Build your own boat, composite

[nam]

Interesting read, someone on this forum can do this.


http://airsquad.playak.com/modules/news ... storyid=25" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[JimW]

Some do

http://www.shaggydesigns.com/design.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Sir Adam]

Yup - and documented it too!

https://www.cboats.net/cforum/viewtopic ... lit=mentor" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

and

https://www.cboats.net/cforum/viewtopic ... entor+plug" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

are just a few....

[road_warrior64]

Here is my first attempt at making a composite OC-1. It's a hasty effort and more of an experiment than anything. Looking at the lines of the Paradigm, the Inferno, and even the L'edge, I noticed that the hulls were mostly flat surfaces with rounded chines. So I built a simple plywood mold with a few layers of foam on the bottom. The bottom is flat for 48" then curves up on each end to give 4" of rocker. I rounded the foam, sanded, and filled in with joint compound to make it smooth. I added foam to the ends and shaped them in a similar fashion. I covered it in plastic wrap, wetted out three layers of 5oz Kevlar and one layer of 6oz S-glass. Three days later, it popped off the mold with very little effort. Currently, it's just a bare hull with rough gunnels and thwarts. It weighs 23 lbs but it still needs deckplates, a saddle, and bags. It is 28" wide and 11' long. Here are a few things I've learned:

On a flat bottom boat, the layup is way too flimsy. I've purchased coremat and fiberglass to put in the bottom.

The plastic wrap is virtually impossible to make perfectly smooth. Every little wrinkle will translate into your boat's interior. Next time, I'll try a mold release instead.

Next time, I'll use the faster catalyst with my epoxy resin. My wife supplied me with small batches and the faster cure time would have been fine.

The plastic automotive bondo spreaders worked great for wetting out the fabric and smoothing out wrinkles. We used them and foam rollers with good results.

My next boat really needs some tumblehome.

I'm going to finish this boat, evaluate its performance, analyze the cost, and determine design changes/improvements for the next one. I'm a complete amateur with no experience but I'll be glad to answer any questions. Thanks to the members of this forum for sharing their knowledge.

JC
road_warrior64

[Bob P]

As someone who has done about a half-dozen boats, both open and decked, it's a process that strains my obsessive-compulsive nature...

[nam]

much respect to those guys who make their own boats.
nam

[icyone]

All my respect and admiration. ... another designer-builder in the fold!

I date back to the olden days of "if you want a boat you have to build it"-- and the DC Teen-age Ninjas of C-1. I'm too old to handle plastic -- and now that plastic hit a bump in the road -- temporary to be sure, but enough to inspire more amateur boat builders to get into the scene -- maybe we can have another golden age of boat design.