A friend I fish with said he is going to put an air valve stem on each of his pontoon boat's floating aluminum cylinder to add air and pressurize cylinders. He claims this will make the boat float higher on the surface of the water. I don't agree with this. I think this will have no effect at all.
2007-05-27 16:10:21 · 13 answers · asked by Jack P 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
no, it will sink more. The more pressure put into a cylinder the more weight is added. That makes the density of the cylinder greater so it sinks. (that includes helium) .... no gas is weightless. Theoretically, the cylinder would float higher if you pull a vacuum on the cylinder. In any case, at standard conditions, a liter of gas weighs about a gram so you probably wouldn't see a huge difference. I don't know anything about pontoons but my guess is that they're designed ONLY to be empty ... not to be under pressure. You would be amazed at how much damage a small amount of pressure can do to a vessel that's not designed for pressure. In some cases, the result could be lethal.
2007-05-27 16:20:07 · answer #1 · answered by K In the House 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Will adding pressure cause the pontoon to float higher? Not likely, as has been amply discussed here. When you compress any gas, it has mass and you are simply putting more of that mass into the same space under higher pressure, so obviously it will be technically lower in the water. Could you measure that change in depth, maybe, but that would depend entirely on what gas and how much pressure you put into the vessel (pontoon). With that said, there MIGHT be an as yet unmentioned benefit to putting a small amount of air into the pontoon. With a positive pressure inside the tube, it will help prevent any incursion of fluid from the outside if the integrity of the tube fractures at some spot. This is a common practice in other fields, such as in the broadcast field where radio transmission lines to antennas are given a positive pressure (however slight) to help prevent moisture incursions ....
2014-07-06 13:34:45 · answer #2 · answered by John 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
By pressurizing the pontoons, the amount of water displaced will still be the same (unless the cylinders grow in size). Anotherthing is air still has mass, so there is actually a possiblility that is would be lower (not much lower, but still).
Basically the point is that little if anything will happen, and by adding unneeded parts onto a part of the boat that doesn't have those parts for good reason, it's just risking a mess.
2007-05-27 16:23:27 · answer #3 · answered by chess2226 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
If the aluminum cylinders are rigid enough to maintain their shape with at atmospheric pressure, the only thing pressurizing the pontoons will do is make the boat float lower by increasing the density of the air.
On the other hand, if the pontoons deform significantly (think of an under inflated Zodiac) then pressurizing might help. However, in that case they probably are not strong enough to pressurize.
2007-05-27 16:19:19 · answer #4 · answered by tinkertailorcandlestickmaker 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
You're both wrong. By pressurizing the cylinder, you're actually adding weight to it. Thus, the cylinder will float LOWER in the water. If your fishing buddy wants his boat to ride higher, he should either evacuate the pontoons, or fill them with a light gas such as helium.
2007-05-27 16:18:50 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Pressurizing the cylinder will not produce an increase in bouancy, unless the cylinder "expands" like a balloon. Increased pressure will actually increase the weight of the cylinder and have the the effect of adding weight to his boat.
2007-05-27 16:19:39 · answer #6 · answered by MARTIN M 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Aluminum Pontoon Floats
2016-11-08 03:27:46 · answer #7 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It would not float higher. What causes bouncy is the different in weight between the cylinder and the exact same volume of water at its level.
If you pump more air in to the cylinder you would add mass and thus add weight.
2007-05-27 16:28:15 · answer #8 · answered by eric l 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Actually by pressurizing his pontoons he will reduce the buoyancy of the boat. When you pressurize a gas you increase it's density. Increased density equates to reduced buoyancy. If he wants to increase his free-board he could try making a vacuum in the pontoons.
2007-05-27 16:17:18 · answer #9 · answered by Sailorman 3 · 3⤊ 0⤋
It would work on flexible pontoons because you'd be expanding them when you pressurized them, but with aluminum, all you'd be doing is making them a little heavier.
2007-05-28 03:10:09 · answer #10 · answered by Nomadd 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