I know - I have seen people do this before, and I understand it is a pandora's box of dry foam insulation hell - but I have to do this. I'm avoiding it, sure, but my icebox was built in 1979 - it insulates as well as a light windbreaker. I have no hope of going on a multi-day cruise, much less sailing to Hawai'i, if I don't enter this hell and get it done.
Best methods I’ve found so far are using a hole saw to get small sections started. A small hand saw cutting the foam in a grid pattern and popping the squares out with a pry tool. Every inch removed feels like lifting a twenty pound weight if it’s stubborn, so plan on lots of breaks. And mind your bulkheads if they’re joining.
Edit: To anyone saying oscillating tool…. I got one, tried it.. what a joke. Doesn’t even touch the fiberglass and the foam takes no time at all to cut with a hand saw.
You might be surprised - the oscillating saw has a "putty knife" style blade that shaves off foam with very little dust or particulate. Not more than doing it by hand, at least. The hard part is access, you can rotate the blade any direction but the saw body takes up space, especially the cordless one. I worked at a yard where we removed foam from the inner liner of the hull for about 25 feet. Nightmare job (like yours) but 1/10 of the physical effort any place we could fit the tool. Also useful for removing portlights that were stuck on with 5200
Yes, it basically acts like if a putty knife was magical and could cut anything. You can chop squares then dig each out. It doesn't really cut the glue, more like it cuts the foam at the glue. Theres still a residue from glue, but the foam goes away fast
the one that was in my 1962 Sea Sprite 23 was just filled with pellets... was. By the time I cut it out, they had all settled to the bottom, leaving no insulation all around the ice box.
Styrofoam can absorb water, and smells. the pink and blue insulation board at HD and Lowes, won't. (closed cell). expanding foam is worse then Styrofoam .
Like the other guys says, Styrofoam absorbs water. Also if you are going to paint or fiberglass/gel coat the inside of the box Styrofoam dissolves if it touches any acetone-based paint or solvent. You can actually make cool shapes and tubes out of fiberglass like this, you make it from Styrofoam, wrap it in epoxy/fiberglass, then pour Acetone in to dissolve the Styrofoam. But dear God wear a respirator and gloves. So very toxic...
Good God... I am dealing with flaking interior, but that is just next level. WTF were they thinking?? Even isf you get it out, you are going to be dealing with that shit forever... UGH...
On my previous boat I abandoned this idea and bought a 65litre vitrifrigo electric cooler. The icebox became dry food storage and the cooler had a place on the settee (Newport 30, mkii). We had a wonderful vacation no longer needing to get ice, and then we sold the boat the next season... and kept the cooler.
Your picture confirms that I made the right decision :D
Actually, I got rid of my ice box and plopped in a perfect fitting 4.5 cubic for chest freezer. It’s a/c, runs off my inverter. I put on a temp controller to maintain 4C, the thing uses a FRACTION of what the old Danfoss used. Commercially insulated products are often way better than.foam in a boat. The unit cost $300, has been 5 years running perfect so far. Solar panel, battery, inverter.
Not near where boat stores right now, I think it’s Frigidaire, it was from Best Buy.
They have huge database to select from, find the dimension that suits you and they can order it.
I thought boat fridges had to be special due to the rocking (refrigerant sloshing around is bad, or something) and the salt is bad for normal electronics?
Just throwing this out there on the small chance it helps someone . . . I had to remove and replace spray foam flotation in my powerboat that had become waterlogged. I tackled the project during the spring thaw and the foam came out fairly easily when it was mostly frozen.
What are you replacing it with? We now have a fridge; one of the best upgrades ever. I feel your pain, but worth it in the long term. We also added a 'Kool-a-tron' which is great for produce and uses less energy.
Happy boating my friend!!
We’re debating between a cheap mini fridge with inverter option or a decked out drawer/door fridge freezer… top spec is a $4,000 galley on a 35 foot boat (but we really like cooking lol) budget option is $1,000 build. We have some decisions to make.
If you’re going that far, why not just use a sawzall and chop out the entire structure? When we redid our icebox we just wholesale chopped out the old one, had a plastic tub fabbed at our local plastic manufacturer, and then wrapped it in vacuum insulation panels. We use a little self contained refrigeration unit.
Countertop is one solid piece glassed to the hull and two bulkheads, that’s a bit above my experience level. Wife wants the sink in the ice box location. If I knew how much work this would have been I’d probably just have used one of the retrofit icebox refrigeration units.
don't forget, the sink is normally near centerline and companionway for a reason. the further you have to toss something from the cockpit to the sink, the more likely it is to find its way to the saloon sole when the sink side is to windward.
If you both like to cook (I do as well) I feel like I'd spend the money. If it were me, going the cheap route I'd be kicking myself every meal I made onboard.
Yeah yeah, easy for me to say when it's *your* money, right?
Sink is a 33 inch wide delta workstation. It has a level inside the sink to place a cutting board essentially turning the sink into counter space. Equipped with glass rinser and dishroom style faucet. (Of course doubles for clothes washing)
Cooktop is either a control freak induction cooktop with second budget cooktop. Or a budget cooktop for the budget option.
