: If the seats are enclosed already (why else would you need inspection
: holes?) why bother with the expensive foam? You could just fill the
: enclosed areas with packing peanuts. It would take only a few minutes,
: there would be no problems from overexpansion of the foam, and probably no
: cost. Be sure you get the plastic "peanuts" and not the ones
: made from cornstarch that disintegrate in water.

: You can probably find plenty of places that will give you all you want for
: free.

: if the seat is not completely enclosed, you can get a cloth bag (waterproof
: or mesh -- it hardly matters) and stuff that with the packing peanuts.
: Lash the foam filled bag under the seats, and you have your flotation.

: the same can be done, a bit neater but a bit more expensively, by cutting
: pieces from a 1 or 2 inch thick foam building insualtion panels. You can
: get genuine Styrofoam brand (the blue boards) or the generic equivalent,
: but avoid the "bead" boards. They'll fall apart on ya unless you
: enclose them.

: A tube of a construction cement like "liquid nails" will allow you
: to stack several layers of theis material.

: For your live well or cooler, instead of expensive expanding foam, start with
: a cheap foam cooler from the local party-goods store. Build a box to
: tightly surround it out of your 1 inch or 2 inch thick foam panels,
: bonding the seams and edges with your construction adhesive. The box you
: build probably won't be watertight, but when you slip in the purchased
: foam cooler, it will serve as a seamless liner, and with the added inches
: of foam insulation it will keep things colder for a longer time. A few
: scraps of wood can be fashioned into a bracket to hold the foam cooler in
: place, or you can cut away a large section of the deck to install the
: cooler, and then replace that section as if it were a very large hatch.

: Take a look in the archives at the pictures Paul Stomski posted of the triple
: he constructed. You might get some ideas from his boat. He made his seats
: from minicell foam and made cockpits that could be covered with large
: flush hatches.

: if the seats are of minicell foam you hardly need to add more foam to them.
: They already are as bouyant as the stiffer foams.

: As for how much flotation you need, well that depends. But that is another
: story.

: PGJ

A slightly more expensive alternative (but still a heck of a lot less expensive than the Jamestown Distributor's foam) are those "pool noodles" for about $1.49 each at Wal-Mart.