Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

A light form fitting foamy trolling motor boat on top of a foamy trolley top teardrop. A low cost camping-fishing combo! One could ever use the same battery.

Mary C wrote:I want to build a boat similar in materials to Rosies but I plan to design it differently I am looking at boat designs a lot before I build I am wondering how to figure the buoyancy and how to figure if I build it will it hold me above the water that is the only reason I haven't built one. I will figure it out even if it is by try and see method. what I want is similar to the mouse boat made with lots foam and more designed as short and thinner at the front but 4 inches of foam on the bottom and hold me and a little electric motor and battery along with my fishing gear. I know nothing about boats so I can think out of the box, without prejudices and all the things that can and can't be done. I can build a fishing boat where I will have what I want and it will be very light and can be used in still waters without hesitation. I can also block out the naysayers, and the ones who just like to stir up the pot so to speak. I can do it but it will be a project when I get back from my Big Out West Trip.

See I told you canvas has been used in earlier boat building. what he said!!!

There was a boat retrieved from the depths and the historian was pointing to the little patches of canvas as it was torn from the wood that it had protected the wood so well that it looked like new.

Mary C.

Every cubic foot will displace about 65 pounds of water.

A 4x10 rectangular flatbottom boat with 8 foot waterline (meaning the front of the boat starts to rise out of the water for the last two feet of length, don't want to calculate that into displacement because it isn't displacing).

32 square feet in water contact..... now add the 3rd dem, height. If the sides are 18 inches, let's assume you don't want them sinking more than 6 inches down into the water so you've always got at least 12 inches of freeboard above the water line....

32 square feet times 0.5 feet is 16 cubic feet of water displacement.

16 times 7.5 gallons of water in a cubic foot, times 8.6 pounds per gallon = 1032 pounds. To determine capacity, subtract the weight of the boat itself. I can't imagine such a structure weighing more than 200 pounds, so you would be good to with 800 pounds of people, battery, cooler full of ice and beverages, etc.

Flatbottoms are not only easy to build, they displace alot more water per square foot of deck space. The drawback is they are innefficient for power boats with higher horsepower and very rough riding through waves. For protected waters at low speeds, you can't beat a flatbottom design for ease of build and functionality/comfort. Also extremely stable to move around in.


The one thing to keep in mind is that the boat will take 10x more abuse out of the water than in the water. Make it strong enough to fall off the trailer and roll down a hill.


EDIT for one more tip...

Notice Josey put her battery up front.... this is smart with such a light weight boat.... the lighter the boat, the more attention has to be paid to distributing weight evenly. You don't want to put yourself and a batter in the back, catch a wave and a gust of wind and get flipped over, head over tail, battery going into the water and shocking up every fish within a half acre... which would also be illegal in most jurisdictions....

OK.... one more tip... in GA, if you boat is under 16 feet and it's not powered with a gas motor, you can classify it as a canoe and you don't have to register (pay tax) it.

how many boats have you built ? sounds like you know your stuff I know that we have discussed this subject many times on this forum and that is fine I learn some every time it is just I never learned boat math when it comes to displacement only one plus one made two and if you keep adding = a house full of kids and you feel like you are displaced ..........Ok I thought something like three feet wide with a 4 inch basic flat bottom. two inch foam sides up a foot . The length would be about 61x to eight foot. it is a little rounded in the front and a straight back. now a seat a large square of foam that is higher above the sides by 5 or 6 inches. fill in the rounded area in the front with foam a four inch in the front. I wish I could draw but my thought is that I could shorten it for the added foam. I will have to build it to see if it would work don't worry I will take lots and lots of pictures.

Mary C.

check out Foamie Paddleboard [url].tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=55&t=52369[/url]
I don't know if I did that right but it is about two pages back.

http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=55&t=52369

This?

Thanks KC i am not computer inclined either.

Mary C.

My foamie boat is still going strong after six months of sailing and paddling. Had her out this past Saturday.

Just sayin’ ... if you have two boat builders in one room ,you know they’re going to argue about which is the better way... and due to their curmudgeonly nature , wouldn’t even likely consider our Foamies as Real boats .... merely fancy floats...

Thing is here, we already Know what works !!! It’s all been tested !!!

GPW wrote:Just sayin’ ... if you have two boat builders in one room ,you know they’re going to argue about which is the better way... and due to their curmudgeonly nature , wouldn’t even likely consider our Foamies as Real boats .... merely fancy floats...

Thing is here, we already Know what works !!! It’s all been tested !!!

GPW, Well said. This is my second boat built using foam/canvas. The first is a hybrid. Used 5mm lauan, covered with canvas and TBIII, foam facing interior. That boat is almost two years old. The kayak/sailboat is contructed of foam over a frame, canvas, and TBIII. Last weekend I added external chines and laminated the bottom of the hull with a layer of plywood. I did this only to provide additional protection of the hull due to sand and rock damaged incured while sailing last summer.

Larry

Larry, I too was thinking of using bottom chine strips as protectors ...easy enough to work in some hard points into the hull for attachment/replacement http://www.theoaks.ca/bottomchinestrips.jpg

GPW wrote:Larry, I too was thinking of using bottom chine strips as protectors ...easy enough to work in some hard points into the hull for attachment/replacement http://www.theoaks.ca/bottomchinestrips.jpg

Absolutely Glen.

The problem I encountered with my damage was due to a low lake condition and the city dumping concrete waste near the end of the shore. I was on a run and hit the beach hard while scraping against the un seen rough concrete. Finishing up repairs and painting the hull this week. The foamie boat has been great fun.

Larry

Interesting note on the OP......

the naysayers in the link just happen to be.....



fiberglass salesmen!

Well, in all fairness. They also design boats to be built a specific way with the materials they sell. They are just telling anyone not to try it with their designs. And it would be unsafe to try it with most of their designs. Canoes and kayaks would be ok, but not something pushing 50 hp.

wagondude wrote:Well, in all fairness. They also design boats to be built a specific way with the materials they sell. They are just telling anyone not to try it with their designs. And it would be unsafe to try it with most of their designs. Canoes and kayaks would be ok, but not something pushing 50 hp.

The owner of the site and designer of all the hulls is the only one on the thread that is encouraging more testing and experimentation with it...... albeit skeptically. He sent me an email talking about his experimentation with foam instead of plywood, and a link to his e-book about it... he's rolling out some designs in the future with foam.

But not with canvas....

We must not be deterred by people who have no experience at all with our method ... You’ll notice it’s always the “naysayers” who have Never tried it ... but know better ... (self appointed Experts )

Glen,

U are so correct. On one of my boat builder sites, I was told that the canvas and foam would never work. Well, the first boat is approaching 2 yrs of sailing.
My current kayak was completed last summer and I have been very pleased with both.

We do have one builder that used all foam, but he glassed the hull. He claims the boat without sail, mast etc. Weighs under 40 lbs. Since many of us are not getting any younger and still love to sail, we need to all the "help" we can get.