I don't know if this counts but I once built a 3m tri from bagasse(sugar cane residue). The 3mm bagasse fibreboard was sandwiched between 1 ounce...
Half models were a useful if not essential part of the design process. Any inaccuracies in the scale up could be corrected on the loft floor. With...
The easiest way is to borrow someones boat and use it as a male mould. You will have to remove all the fittings and make sure you can remove the...
One last point before the thread finally dies, we know the Chinese had more advanced rudder systems long before the west. What if fenestration had...
Now that Michigangeorge has decided not to cut holes in his rudder we are only left with why the chinese did it. As they don't seem to know we...
Modern materials and methods have largely eliminated " shade tree " boatbuilding. Anything over about 18ft will probably require the construction...
The modern mantra that it is pointless to build a boat because your materials and labour will be lost on resale is a very large pile of bovine...
1900 is a good date for the modern era. The automobile had just hit the streets, flight was just around the corner and the I.C. engine was ready...
When Warington Smyth wrote that perforated rudders on junks were efficient(circa 1900). He was referring to their ability to turn the boat, not...
Acrylic paint will work but make it thick with more than 1 coat. You can't seal polystyrene with a quick lick of paint.
You can use Polystyrene foam as a plug or former if you paint it thickly with PVA to protect it from the polyester resin. It is not suitable as a...
Are you going to use only strip planking or one of the methods that use the strips as a base for a composite system? In " Boatbuilding " Howard...
I once built a little dinghy out of a mahogany bookrack I rescued from the city dump. I ripped the planks into strips about 7mm thick and solved...
Hi Dummy, Go back and read the book again. It says suitable for 30 feet and up! That means bigger than 30 feet.
Sorry that link doesn't seem to work, try www.simplicityboats.com scan down to alternative methods and materials Harry
If you are going with polyester I suggest you use mat rather than cloth,which has poor peel strength with polyester and wood. Mat will stick...
Folks often forget that the stuff they use to thicken epoxy is generally a form of reinforcing. Thickened resin is normally stronger than...
Bravo Frosty, we westerners have exported our worship of technology for it's own sake to the rest of the world. Gleefully abandoning perfectly...
I believe there is a definite place for leeboards in non racing multis. Both cost and accommodation benefit. Most of the drawbacks can be solved...
Hi Fanie, Watch out for polystyrene cores. The stuff available in RSA is generally steam blown and features fairly large cells only...
