Boat floatation

[alg]

I'm re-placing the floor in a boat I'm re-doing, and have a question about floatation. I read on here awhile ago about the difference between open-cell and closed-cell foam, and that you should not use the foam in a can for boat floatation. What about the swimming toys that they call "noodles"? They usually are about 3 inches in diameter and about 4 or 5 feet long. Would they work for floatation in a boat? One "noodle" holds a person up while swimming, and I never recall them ever getting water-logged, so they must be closed celled. If a person cut them to size and stuffed them into the floor compartments and side compartments of the boat would this work?

[Pat K]

I'm not sure that the noodles will stand up to gas or oil fumes. Put some gas in a small container, then drop in a small piece of noodle. If the noodle disolves or absorbs the gas you won't want to use it for boat floatation.