Building Paper Boats!

[nobucks]

I used to like to make paper boats when I was a kid. They're just a little bigger now.

This is my concept 16' Touring Kayak.

Since I hadn't actually paddled this particular frame since Mark and I thought it up, I decided that I needed to try it out before I spent actual money on the skin. I have a roll of Tyvek laying around, so I decided to put that on and test the boat shape. The skin took 20 minutes to put on and I used about 50 staples. I pulled the wrinkle out, stapled, moved up, pulled the wrinkle, stapled, etc., until I finished one side, then I went to the other side and did the same thing. I wasn't really worried about how it looked. I just wanted to get it on the water.

This boat is nice and fast, easy to paddle, and very stable. I can't wait to get the real skin on it and see how well it performs. The Tyvek is standard building wrap and was somewhat abrasion resistant, meaning that it didn't spring any leaks when I launched it, only when I beached it.

From the back. I won't put on the coaming until I put the actual skin on.

Superior was pretty cold today. The weather was nice and warm though.

From the front:

Here's the ugly side:

On the beach:

 

[hairymick]

G'day Joel,

That's a real slippery lookin craft.

Just a thought mate, Could that paper stuff be coated with epoxy? might make a real light boat.

 

[nobucks]

I don't think the Tyvek would absorb the epoxy. I guess a person would have to try it out to find out. I'll be doing some epoxy work on a sailboat later this week. Maybe I'll try it and see.

I was thinking that it would make a nice backing for the fiberglass though. I've heard that just plain glass over an open frame tends to sag.

 

[Kayak Jack]

It would seem to me that epoxied glass over an open spot would be brittle and easily broken.

 

[nobucks]

By sagging, I mean, when you're wetting out the fiberglass. It also seems like, without something behind it the epoxy would run out of the weave and you'd end up with a lot of expensive epoxy on the floor.

I agree with you about the fragility of the cured epoxy/glass. I'd think you'd need to do a couple of layers of fiberglass to make something that can stand up to some abuse.