$2/sq ft if I remember correctly.

For fire protection you would have to go with the NP product for reduced smoke. Its a long and confusing website with a huge number of products. The tech people are helpful if you can phrase the question in terms they would understand.

My question is this, how does the stuff hold up and how do you protect it? According to Armaflex people you can cover the stuff with a leno weave fiberglass cloth or buy one of the products like Arma-Tuff (5-13 mil. of plastic and Al sheets). However, none of those options provide much point impact resistance. One could also place a full fiberglass cloth over the foam but at that point is one not "coring" their boat after it was built at a huge amount of effort?

My v-berth solution (I have pictures from it but have not set up a website yet) was to install 2" of extruded polystyrene (blue/pink board) foam and cover it with birch laminate (1/8") panels. I screwed this onto the hull with 1" tall bits of wood dowl. Works great there, very warm (supported a 35 degree difference two nights ago with no condensation). However, the option I don't think will work throughout the rest of the boat. For one its allot of work and secondly I can't afford to lose 2" of cabin height. So I keep looking at Armaflex but no one has been able to tell me yet how it will hold up to mechincal stresses.


I really like the looks of this product and your application. Can you give me a rough idea how much $$ it is per square foot? Adhesive cost?

[bcooke]

The price for Armaflex AP sheet here in Seattle is as follows:
1/2" thick, 48"*70' is ~$300
1" thick, 48"*35' is ~$315
I didn't price the adhesive they recomend, the paint (although any good latex paint will work they said), or NP or any of the other products.
For 1" I think that was coming out to around ~$2/sq ft if I remember correctly.

Just thought I would add my own numbers here. The Armaflex does look like a good product. It is actually sold as a marine insulation to begin with. Be warned though, it is not cheap.
I was quoted a 1" thick 3'x40' roll at $540 (It comes in sheets or rolls) so it looks like sheets might be a bit cheaper if you can use them. The contact adhesive that is approved by the mfg goes for around $55 a gallon. I was told coverage was roughly 200 square feet a gallon.

-Britton