Boat In a Suitcase

Ballonets are the inflatable bladders you don't like, they tension the skin. For HDPE connectors see here, the whole frame is made out of it. Folding Kayak Builders Manual http://yostwerks.org/FrameMenu.html
That beeing said, go and build it your way, I won't try anymore.
Here, a boat with Al, tube, plastic frame to stringer connection, knee lever longitudinal tensioning and frame tension and ballonets transversal tensioning.

 

Lots of ideas. The roof rack transportation looks attractive now, for a catamaran, I can have the sponsoons in two parts, each 1.5 metre long, and that should fit nicely. The attractive thing about the catamaran is that the centre section can be anything, smaller, and made out of steel tube - maybe even a scissoring set of tubes, with some rudimentary no water proof metal panels.

This is the best I could find, imagine this horizontally:

Buy Full-rise scissor lift, in-floor installation at Pela Tools https://pelatools.com/vehicle-lifts-jacks-and-stands/scissor-lifts/scissor-lift-full-rise-in-floor-installation/

 

Driving on Water

There is a leaf in the water. I think to myself - how accurately can I steer the motorboat - to within a metre, centimetre or less of the leaf? I try and I am amazed by the accuracy of the steering - just like a car, but on water. Is it the hull? The chines? The steering mechanism? Driving on water, which I have had the pleasure to do about twice in my life, has been just the thing I wanted.

To give this some context: here is one of my favorite cars. The Porsche 924.

Here are also some people, in a clean break with their ancient boats, have made boats that look like cars on water.

These Boats Look Just Like Sports Cars https://theawesomer.com/boat-or-car/628121/

I do not want to sit at the stern of the boat with my hand on the tiller. Except when sailing, which is another thing. I like the concept of sailing but it is even a rarer opportunity. I want to drive on water with two persons, maybe 3, see the sights, cruise around and return to base.

Basically it has to look like a speedboat, even going at 4 knots is OK. We can always speed things up later with more batteries.

 

Catamaran ideas:

For inspiration:

Smaller easy build (PVC) catamaran not recommended I guess - see how it sits low in the water.

Fits in boot of car, should be able to find a suitcase this size. I like the folding deck design.

Or you could use a trampoline and get your exercise as well. Lots of possibilities.

 

Here is the latest 3D view with motor and 2 batteries. A a bonus the tarpaulin can be printed with designs of any type.

 

Yikes, we're going to need a bigger suitcase.... At least compared to normal Airline suitcases?

 

I owned a Folbot for a decade or so in Minnesota and loved it. The skin was heavy vinyl cloth. 30 minutes to assemble is an exaggeration, 15 at most is what I and my paddling partner managed. The thing to study in any design of your own is the way the Folbot tensioner worked. You can see this in the old ads.

The drill was: one person assembles the front set of frames/tubes, the other the back. Slide the front set in the skin, then the back. Mate the lower tubes. Then one of you stands on the floor, tensioning the frame, while the other mates the two upper tubes.

A Folbot made from modern materials would be really neat.

Cheers,

Earl

 

That was a really great video, that shows the entire assembly very clearly. Is the Ladoga 1 boat shown as well designed and made as it looks in that video?

I'm not sure you could attach a motor to it.

AFAICT, the Yostwerks ballonets (Yostwerks calls them sponsons) are on the inside, so they don't abrade much. (Though some boats have used the outer skin as part of the inflatable bladder.)

But crocodiles could bite through the outer layer if they really wanted to - which might also apply to any technology lightweight boat. Or attack the part of the body that is outside the boat. I found something on the Internet that said alligators are more likely to attack the kayak, but crocodiles are more likely to attack the kayaker - but I'm not sure if there was a statistical basis for that.

I don't know how to determine how likely these are, and how much differences in boat design matter. This study: Crocodile Human Encounter Patterns in Sri Lanka (I've only read the abstract, not the whole study) indicates that most of the 150 studied attacks occurred on people who were physically in or near the water. The abstract itself doesn't mention that any were boaters attacked, though I found elsewhere one account of a person in Sri Lanka who was dragged by a crocodile out of a boat, and there are a few similar accounts in other geographic regions.

Perhaps that means that a long assembly time next to the beach is more dangerous. Perhaps a boat that is higher above the water than a kayak is safer. Or in which you are in an enclosed cockpit, rather than being exposed. But this is all speculative, without hard data. It does seem likely that the boat should be stable, so you don't tip over.

 

Let's not talk about watersnakes or sea snakes or road accidents.

On a lighter note, I came across a metal folding boat. Google "metal folding boat" and you come across the item in images. Searching using the words in the title takes me to:

The Instaboat Fisherman foldable aluminium canoe https://newatlas.com/the-instaboat-fisherman-foldable-aluminium-canoe/11663/

I may be new to boating, but this is no canoe. It is a boat. 3.6 metres long and "and the ability to handle a 5 HP outboard"

But (whoops)

"Addendum: The Instaboat Fisherman is currently the subject of patent infringement action."

Which brings up a good point: could this happen to me or anyone else building a similar boat? What about building from plans, does that offer protection?

There is a video of setting up. So forget aluminium or steel rods and canvas - cut this boat into three watertight folding sections and it is done.

 

The Ladoga is a well made boat, but it's not considered to be the best single on the market. The design is conventional, nothing special about it. If you want something different you go to Trak, they use three hydraulic jacks to tension their kayaks.
There are ways to attach motors to folding kayaks, but they usually go on big doubles.

 

Here is one: find a suitcase big enough to fit the boat, one that fits in the trunk, and the objective is met.

Portable Boat Plans https://www.portableboatplans.com/aqua-sport-cruiser.php

Many nesting boat designs here.

PORTABLE BOAT PLANS https://www.portableboatplans.com

The commercially sold folding boats have one feature that I missed: the entire boat can be folded flat, including the transom area. With the technique used for building a metal folding boat, the entire boat can be made in sections and folded separately. I can't get over the ingenuity of the folding metal boat, it's hard to believe it exists.

 

It is not clear to me whether you lack a driveway or garage to store a boat on a trailer, or whether the boat can't be stored at home, even if it fits into a suitcase.

I don't think current technology lets you have a minijet that fits into a suitcase or two. And I think the suitcase is most relevant if you want to take your boat onto public transport, such as bus, train, or plane. If you will always use a car, you can have the boat bits in a bag, or even just loose, if they are few enough bits. I think the modular Expandacraft | Modular Boats and Outriggers https://expandacraft.com/ would fit portability, assembly time, and safety requirements. Because it comes apart, rather than folds or stacks, the volume may be larger, but perhaps a roof rack can deal with that. And the parts are small enough you could hang them from your ceiling at home, or put them in a corner.

 

Robert, thanks. The motivation for this concept was the 'plane in a suitcase' and a 'car in a suitcase' projects on Popular Mechanics. As I have seen portability does not mean it has to fit in a suitcase. A three part boat is fine.

However since I started this concept will complete the design.

Thanks for the Expandercraft links, that is a great innovation, since it can fit in the rear seat of a car. The floating parts can be ordered separately, and the mid section constructed out of anything since it is not a structural component.

The 3D concept of the Electric Catamaran could be adapted to this; it has to be smaller, but the boat section could be made out of canvas and metal rods and attached.

 

This thing is about 6 ft in length. Could be made into a nestable and put into a suitcase.

Also FYI although my location is the Maldives I am most probably moving to another country next year, hopefully a place where I can buy a boat.