: Your foam is probably 95% or more of trapped air. Once you seal it inside a
: waterproof layer of glass cloth and epoxy resin you have almost exactly
: the same problem ( 95% ofthe problem?) as any other sealed air space:

PAUL YOU ARE RIGHT ABOUT THE SEALED FOAM, AND I NOW SEE THAT I WOULD STILL HAVE A PRESSURE PROBLEM WITH FOAM. THANKS FOR NOT LETTING ME WAIST MY TIME ON THIS.

: Now, the basic problem here seems to be that you want your boat to be more
: stable when it is capsized. so you can get back in by swimming in over the
: side.

: OK, imagine a 20 foot long telephone pole floating in a swimming pool. Just
: by the nature of how it grew there will be one spot that is denser or
: heavier and off balance, and that pole will rotate until that heaviest
: spot is underwater. Now, if you play lumberjack and step on that floating
: pole the difference in density that makes one part of the log float, and
: the other sink, is not going to mean much. That pole will roll. Now
: consider two more possibilities: Same size pole, but made from foam. and
: same size pole but waterlogged. OK, what is the difference if you step on
: either? as long as the outside shape is the same they both roll just as
: easily.

PAUL, I SEE YOU REASONING AND I HAVE HAD THE SAME ONE GOING BACK AND FORTH IN MY HEAD AND ALSO DRAWING ON PAPER TRYING TO SEE THIS. MY CANOE DID SPIN JUST AS YOU LOG DOES. BUT LOOK AT IT THIS WAY. IF YOU HAD A NARROW 20" WIDE KAYAK FLOODED WITH WATER BUT WITH SPONSORS ON EACH SIDE, YOU COULD PROBABLY CRAW OVER THE SPONSOR FROM THE SIDE AND BACK INTO THE YAK AND IT WOULDN'T SPIN AROUND IF THE SPONSOR WAS BIG ENOUGH. NOW PICTURE MY YAK AT 20" WIDE BUT WITH 4" WIDE SPONSORS ON EACH SIDE, BUT ON THE INSIDE RATHER THEN THE OUTSIDE. OR THINK OF MY 28" WIDE YAK WITH AUTO TUBES TIED TO THE INSIDE UPPER SIDES OF MY YAK. NOW FLOOD THE YAK FULL OF WATER. THE INTERTUBE ON THE SIDE OF THE YAK I AM CRAWING OVER BACK IN THE YAK WILL SINK FURTHER INTO THE WATER DISPLACING MORE WATER AND REFUSING TO GO UNDER WATER, AND AT THE SAME TIME THE OTHER SIDE OF THE YAK WILL BE RISING OUT OF THE WATER AND EVEN THE SLIGHT WEIGHT OF THAT TUBE WILL BE ADDING SOME LEVERAGE WEIGHT TRYING TO RIGHT THE YAK SOMEWHAT. THE COMPARTMENT BEING OFF CENTER OF THE YAK IS WHAT KEEPS IF FROM SPINNING IF TOO MUCH WEIGHT ISN'T PLACE ON IT. THAT'S WHAT IT SEEMS TO ME WILL HAPPEN. IF IT DOESN'T I STILL HAVE TWO WATERTIGHT COMPARTMENTS TO STORE CAMERAS, FIELDGLASSES, ETC. I SHOULD BE READY TO TEST IN A WEEK AND I WILL TEMPORARLY JUST STUFF A BASKET BALL IN THE STERN AND BOW FOR FLOATION.

IT LOOKS LIKE I WILL HAVE TO UNSCREW THE SIDE HATCHES ON HOT DAYS TO VENT THE AIR PRESSURE ALSO. THANKS FOR YOUR THOUGHTS.

JOHN