Recent content by Andrew Kirk

I'd like to update my thread after 5 months of saying nothing. I think there must be someone out there who's at least a little interested because I often get links to my blog from this thread. I decided that the catamaran was sitting at the wrong angle in the water. The stern was down and the...

My paddlewheel propelled pedal boat ground to a halt in a mat of weed on the canal. Whilst the paddlewheel was OK, the rudder got stuck. A wheel at either side, also used for steering, might have worked.

After several more tests with the catamaran, I'm happy. I've been improving chain retention and adjusting the paddlewheel height and, hence, depth of immersion. I want to test one more position, in the expectation that I can improve my speed a little further. For a short hull my speed is...

Not yet perfect but I'm getting there! I had a much better time on the canal, today. I have a couple of modifications to make but now think that I can achieve my design aims. Real progress with the boat. https://mountainbiker.online/2023/06/08/real-progress-with-the-boat/

A quick update on my progress. I tested my front mounted paddlewheel yesterday and averaged only 1.9 mph. The problem seems to be too little paddle in the water because my weight distribution is rear biased. This is raising the front of the hull, which I hadn't thought of. I need to lower the...

There is not enough room between my hulls to make the paddles sufficiently large so the first system has had to go. Instead I'm building a front mounted paddle wheel since my rear mounted wheel worked so well on my dinghy. The hulls don't have the flat transom of the dinghy so slip through the...

I've just calculated that the wetted area of my catamaran hulls is around 10% greater than that of my dinghy, which could reach hull speed and cruise at 70 % of that. What I failed to mention in my report was that spinning the pedals on water took almost no more effort than on land. I'm just not...

My shorter dinghy had a completely flat transom and no rocker but could still cruise at 2.9 mph from a hull speed of 4.16 mph. What I noticed with the catamaran is that if I stopped pedaling it carried on, losing speed very slowly. I've already thought of a long middle section for touring duties...

I've done it! I've splashed my new boat. All seemed well except for a lack of propulsive force. I need much wider paddles and have planned the changes I need to make. Splash! https://mountainbiker.online/2023/04/26/splash/

Tomorrow may be the day for a first launch of my new boat. Exciting! Also worrying. All sorts could go wrong. Close to launching my new boat. https://wp.me/pat7O8-1DH

I've laid the components out and it might even have started to look like a boat! I only need to do some painting, a few small bits and accurately assemble. Then the exciting part, my first test on the water. Trial build of my new boat...

Waterproof PVA like Titebond 3 might do the trick. Although it claims not to be suitable for continuous immersion, anecdotally it works. It is often used for Poor Man's Fibreglass as a fully waterproof non structural membrane.

I'm progressing with my build and hope to be ready to test by the end of this Month (April). Boat building progress. https://mountainbiker.online/2023/04/11/boat-building-progress/

My pedal powered dinghy was built from 1.2 mm Al. I wouldn't try to weld anything as thin as this but in my case I didn't need to. How are you going to construct this boat? What will hold the 1.2 mm sheet to the structure?

150 watts is easy enough for one hour.