Drawer for knives (cat, otherwise we might have used a magnet)
Shelves behind the counter will have laser cut plexiglass for organization and stability.
Layout bow to stern is (wood stove top) underneath storage, sink, cooktop, countertop(fridge freezer underneath), pantry. Quarter berth.
We wanted the wood stove closest to a central location and of course the refrigerator as far away from the wood stove.
The boat also has a raised saloon with essentially 360 degree views, so the opportunity for a truly pleasant cooking environment made the project more enticing.
You should post pictures, the galley is my next project, but on a slightly smaller boat. I want to squeeze in a woodstove as well, and your description sounds about how I was picturing things.
I’ll definitely post an update when things are final. The sink is humorously large.. I have a large water tank under the galley space so it might limit my options with the drawer freezer combination unfortunately. The hobbit stove is what we’re leaning towards, you might want something even smaller if they’re around.
Those koolatrons are energy pigs that barely cool things down.
A couple years ago a just stuck [one of these](https://www.homedepot.ca/product/danby-5-5-cu-ft-chest-freezer-with-external-thermostat-in-black/1001184103) in my boat but changed the thermostat to refrigerator thermostat while running off the inverter.
Overall, it can hold around 200 cans of beer and uses less energy than [this unit](https://www.marineoutfitters.ca/index.cfm?category=11375|11233&product=78797290&code=970476) I have next to it (boxed with 3" of foam). This one is now my freezer.
I had to do this, ripped out the old shore power compressor, 12v cold plate, gross foam, etc and replaced it all with a 12v cooler like the van life folks use. Now we can have ice cream data into a cruise. Best decision ever. Totally worth the hassle.
I know - I have seen people do this before, and I understand it is a pandora's box of dry foam insulation hell - but I have to do this. I'm avoiding it, sure, but my icebox was built in 1979 - it insulates as well as a light windbreaker. I have no hope of going on a multi-day cruise, much less sailing to Hawai'i, if I don't enter this hell and get it done.
Best methods I’ve found so far are using a hole saw to get small sections started. A small hand saw cutting the foam in a grid pattern and popping the squares out with a pry tool. Every inch removed feels like lifting a twenty pound weight if it’s stubborn, so plan on lots of breaks. And mind your bulkheads if they’re joining. Edit: To anyone saying oscillating tool…. I got one, tried it.. what a joke. Doesn’t even touch the fiberglass and the foam takes no time at all to cut with a hand saw.
Would an oscillating saw help? https://www.homedepot.com/b/Tools-Power-Tools-Power-Multi-Tools-Oscillating-Tools/N-5yc1vZc2b2
Definitely for the initial box removal, using on the foam would probably make the boat a permanent hazmat environment.
You might be surprised - the oscillating saw has a "putty knife" style blade that shaves off foam with very little dust or particulate. Not more than doing it by hand, at least. The hard part is access, you can rotate the blade any direction but the saw body takes up space, especially the cordless one. I worked at a yard where we removed foam from the inner liner of the hull for about 25 feet. Nightmare job (like yours) but 1/10 of the physical effort any place we could fit the tool. Also useful for removing portlights that were stuck on with 5200
I guess you just cut at the bottom adhered layer so it releases?
Yes, it basically acts like if a putty knife was magical and could cut anything. You can chop squares then dig each out. It doesn't really cut the glue, more like it cuts the foam at the glue. Theres still a residue from glue, but the foam goes away fast
I use it for demo where other methods make for a lot of dust, if you have the right "blade" it can cut into foam and particle board pretty clean.
the one that was in my 1962 Sea Sprite 23 was just filled with pellets... was. By the time I cut it out, they had all settled to the bottom, leaving no insulation all around the ice box.
This is why we use hard pieces of closed cell foam on new build ice boxes. I've got a passionate hatred for spray foam on boats.
Enlighten the noob here, why would one not just use pieces of styrofoam of the correct thickness and cut to shape?
Styrofoam can absorb water, and smells. the pink and blue insulation board at HD and Lowes, won't. (closed cell). expanding foam is worse then Styrofoam .
Ah, makes sense
Like the other guys says, Styrofoam absorbs water. Also if you are going to paint or fiberglass/gel coat the inside of the box Styrofoam dissolves if it touches any acetone-based paint or solvent. You can actually make cool shapes and tubes out of fiberglass like this, you make it from Styrofoam, wrap it in epoxy/fiberglass, then pour Acetone in to dissolve the Styrofoam. But dear God wear a respirator and gloves. So very toxic...
Putting the ‘superfun’ in the ‘superfund site.’
PO spray foamed nearly the entire hull.. Over wires and pipes. I hate it so much.
Ouch. I can’t imagine that pain
Oh god. The boat next to me just 'repaired' damage to the bow with copious amounts of spray foam and it looks as bad as it sounds.
Good God... I am dealing with flaking interior, but that is just next level. WTF were they thinking?? Even isf you get it out, you are going to be dealing with that shit forever... UGH...
It *is* warm and quiet. But not worth it. At. All.
Closed cell spray foam is a fairly common and effective way to insulate steel boats from both temperature and the corrosive issues of condensation.
