Somthing of A giggle

[NOMADICMEDIC]

First I want to thank ya for reading this AND thank you for any advice you have.

Heres the situation:

I am in the millitary and we are having a event (morale&welfare event )
We are having you guessed it a regatta.
We will be given a set amount of (and this is the giggly part) cardboard. yea that packing corrogated stuff. and two rolls of duck tape.

The objectiveortage of 2 souls on board and (mostly) dry to one end of the pool and back.

My Idea is to take half ( or perhaps a lil more than half) of the cardboard and cut out a Tri hull.Maybe a cat with subsequent inner layers to the hulls staving off saturation as long as possible.


heres where the questions start rolling in:
1. Mono or multi hull - wich is gonna hold more weight?
2. Cat or tri?
3. Am I even barking up the right tree?( I have seen to many canoe designs become soup bowls.)
4. does anyone have any better ideas?

I hope this finds you all well and again thanks for your input!

Highest regards..
The Crazed Nomad

[Baycat]

Why stop at two or three hulls what about a 'Decamaran' - Not knowing how much cardboard you have makes this a bit of a stab, but my guess is you might be better to think in terms of 'floating on ' rather than 'floating in' e.g raft
this would be very stable if you lie down.(anyway you'll want to keep your head down as this will be a live ammo exercise -yes.)
Cardboard when rolled is surprisingly strong so could make useful tubes - so if you roll it up you only have to worry about water getting in the ends - then if you crush the ends you even have a bow which is a bit streamlined. All you then need to do is work out the tube diameters to establish if you have enough to support your weight. Similiarly lash several tubes across the lot ah la 'Robinson crusoe' and away you go (don't underestimate the importance of these either).
Remember,these tubes can be lash in bundles to form bigger hulls like 'La Balsa' if you want to be really flash.
Look forward to the report on my table at 0600hrs

[dionysis]

since humans are mostly water - think about makng it big enough to fit two people lying down in it, (so you do not have to calculate displacement). The best carrying capacity vs material is a monohull. Hope this helps.

I would consider 4 approx 1 foot diameter X1 foot long double wall cylinders duct taped on the outside to seal for the boat corners, with some kind sheet boat to tie it all together utilizing frame like strips of tape, It will all get wet, and you will be wet but floats will hold up ,and frame will hold together by tape straps. Floats might be too big. Size accordingly to tape quantity!

[PAR]

I'd be thinking about putting as much material in contact with the water as possible. In other words, double, triple or more layers of material to stave off the surly to happen soaking as long as possible. Force the riders to sit in as tight a configuration as able, build a punt (box shaped) boat around this and use all the material for hull. The topsides (part out of the water) can be a single thickness as it will only get splashed. Use all of the duck tape as it will be the most water tight of the materials used. Don't over engineer the thing just estimate the weight of the paddlers, figure out how much hull you'll need to float this weight, facture in a reasonable safety margin and double, triple skin everything in the water. Coat everything (in the water) with all of the duck tape provided. One cubic foot of water weighs around 62 pounds. One cubic foot of space, below the waterline will support around 62 pounds (fresh water) of boat and crew. This will get you in the ball park (or swiming pool) Get back to us on the design after you've done your figuring and we'll take a look. Get skinny rowers, that are good swimmers . . . offering beer to the ones that survive can help . . .

[Not A Guest]

If it is a race, swimming (towing a small boat) might be the best option.

[NOMADICMEDIC]

Just wanted to say thanks for all the help and we'll let ya know how we did.
Is there a way to put pictures up?
I'd really love to show you guys the monster you've helped create
Blue skies/ Full sails.
-The Nomad

[Sketch]

Originally Posted by NOMADICMEDIC

Just wanted to say thanks for all the help and we'll let ya know how we did.
Is there a way to put pictures up?
I'd really love to show you guys the monster you've helped create
Blue skies/ Full sails.
-The Nomad

Lets see what ya got...

Use the reply button below right. Type text and scroll down to additional options. In the attach files box, click "manage attachments" button. A window will pop up with "browse" and "upload file" buttons. Use browse to select your pictures and upload to post.

Regards,
Kevin