is it possible to design a cartopper that can sleep 2 overnight?

I think Brian Pearson has the right idea but kayaks don't have enough flotation. Do the same thing but w two soft or hard decked canoes. Two large canoes could produce over a ton of capacity and two light and narrow canoes would be very easy to handle. Could even put a 2hp OB on it and have a fantastic range.

 

Oh yes they do, thank goodness - because I have just been inspired by that photo, and I have a spare tent and am not afraid to use it. Just bought the plans for :-

eg. http://www.pygmyboats.com/mall/GEHISPEC.asp

it has .37 cubic metres, or 370 kilos displacement - thats 1 person plus 100 kilos of gear ( or two people on the same side of the tent ) with 1/3 in reserve.

great photo, great idea

 

Nice.

 

rwatson,
"Oh yes they do," ....you mean have enough flotation? Well I guess it depend's on what you have to float and what kind of safety margin you want.
I'd stick w the canoes but you've made a VERY fine choice for a kayak. I know a bit about kayaks and I think those Pygmy's are really good but I've thought that about others too and after paddling them found them to be just as bad as I thought them to be good. I have a big kayak. A Necky Pinta in Kevlar. It has a sampan cross section so is narrow in the water and wide at the gunnel. Has great secondary stability. Not fast though. Too much wetted surface and too hollow in the bow. Unless I'm in rough conditions I prefer my other kayak ..
a 15' Necky Kyook ..a very average "plastic" boat but it just seems perfect in every way ....except weight. Kayaks are just what they are and one never knows until one paddles them.

 

IMHO most plastic kayak designs are compromised by the need for compatibility with modern manufacturing methods, and by company lawyers who demand excessive stability due to the litigatious atmosphere in the US and elsewhere. I am not a professional but my home-made and home-designed double paddle canoe easily beats either of my plastic kayaks, one of which is supposed to have racing heritage. Oh, the kayak is the fastest of my boats by a tiny margin if you are sprinting, this has been shown in side-by-side comparisons. However, if you're not an olympic athlete and plan to last more than a few minutes it cannot keep up with the shorter wood boat.

 

yes, thats what I was referring to - I am hoping that the 1/3 reserve over worst case scenario will be enough, but as you say - you never know until you try them

Canoes do have more loading capability, but they are harder to enclose if you get rain or a bit of chop. I am hoping to close the kyak up from adverse weather. The HiTop version has that little bit of extra freeboard.

I guess anything I have to power with muscle is always a bit fraught - but heck, if we wanted an easy life, we wouldnt be messing around with boats, would we

 

Just to clarify, the boats in my picture at Expedition rowing boats, 36" wide. My reference to kayaks was to do with loading on the roof, on their sides as kayakers do. sorry for any confusion.

i think the two rowboats are linked using the oars. lots of load carrying ability.





Colin and Julie rowed and cycle towed two boats from Scotland to Syria!

http://www.angusadventures.com/rowedtrip.html

Brian

 

cartopper cruiser

I am currently corresponding with a designer on a very similar idea.
My idea however does require one to sleep ashore. anyway... I am trying to work with the idea of a 15' boat with approx a 4' beam. also my idea is a "rowboat style" with perhaps use/option of an electric motor.

This idea certainly does open a whole can of worms. ie: rivers and lakes as appossed to more open water type excursions. touring around islands may required a bigger boat. For me its the Rowboat approach that interests me the most. I had a 17' touring canoe for several years and enjoyed it. but there is quite a difference between that and say a 12' aluminum Rowboat with a 4 - 5' beam (just an example). Of course I do plan on building my boat out of wood, and I guess my main point here is 15' with a 4' beam. (is it enough boat?), the hull of course is another issue *L*. As simple as the boat may seem, the wheels in my head are practically falling off its axles and I know I broken a couple U-joints in my brain just thinking about this. Its exciting and yes I believe doable. good luck dutch! and I'm sure other eyes and ears will be watching as well.
thoughts?

 

I have also been thinking about a car top boat that you can camp in. I want an expedition motor canoe (freighter canoe). Probably 24' long and 400 pounds.

This is of coarse much too big to car top in one piece. My solution is to make the boat in three sections that will nest inside each other. Each 8' piece would be easy to handle. This would allow traveling by car, truck, or airplane to distant cruising grounds. When you get to the water bolt the pieces together.

C.O.
http://whatsintheshop.blogspot.com/

 

One thing you can do is build the boat and then modify it to bolt together in the middle, essentially doubling the cartop weight without extra strain.
I've worked on such joints. The best kind have no gasket, but have a full height bulkhead (bolts can pass thru the bulkheads and O-rings can be adhered to one side of the two facing joint-faces).
This adds only a little weight but allows a lot of boats to be segmented. It also provides a water tight bulkhead that makes the boat safer in use.
Though not so simple on traditionally built boats, it works really well when the boat is built with modern epoxy/glass methods.

 

Now youre thinking. Nesting boats were quite popular as yacht tenders before everyone went inflatable. A Sharp chainsaw and a little thought should do the trick.. Perhaps a dory shape....then Chop Chop...


http://www.nestawayboats.com/page4.htm

 

That works well but the bulkheads do not have to be full height, just a little higher than the loaded waterline: easier to climb over. Best without gaskets, which tend to introduce flexing.

 

The TRIO looks like a good boat for this purpose. It wouldn't be too hard to rig a small fabric shelter.

 

Full height as opposed to sealing the perimeter---- as you say, up to a reasonable height, though depending on the boat type, higher can be better. a heeled sailboat would leak anywhere from the gunwale down to the top of the bulkhead. Of course you can install a gasket across the top.

 

And while the Nestaway is fiberglass, due to the greater dimensional stability of wood/epoxy, a wooden boat will be fairer than a set of three molded sections.