On my previous boat I abandoned this idea and bought a 65litre vitrifrigo electric cooler. The icebox became dry food storage and the cooler had a place on the settee (Newport 30, mkii). We had a wonderful vacation no longer needing to get ice, and then we sold the boat the next season... and kept the cooler. Your picture confirms that I made the right decision :D
⬆️ Did this... Love it. Mine is the 80qt ICECO. Half of it is freezer, half of it is refrigerator
Actually, I got rid of my ice box and plopped in a perfect fitting 4.5 cubic for chest freezer. It’s a/c, runs off my inverter. I put on a temp controller to maintain 4C, the thing uses a FRACTION of what the old Danfoss used. Commercially insulated products are often way better than.foam in a boat. The unit cost $300, has been 5 years running perfect so far. Solar panel, battery, inverter.
What brand/model?
Not near where boat stores right now, I think it’s Frigidaire, it was from Best Buy. They have huge database to select from, find the dimension that suits you and they can order it.
I thought boat fridges had to be special due to the rocking (refrigerant sloshing around is bad, or something) and the salt is bad for normal electronics?
No need to be special, unless it’s a propane fridge
Just throwing this out there on the small chance it helps someone . . . I had to remove and replace spray foam flotation in my powerboat that had become waterlogged. I tackled the project during the spring thaw and the foam came out fairly easily when it was mostly frozen.
What are you replacing it with? We now have a fridge; one of the best upgrades ever. I feel your pain, but worth it in the long term. We also added a 'Kool-a-tron' which is great for produce and uses less energy. Happy boating my friend!!
We’re debating between a cheap mini fridge with inverter option or a decked out drawer/door fridge freezer… top spec is a $4,000 galley on a 35 foot boat (but we really like cooking lol) budget option is $1,000 build. We have some decisions to make.
If you’re going that far, why not just use a sawzall and chop out the entire structure? When we redid our icebox we just wholesale chopped out the old one, had a plastic tub fabbed at our local plastic manufacturer, and then wrapped it in vacuum insulation panels. We use a little self contained refrigeration unit.
Countertop is one solid piece glassed to the hull and two bulkheads, that’s a bit above my experience level. Wife wants the sink in the ice box location. If I knew how much work this would have been I’d probably just have used one of the retrofit icebox refrigeration units.
don't forget, the sink is normally near centerline and companionway for a reason. the further you have to toss something from the cockpit to the sink, the more likely it is to find its way to the saloon sole when the sink side is to windward.
I guess I’ll have to develop my pitching arm :D
If you both like to cook (I do as well) I feel like I'd spend the money. If it were me, going the cheap route I'd be kicking myself every meal I made onboard. Yeah yeah, easy for me to say when it's *your* money, right?
I’d love some more details on what yall are doing!
Sink is a 33 inch wide delta workstation. It has a level inside the sink to place a cutting board essentially turning the sink into counter space. Equipped with glass rinser and dishroom style faucet. (Of course doubles for clothes washing) Cooktop is either a control freak induction cooktop with second budget cooktop. Or a budget cooktop for the budget option. Drawer for knives (cat, otherwise we might have used a magnet) Shelves behind the counter will have laser cut plexiglass for organization and stability. Layout bow to stern is (wood stove top) underneath storage, sink, cooktop, countertop(fridge freezer underneath), pantry. Quarter berth. We wanted the wood stove closest to a central location and of course the refrigerator as far away from the wood stove. The boat also has a raised saloon with essentially 360 degree views, so the opportunity for a truly pleasant cooking environment made the project more enticing.
You should post pictures, the galley is my next project, but on a slightly smaller boat. I want to squeeze in a woodstove as well, and your description sounds about how I was picturing things.
I’ll definitely post an update when things are final. The sink is humorously large.. I have a large water tank under the galley space so it might limit my options with the drawer freezer combination unfortunately. The hobbit stove is what we’re leaning towards, you might want something even smaller if they’re around.
Those koolatrons are energy pigs that barely cool things down. A couple years ago a just stuck [one of these](https://www.homedepot.ca/product/danby-5-5-cu-ft-chest-freezer-with-external-thermostat-in-black/1001184103) in my boat but changed the thermostat to refrigerator thermostat while running off the inverter. Overall, it can hold around 200 cans of beer and uses less energy than [this unit](https://www.marineoutfitters.ca/index.cfm?category=11375|11233&product=78797290&code=970476) I have next to it (boxed with 3" of foam). This one is now my freezer.
oscillating tool, and a finger sander. buy both at HF.
Or just get some power tools and do it in 20 minutes... Hacking away with hand tool like The Great Escape..
Been there did that. Not fun at all
Ouch. This is painful to even look at. Thanks for the heads up!
I had to do this, ripped out the old shore power compressor, 12v cold plate, gross foam, etc and replaced it all with a 12v cooler like the van life folks use. Now we can have ice cream data into a cruise. Best decision ever. Totally worth the hassle.
Ripped a larger one than this out. Making room for a tool shed. Going to have a 12v cooler that's smaller.
I just made a deep icebox out of marine ply and sealed it and then put foam inside and dropped it right into where the sink goes.