Help with design on modifying inflatable

Discussion in 'Boat Design' started by Xyberz, Aug 10, 2016.

  1. Xyberz
    Joined: May 2014
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    Xyberz Junior Member

    Hey guys,

    Please let me start by saying I know this isn't ideal. smart, or what ever but I still wanted to ask for your suggestions for a design (not an opinion and especially rude remarks on what you think about it).

    I'm thinking about designing and adding on something to the bottom of my flat bottom boat to help it operate better in ocean waters. The boat isn't going out very far from the shore line, I mean no more than a mile out or anything like that.

    I know that the water can be choppy sometimes and I don't plan to go out on days where the waves are big or bad weather conditions. Hoping flat - 2 feet of waves and sunny skies are going to be ideal here in Hawaii (Oahu specifically).

    My idea is to use those thick sheets of blue foam found in hardware stores about 6" thick or so, and mold something out of them. I can sculpt and then glass it after a desired shape is achieved.

    Is it possible to design something like a cat bottom? I like the characteristics of a cat boat and how it performs in choppy waters. So many ideas in my head but wondering what would work best.

    Thanks in advance for any suggestions and keeping the personal opinions to yourself.
     
  2. Xyberz
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    Xyberz Junior Member

    Maybe something with a bottom like this?
     

    Attached Files:

  3. Alumination
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    Alumination Junior Member

    What does your boat look like now?

    How wide is the flat bottom?
     
  4. Xyberz
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    Xyberz Junior Member

    I believe the boat is 12' x 5' or 5.5'. Just looking for a good design with good stability but with the possibility to get on a plane.

    This boat will be used mainly for recreational fishing and sometimes just cruising around.
     
  5. Mr Efficiency
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    Mr Efficiency Senior Member

    Here we go again, your love affair with flimsy plastic inflatables continues ! Realistically, you dont build a functional offshore boat around what is little more than a toy. I know how fond you are of the fantastic plastic, but why does it have to be always along for the ride ?
     
  6. Xyberz
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    Xyberz Junior Member

    I'm just curious, do you have to spout your opinions when I already RESPECTFULLY asked not to? Now this thread is gonna be filled with useless back and forth posts about this kind of garbage.

    What I do with my own life is not a concern of yours. I kindly ask for suggestions on a design, not on opinions on of what I'll be doing. Is that TOO HARD to ask? Apparently so...

    Just in case, I edited my first post to make this EXTRA clear so it's crystal.

    P.S. I have the boat, motor, and everything to get up and running. This is just a side project so it's already happening whether you approve of it or not and honestly your approval doesn't matter. So hopefully with much respect, we can get back to the topic at hand because I'm gonna enjoy the hell out of my flimsy boat and shove it in your face.

    And I also reported your post to the forum moderator since you can't respect my wish.
     
  7. Mr Efficiency
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    Mr Efficiency Senior Member

    Plenty of people die in dodgy boats, don't be one, or take someone else with you doing it.
     
  8. Xyberz
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    Xyberz Junior Member

    Ok Mr. Smart guy, did you know MORE people have DIED in "safe" boats than all the dingys in the world combined. My co-worker's cousin just DIED last month along with 2 of his best friends. Guess what they were riding in? A BOAT, a REGULAR traditional fishing boat. So please, respectfully yet once again, just leave this thread alone because you're not contributing to the subject at hand. And just to let you know, a majority of deaths is caused by user error in some form or fashion. Whether it be due to bad maintenance, miscalculation of the weather/environment/etc. Not because of the type of craft that they were in genius.

    I don't care what you got to say unless you have some info related to designing a bottom for the boat.
     
  9. Xyberz
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    Xyberz Junior Member

    Please STOP violating this forum's CLEAR policy which you are doing.

    1b.) Respect the original poster of each thread – replies should be on topic with the original post in a thread. Replies must not derail or disrupt the thread discussion based on the original post. Otherwise, start a new thread of your own. (It is ok for threads to evolve as the discussion progresses, but a thread about keel design is no place for a post about American politics.)
     
  10. Mr Efficiency
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    Mr Efficiency Senior Member

    If the blow-up boat the OP pictured is (as I expect) made of some kind of homogenous, uncalendered plastic or PVC, it is wholly unsuitable for use at any distance from shore, greater than everyone on board can comfortably swim. Because they may well need to.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 10, 2016
  11. PAR
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    PAR Yacht Designer/Builder

    You begin this thread acknowledging this isn't a wise or smart idea and warn you'll not accept derogatory comments about them. This begs the question, what is the nature of this post, as coming in knowing you have a less than sound set of ideas and then, expecting folks to not point these things out, seems self defeating, if not frankly pointless.

    I'd have to agree, trying to make an inshore, semi protected waters style of hull form into something else, isn't a reasonable engineering approuch. Your cavalier concerns about "what you do with your own life" etc. isn't simply a personal choice, particularly when good men have to come out and try to fish your soggy butt, out of the drink. As you've pointed out, people can die in sound vessels, so why would you want to entertain, anything less than sound approuch?

    Avoid the "cat bottom" as you initially suggested, as it's not the best choice in rough water, just have a look at the racers, most of which switch to their deep V mono's when the condisions are rough. A relatively fine entry, with considerable reserve volume above the LWL and a moderately steep deadrise, will offer the most bang for the buck, though your boat's length is the real limiting factor. There's an old saying about going to sea in boats, smaller than the seas it'll encounter and it's very true. Ocean swells can easily exceed your boat's length, placing you at a severe disadvantage, if you get caught in a sudden squall.

