Is it ok to remove the foam in a coleman crawdad?

[Pieman]

There are 4 pieces of foam (one in each corner) of a recently purchased coleman crawdad. I was wondering if it was ok to remove it for extra storage space. thanks in advance guys.

[TopDog]

Seen it removed many many times.

[cart7t]

I'm sure it was just put in there for protection during shipping.   :

[ring fry]

If it's on the inside of the plastic, I wouldn't.  My old green crawdad had it under both ends for flotation.  On my newer grey one, you can't see any exposed styro.  If it's exposed I'd take it off.  If not, I wouldn't.

[Grey Wolf]

No.

[Crestliner2008]

Get that idea out of your head! Leave the foam where it belongs for goodness sakes. Ever hear of "level floatation"?

[bassmanET]

No its not!

I found this crawdad in RI for sale if your looking for more storage this was very good fix!

[backpain...]

The floatation foam in the seats and under parts of boats is to allow them to float if they are ever capsized. You will be quite thankful it is there if you ever tip the boat in deep water.

[bass or bass ?]

When I did a rebuild of my boat ( not a Coleman) I replaced and ADDED lots of flotation foam.

[=Matt 5.0=]

I took the foam out of the front of my Crawdad for more leg room.

[fourbizz]

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Get that idea out of your head! Leave the foam where it belongs for goodness sakes. Ever hear of "level floatation"?

Are you saying that the internal foam in a boat is what keeps it level while you are fishing?

[Crestliner2008]

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Get that idea out of your head! Leave the foam where it belongs for goodness sakes. Ever hear of "level floatation"?

Are you saying that the internal foam in a boat is what keeps it level while you are fishing?

Yes. That's why they put foam in all boats. Not to just take up space. Now the crawdad "may" be made of a material that floats. But that won't happen if you're still in it or trying to get back on it if capsizes. Always better to err on the side of safety is all I'm saying.

[backpain...]

Foam inside the boat will not make any difference in the boats floatation compared to air itself. The displacement of the hull is what makes it float. I mean, if you took it out and say added something of greater weight there it would change the floatation.

If you were to take it out and leave a void it would float the same (or better if the foam has some weight to it). The difference is when the hull fills with water or capsizes. That foam will keep the craft afloat if for some reason the hull capsizes or takes on water. Without any floatation foam in a boat, if it were to take on water, or capsize it would sink to the bottom.

[TommyBass]

x2

Foam has nothing to do with day to day operation on the water, and theoretically, its removal would actually make the boat more bouyant (although it would be miniscule). The only purpose of the foam would be if you capsized, it may help hold the boat up and keep it from completely sinking.

Personally, since your talking about a coleman crawdad and not a $50,000 boat, and you won't be treading the giant waters of the US, I would take it out and opt for more room on such a small craft. Wear a PFD and you don't need to worry about your boat floating anyway. Either way your going to lose your gear if you capsize... let the boat go with it

Seriously though its your choice. Either way though, don't rely on boat foam as your savior if you capsize.

Note: You could also add storage, and use the expanding foam to fill in a few gaps here and there after you add your storage. That would help replace any chunks of foam you remove.

[Crestliner2008]

How can you say that!? There are a LOT of folks here that are not good swimmers. If the boat capsizes that floating hull may be their only salvation.

You need to seriously re-think your opinion.

[backpain...]

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How can you say that!? There are a LOT of folks here that are not good swimmers. If the boat capsizes that floating hull may be their only salvation.

You need to seriously re-think your opinion.

X2

Add to that any kind of current and or obstructions in the water and there is all sorts of danger. If you are somehow injured it is much easier to find a boat and someone holding onto it (even if it is only a crawdad) than to find a person alone in a pfd.

It is always better to be safe, and think carefully through any boat modifications. When I modded my Jon boat, I had to take some foam floatation out of the benches to mount the seat pedestals, I replaced that foam under the bow deck with added floatation for the weight I added with the wooden deck.

It is easy to sit behind a computer and say "Go for it". But any and all modification of a boat from the manufacturers specs requires careful consideration.

[Grey Wolf]

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How can you say that!? There are a LOT of folks here that are not good swimmers. If the boat capsizes that floating hull may be their only salvation.

You need to seriously re-think your opinion.

X2

Add to that any kind of current and or obstructions in the water and there is all sorts of danger. If you are somehow injured it is much easier to find a boat and someone holding onto it (even if it is only a crawdad) than to find a person alone in a pfd.

It is always better to be safe, and think carefully through any boat modifications. When I modded my Jon boat, I had to take some foam floatation out of the benches to mount the seat pedestals, I replaced that foam under the bow deck with added floatation for the weight I added with the wooden deck.

It is easy to sit behind a computer and say "Go for it". But any and all modification of a boat from the manufacturers specs requires careful consideration.

X3 , very bad advice.

[TommyBass]

What???

1) If you can't swim and your going out on a big lake or river in a coleman crawdad, removing the floatation foam was not your biggest mistake.  Taking a boat like that anywhere where there are big waves or current isn't a wise choice even for good swimmers.

2) Im sure the #1 savior for water related accients isn't a floating coleman crawdad.  WEAR YOUR PFD!  A stupid boat isnt going to keep you upright if your unconscious.  Relying on a very small upside down boat as your primary means of floation is beyond ignorant. 

3) Im not saying that having that as a backup plan is all bad, and I by no means am saying that everyone should do that.  It can't hurt to have anything extra helping you.  But relying on that as your "only salvation"?  Come on...

4) I agree, ANY boat mod should be highly scrutinized for safety, particularly when it involves its stability.

[backpain...]

I don't think anyone was discounting the PFD, just pointing out the obvious if an accident occurs. When those events happen EVERY advantage for safety and survival is huge. Things happen, and they happen fast.

I think the point of everyone is to think safety first. I would hate to have given someone advice that was followed and lead to them having problems, or worse.