flatpanel construction

........................http://www.mz3.com.au/html/resorcinol.html

 

Sounds doable to me too, especially if the house, deck & connective structure is kinda stand alone strong & just needs "holding up" out of the H2O, here's a firm that advertises plastic units on a similar basis http://www.plasticpontoon.com/ .
You could easy make a mold for fiber glass units, you might like to incorporate(as "Wilson" pontoons does) some nice v to the hulls, a separate bow molding & even a stern step /boarding platform/outboard bracket to make them nice, maybe a spray chine & some fat clinker style ridges to the topsides for some extra stiffness. The tooling could also be constructed at low cost using melamine faced sheet as you first suggested for the flat panels(I have often done this for simple custom tooling).
Also there's been a firm on ebay Aus offering some long houseboat pontoon moldings, but not presently advertising but might be of interest.
I think the modular units have some merit in ease of laminating & being "buoyancy" units offer a level of compartmentalization if one segment is "holed".
All the best in this, sounds like a cool style of boat http://www.boatdesigns.com/Mark-Twain-40-Plans-Patterns/productinfo/61-965/ (I might want one too )

 

Thanks for the thoughts , links , and ideas.

I think it may be feasible if we build two of these , in glass , but cost wise , don`t really now yet.
You have all told me that plywood is the most cost effective , and I don`t doubt it.

Deck house will most likely be cool room panels , ( pre- finished , and insulated , just cut openings for windows etc.
Electrics could be run with a draw wire ,after cutting with heated wire.

Anyway , the ""modules" idea :

Plywood " module :
30 ft ... and 86 ft...

Taken from here :http://www.brucesboats.com/page6.html

 

"Is that stuff still around ? I was told it was inclined to lose its properties after a good few years, but that is just hearsay."

Yes but as always google it for a supplier.

When I was an apprentice, we often used Aerolite, a white/clear resin I applied with a stick onto one surface an the hardener was an acid that I brushed onto the other mateing surface, set time was quick when both were mated and never had a problem with it.

The stuff was bought in as a powder an mixed up with water to make the resin. Big 30" high bags of the stuff.
Think they still use t in the aeroplane building industry, again google for it, perhaps put a keyword like aeroplane in the google mix

 

Some heat up a large nut on a thin wire then from the top lower it into the foam - it will melt away from the nut, guess a few heating's and you will get to where you want.

 

Exactly that way , DaEdster.....

 

Resorcinol (phenol resorcinol formaldehyde) has good durability, though I have disassembled joints that had powdered after 50 years. I've never seen a resorcinol joint "let go", but I have seen substantial powdering across a large percentage of the faying surface. Because this glue requires a perfect fitting joint and lots of clamping pressure, the joints tend to be well holding, even when the glue is breaking down. Also because of these reasons (tight joints and lots of pressure) it's not the best back yard builder glue.

 

sorry to go off topic but while house boats and modular construction is being discussed i have a question . i have often thought of building a house boat about 32x15 ft, but instead of putting a motor on it, make a docking station for a runabout which would propel the house boat and have a protected berth with easy access for the run about. i would put the runabout in the front so i could sit in it and drive when moving the mothership. a bit like those pontoons jetskis couple up to. have any of you seen such a vessel.

 

Great idea! just do it.

 

yes, i reckon it would be cool.

 

I reckon it would probably handle better with the runabout pushing, you might need a periscope or a deck hand atop the houseboat to see where your going. For the style of boating most really do, a house boat, a Hobie Cat & a ski/fishing boat would cover most fun, maybe chuck a couple of plastic kayaks on top too...........

 

yes i think you are correct, i was thinking at the front you would have good vision. i suppose you could open the front and back door of the house and look through it.

 

I have looked at this idea before , asking similar questions, and received mostly negative responses.

If you place the " tug " in front , the prop is so far forward , effectively " pulling " the barge , and the advice I was given was that the "mothership" will slew on turns and could be difficult to handle , particularly in cross winds.It was suggested that a rigid A frame placed at the front of the barge could be used with limited success.

On the other hand , pushing seems more logical , but I would find lack of visibility forward problematic. I thought about steering from the front , with the "tug at back , but that would introduce all manner of complication in hooking up steering and throttle arrangements.Perhaps a tiller auto - pilot could be hooked up ..... Remote control from the front would be best with a small joystick / toggle arrangement similar to a gaming controller ,if you could make the arrangement reliable and cost effective.
I found a house boat made in France , ( electric drive ) that had such a control panel.




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGns1qT-K_o&feature=player_embedded

Intriguing idea .

 

As the thread is going everywhere It would be good to give some precisions to meditate

- The USDA has a lot of very good info about glues;
http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/products/library/index.php make a search. Plenty of good PDF docs.
and a very informative handbook
http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/products/publications/several_pubs.php?grouping_id=100&header_id=p

- Resorcine; it's known for it's strength. Big advantage it can be used for laminations non protected by an "encapsulation" as this glue stands up very well the dimensional changes of the wood because of hygrometry. Big big con as pointed by Par; the joint must be perfect, preferably planed, and it asks for a pressure ranging from 1kg/cm2 to 5 kg/cm2, in PSI it's 14 to 70...good clamps required. Epoxy is mainly contact pressure to about 3 to 4 PSI.
Resorcine is far more toxic than epoxy.

- Polyester on wood. Forget it. Even diluted with styrene it won't glue correctly. 3 main physical and chemical reasons :
1/ polyester by it self is not a glue.
2/ polyester is not waterproof. It absorbs water (until 2% of its weight for the crappy orthophtalics) and that may cause problems.
3/ polyester cure (ie hardening) is inhibited by the phenols of the wood, and the glue lines of the plywood made with a phenolic glue. Several methods to overcome this problem have been tried: cobalt naphtenate (pretty toxic), interfaces made with polyurethanes, acrylics and more exotic products. None gave a long term satisfying solution.

- The Urea Formol glues (like aerodux) are a complete failure in wood boatbuilding. Simply not waterproof. Even on planes epoxy is prefered now.
It's known since 70 years that these glues are not convenient for boats. Urea Formol is very toxic, look at the MSDS sheet...

- Products developped for house building have not use on boatbuilding. 99.99% of this kind of trials end in failure. The requisites are simply too different.

- Hulls are 1/5 to 1/3 of the total cost of a boat. But it's the very heart of the boat. No place for stupid savings. A boat made with inferior materials has no value and no durability. But the number of workings hours is the same, and the final savings very small. Financially it's a very bad operation.

- Wood (and plywood) epoxy when correctly made is long lasting. Plenty of boats have ages ranging from 0 to 40 years. And most of the olders are aging very well, even after a period of neglection. For example Charlie Cappelle trimaran, 30 years old, has survived to 2 capsizes, and to 18 months of drifting upside down in the Atlantic. She is always sound and strong.

 

Great post !

All points taken.