Paper boats

Steve, Could you please give me more info about paper boats made by applying shelac to the paper. Thanks

 

I have been researching paper boat building techniques. I would like to know what you have found out, I would be willing to share what I have found. Contact sequoia555@yahoo.com

 

Paper as a building material

The adhesion agent in paper is lignin which is not water resistent. In any case of paper use in constraction it have to resinated with WBP (Phenol Formaldehide resine). The paper hase lower specific strength (shear resistence per weight) than other wood product (it is mor dense than wood, and not strong as wood). It can be us as a part of a composit material, as huney comb. Don't use it if tou can use other material.

 

resinate laminated paper was used only for non structural parts at the WW II. today it is used only in decoretive parts.

 

I'm trying to work on a project along these lines, paper used in boat building. I've been looking into various forms of paper mache, especially choice of glue. Is anyone aware of a type of glue that is waterproof, won't do awful things to your skin, and would be compatible with exterior waterproofing agents (like maybe epoxy)? Another concept I'm looking into is using fabric, perhaps cotton or hemp (if you could get it in the US).

 

use fabric, is better. you can use unorganic glue like cement. there are rexplication why the popular material are popular. it will be best if you will read a material eng. book before start looking for new materials.

 

The Pharo's paper machet boats are still running in the dessert dryness. The lightest GLUE I have used is lacquer. Or model airplane dope- Butyl type.

 

Does anybody know of any websites describing the properties of glues like lacquer or airplane dope, especially older formulas? I am specifically not including epoxy or poly(whatever)thanes because I know where to find those sorts.

 

search on web ---- fuelproof dope---- Then scroll to 4.----- then to 22.

 

It was Bernard Moitessier who wanted to make a paper boat, back in the '60s; he thought serious about it using newspaper.

 

There is a good web page at http://www.netacc.net/~kcupery/

I'm trying to build one myself. I think I'll start small however, and build a model one first. Maybe about 3-5 feet (1-1.8 meters). I wonder if anyone from this site would be willing to license me to use one of their small boat designs when I build a larger version? Nothing over 10 -12 feet (3-4 meters) I think, perhaps a dinghy.

 

IF for personal, one boat built , most people will gladly say, yes. Just call them, they love to hear people like you.

 

I once saw a pirouge about 12 ft that was made out of only newspaper for a core material and then fiberglassed over. I dont have any doubt that paper would work as a good core material ofr smaller vessels so long as it is properly water proofed.

 

Four years as an aircraft crewchief in the Air Force... I was surprised one day when we had to open a panel on the wing of a jet fighter and found the core was a honeycombed paper underneath the titanium skin. I don't know if it was treated with any coating or not.

 

Brown-paper kyak by Sam Rabl - taken from http://www.dngoodchild.com/load_small.htm - plan/article #5128

Quote:

HOW TO BUILD A KYACK
by Sam Rabl

Spring time and reminiscences—dreams of years ago and of how as a pair of high school kids we built our first boat. No glorious Spanish argosy looked half so wonderful to our eyes as did that little hooker built over a frame of barrel hoops and strips of cull lumber secured from a nearby box factory. The covering was the unique part of the job. Somewhere we had seen the plans of a boat built from paper and as we could not afford canvas to cover our frame, we covered it with many layers of newspaper. Each layer was pasted to the one beneath it with a mixture of tar filched from a nearby tar barrel and rosin secured from the scrapings of whisky barrels stored behind a neighboring distillery. With fingers blistered from the molten mixture we proud1y launched our creation and much to the surprise of bystanders and ourselves it floated. We used this craft for two seasons. Our next creation was a pair of twin kyacks, this time covered with brown wrapping paper, each layer set down with varnish. A canvas deck kept out the water and for five years we cruised these little hookers into the far reaches of our beloved home waters in Chesapeake Bay. To those to whom a canoe only means a party on the quiet waters of an inland stream the little boat described in this article will have no appeal, but to the man who likes his cruising on rough water and does not want to wait for his weather the kyack will find its greatest appeal.



End Quote

by that I think he means a kyak cockpit spray-sheet around the paddler.