    Lastly, Mr. E. is correct and this doesn't seem well suited to your needs, so maybe you should reconsider or possibly try a different approuch. No one is insulting you, though having the obvious pointed out, (which you opened the thread with) can be difficult to accept, it isn't personally insinuating anything more than what you've initially suggested it might be.
     
  12. messabout
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    messabout Senior Member

    xyberz

    Please relax and listen to some of the respondents. There are some plenty smart, and thoroughly experienced guys here. Mr. E is one of them. You asked for suggestions, not opinions. Please differentiate between those two positions so that we can all be on the same page.

    You began by presuming that you would be exposed to rude remarks??? Why would you make that assumption?? I am practicing some forbearance at this moment even though I am offended by your use of large red letters which is rather impolite as it implies loud and demanding voice.

    We can behave like gentlemen, then we can continue the discussion that may be useful to you.
     
  13. Xyberz
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    Xyberz Junior Member


    Just curious, if I stuck a crack pipe in front of your face would you take a hit?

    Probably not right?

    But what if I stuck a crack pipe and you were a crack addict, do you think you'd be able to resist?

    Well the latter is a description of a forum troll and sadly even "experienced' members are not immune being this. It's sad and completely useless to flood forums of all types everywhere with USELESS information. Giving me an "assumptive" statement that they don't wanna see me die and anyone else die is not helpful when all I asked for is design suggestions.

    Unless I told you I was gonna be a complete idiot and take my two planks of wood into 20 foot ocean swells, I doubt that information is gonna be useful to me. Sure, go ahead and give your opinion but if that's all you can contribute, then why bother? I didn't ask for it and I clearly stated that I didn't want it. I'm following forum rules, why can't everyone else? Just because you have thousands of posts to your name, doesn't mean that you're always right.

    BTW, I posted either in this forum or another about a boat like this being able to plane and an "experienced" helpful member posted back that it would NEVER plane. Amazing to find out that this "experienced' <insult directed towards other forum member removed> was completely wrong and I found a video of the damn thing going on a plane with a big motor strapped to the back. Now as it smart? Doubt it but it proved that <insult directed towards other forum member removed> wrong. So YES you can be WRONG, especially if you can only quote what others think is right and have NEVER experienced it for yourself so you can't speak of it otherwise.

    So, now how many posts in this one thread are truly helpful compared to ones that are just opinions on what I'm possibly going to be doing? Exactly, my point above posting a clear forum rule was just but even then, something that is clearly ignored. Why even have rules? Then you all go supporting this rule violation.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 10, 2016
  14. Xyberz
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    Xyberz Junior Member


    Just curious, why avoid the cat bottom when I've seen cat boats work very well in pretty big swells in the ocean. I'm only assuming it's because like you said, it has to do with the boat length.

    We have LOTS of people here in Hawaii who use small boats, 14 ft and well under in our waters for fishing. Clearly fishing is big here in our state since there's not much to do since we're on a rock in the middle of the ocean. There are a bunch that even use very short inflatables like Saturn, Bris, etc

    Also is it because of the height of the hull being so shallow? The cat video's I've seen obviously have hull heights of typical boats.

    Thank you for the input and I'm trying to understand boat design better even if it's just for my own personal knowledge gain.
     

  15. Boat Design Net Moderator
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    Boat Design Net Moderator Moderator

    Xyberz I realize that you do not want other members to repeatedly tell you not to do something and understand it can be frustrating when others offer their suggestions to take a different path; however I think many forum members have undertaken projects and realized at the end that the premises at the beginning were very different from reality and so it's hard not to offer opinions, which you can freely take or ignore. I think the initial comment you reacted to in this thread and the comments in the previous thread ( http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/materials/pvc-material-sources-56066.html ) were not meant to be unhelpful, bur rather because the path you want to take is not congruous with the experience other members have had.

    I don't know the water conditions where you hope to operate; if you already have the rubber raft, have you already spent some time with it to evaluate how you feel about it?

    In your first post in this thread you mention that you hope to operate "no more than a mile out" and in "flat - 2 feet of waves". It's important to be prepared if conditions change, making sure you can get back to shore safely in a worst case weather scenario too.

    My own limited experience with inflatables has been that the heavier, more rugged-tube zodiac and achilles style has been easier to maintain (and more solid defined handling of course) than the thin-walled inflatable-bottom blunt-bow rafts. I don't have any experience with the brand of rubber raft you have, but my experience with a few rafts which appeared similar was that I always had to use a patch kit several times when transporting and using them over a few years. I found the zodiac heavier-type construction to be a big step up, although costly, and I tried the cheaper ones first. To get an idea of your raft's construction, does the manufacturer spec it for safe operation with a certain size outboard?

    The advantages of rubber rafts such as the one you pictured in the other thread are that they are inexpensive, light-weight, can be lifted up on another boat without scratching or damaging anything, and can be completely deflated for easy storage and transportation, but it seems in applying a new fiberglass bottom those advantages are lost. Possibly if the goal is to go well beyond the existing raft, your project could be thought of as finding a design for a new seaworthy sturdy hull that could utilize an existing tube in a beneficial way.
     
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