Aloha!

last nite I executed a plan formulate during a thread here some time ago. Here is what I did...

1. I bought a pair of cans of 2-part expanding foam at the marina. Supposed to expand to 16X the volume of the parts, when mixed in a 1:1 ratio. ($30 was painful, but I really wanted to do this.)

2. I did a test pour as an experiment, to make sure it didn't get so hot as to melt plastic during cure, and whether or not it would stick to a garbage bag. It did get warm, but not hot. It did not stick to the plastic, cure time was about 15 min. (as opposed to the 5 min. implied on the label)

3. Got my Significant Other (SO) to help me make plastic pants. We used garbage bags and masking tape.

4. Recall that I have a sit-on-top kayak, with a large "bathtub" which needs to be outfitted. I currently have a seat and hip pads carved, but I needed to get the exact shape of both the cockpit and my legs forward of this crude seat.

5. My goal was not to use this expanding foam as the final product, but to create a model of the required shape, and then slice it up into planks that correspond to my mini-cell foam. I'll cut the mini-cell planks to match the sections of the expanding foam and re-assemble.

6. I lined the cockpit with plastic.

7. I sat in the cockpit. and my SO mixed relatively small batches (2 cups each) and started pouring them into the cockpit. the foam expanded to fill the cockpit and encase my legs (not completely, there was still an opening above my legs for me to escape.

8. the foam got warm, I sweatted, but all was well.

9. We poured one cup under my butt, and I sat in it, It filled all the gaps between me and my basically square seat.

10 After 30 min from the first pour, It was time for me to get out. I tried to escape, but could not. As it turns out, the foam didn't stick to the plastic, but it sure did stick to the masking tape used in making my plastic pants.

11. My SO cut the plastic pants open, and I was then able to easily escape my foam restraints.

12. So I decided to let it fully cure over night, and then to remove it from the cockpit and begin the process of duplicating the shape section by section tonight.

So, I plan to continue working on it this weekend, I'll let you know how it turns out, but I gotta tell ya... I'm excited, This boat is gonna fit me like a glove!!!

Paul