I had not seen this forum category (Safety Gear Design Discussion)

Discussion in 'Projects & Proposals' started by Schoonner, Dec 28, 2011.

  1. Schoonner
    Joined: Nov 2011
    Posts: 388
    Likes: 3, Points: 0, Legacy Rep: 38
    Location: Washington State USA

    Schoonner Senior Member

    Maybe because it is at the bottom of a 2 part thread category?

    Anyways, this is what I am trying to do. The red and black lines are a cross section of a decive attached to a hull to make it buoyant when swamped with water which will be coupled with a snorkel for the engine you might be able to make it all the way home even in a concrete boat with hull damage.

    This simple device is easy to remove, recyclable to keep costs down, turns your watercraft into your life raft, and the only side effect on the hull when not in use will be more drag above the water line. When inflated, the device should be stable unless punctured, and will not dramatically increase surface drag. The device will attain this by merely creating more flare at the top of the hull and will be accordion pleated fitting like a lapstrake hulled life raft around the hull like a safety raft with a hole in the bottom too small for your sailboat to fit through.

    The device would be inflated automatically by c02 canisters hooked to a floating valve like that found in a toilet tank in land lubber houses which in case the hull is swamped or the bilges are overcome with water will cause a pin to be released into a c02 canister which will inflate the safety device. I want it to be fail safe and fire if damaged so that the safety device opens in case the device should be defective. I want swim ladders to be integrated into the design to add structural support where devices attached to the transom may have to be protected by the device when it inflates.

    I don't know what materials to use, but I want them to be impervious to salt, low cost, and to repel sea life so that it does not want to eat it without killing anything in the water. If lights can be lit inside, or on it so that it glows with energy captured and converted into electricity when it inflates so that it glows for quite a while when the device is inflated it would be really really NICE.

    I don't know exact measurements and make a lot of mistakes fumbling with the math, but winter has been strange and I don't want a patent on a safety device anyways, so if someone wants to go for it and help me design this I would appreciate it. I want people to be better protected in case of storms.

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    I want it to be tied to fittings on the deck but be held to the bottom with something like a string that is too short for to fit higher on the hull. It would be nice if it were cheap, disposable, and efficient when not in use. I want to revolutionize the boat industry by making it a simple thing for sailboaters to carry around enough automatic reserve buoyancy so that the boat can be salvaged and becomes your life raft even if it is swamped. I want insurance companies to reduce the cost of insurance and be able to cover boats which are at anchor and left alone. :p I know, not gonna happen... right? Well, aint nothin from stopping me from trying.

    I want insurance companies to stop chopping up boats too!!. Heck don't they see that if they gave the boat away it would be creating a potential customer???!!!!??:( Is their insurance really that bad that they feel guilty for getting more customers by giving away refurbished boats? What's wrong with giving stuff away in sweepstakes or something like the design sweepstakes I was talking about earlier in another thread?

    I want the device to be like armor for your boat. I want a slip on keel cover which is tied around the hull to the mast making a strong shroud that can be removed and stowed when the boat is in use. I know that any protrusion from the hull can be reinforced to a great extent. I want to be able to live on my boat and feel safer. I want mooring buoys that have an attached compartment for safety gear that can easily be pull onboard. I want part of the system to be permanently inflated so the it will not sink if you drop it in the water.

    I want to make kits to reduce cost so that modern materials can be meshed with materials like fiberglass to make to inflate clear rubber canisters that when pumped full of co2 can be lit from inside, are self healing, protect the hull, and I want to call the system "Bulwrks"

    To expand:

    I want the kits to explain the maximum dimensions of an effective Bulwrks reserve buoyancy system as well as how to make a bulwrks system from kit parts and fit within simplified criteria so that it can easily be checked, double checked, and tossed if it doesn't fit. I want the kits to include heat molded clear rubber 'canisters' that are made so that the first time anything is introduced into the 'canister' a chemical reaction like that found in a military ready to eat meal and create enough heat to stretch the canister so that it fits in it's intended resulting shape.

    I want numbered canisters that range in size, fit into kit pieces in a specific order and the heat created when it is first inflated cures the rubber, makes a layer that is goey to repair holes, a layer that can be stiff, and a layer that can be transparent and contain led lights in a pattern pleasing to the individual who makes the system.

    I want parts that only fit one way (Perferably the right way) and are fool proof when fitting them together.;)

    Then, I want free videos of how these things are made so that people can understand how to put the kits together.

    Of course the insurance companies might not want to give discounts, or insure unattended craft, but Hey, I can dream can't I?
     
  2. Schoonner
    Joined: Nov 2011
    Posts: 388
    Likes: 3, Points: 0, Legacy Rep: 38
    Location: Washington State USA

    Schoonner Senior Member

    Maybe just call it storm armor? :D

    I think the most you would need is 2 square foot of area along the length of the hull, but I don't know if I am calculating things right.

    It would be something like 4 times the length of the boat times 64lbs for saltwater right?

    So, a 24 ft yacht with 2 square foot of displaced water on each side of the hull would be somewhere around 6144lbs buoyancy right?
     
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