A unique website dedicated to fishing information from Florida's Northern Big Bend. This includes the area from the Econfina River west to the Apalachicola River
I can remember canoes with foam strips down the side that would do the same thing... looks like it may work.
According to Google 1 cubic foot of air will support 62 lbs
4" pipe 10 feet long supports 186lbs- or a total of 372lbs for both sponsons
6" pipe 10 feet long supports 487lbs - or a total of 974lbs for both sponsons.
Not quite as pretty as a new Hell's Bay.....but it just might work. There is something similar you can buy for a Canoe/Kayak that acts like an outrigger for extra stability.
Hope it works for your friend.
“It's hard to measure almost.....because almost doesn't matter”
― John Dutton
Hope he has some big washers on that all thread, because if he ever gets in a good chop, the all thread is going to eat a hole in the side of his boat real fast -- but then it wont sink, just fill up with water!!
I am not sure its needed. If you don't puncture the sides of the compartments where the floatation foam is in your aluminum boat, and your foam is not waterlogged, it should support you enough to keep your boat gunnels level with the water.
I sunk my boat last year after hitting a rock out near Black Rock. I put a 1.5 inch x 18 inch gash in the bottom just forward of the center console. I managed to keep the motor running and move at about 3 mph for 4 miles back to the lighthouse ramp. The foam in my old hull was the only thing that kept me level with the waters surface. Having survived all that, I would suggest the following for small aluminum boats-
1. Make sure you can get your fuel tanks someplace where you can keep them vented, but not get water in them. If you seal them in a compartment, or use a built in tank you will end up with water in your fuel supply and your motor will shut down. I move mine up on top of the casting deck to keep running.
2. Same for your batteries. Be sure you have enough cable to put your battery on top of a deck or seat. if it grounds to the bottom of a deck and you have fuel leaking in your boat you will lose your electrical power and have a fire hazard. My battery grounded to the bottom of my rear casting deck and melted both posts. I still don't know why it kept working. (A 12 volt battery submerged in fresh water will keep working, but in saltwater, it will go dead immediately).
3. Keep some kind of packing and some duct tape on board. If I had thought to stuff a rag or part of a life jacket in the split on my hull, then tape over it, I may have been able to pump enough water out to run back in.
4. Keep a dive mask or swim goggles on board so you can see to find the damage. We checked the perimeter of my hull and the outboard, which were both fine in my incident.
5. Keep a dry box handy. Once you know you have serious problems, put all your cell phones, portable radios, flares, etc. in the dry box so that you have the ability to call for help for as long as possible.
6. Keep your bilge pumps working. If you don't have one, put one in. Heck, put 2 in.
Good luck, and watch out for those roaming rock piles out there...
