River Roller! Pontoon Boat that Rolls Across the Water!

Discussion in 'Boat Design' started by Matthew Lee Towne, May 10, 2017.

?

Do you think the River Roller will work?

  1. Yes

    1 vote(s)
    2.4%
  2. No

    34 vote(s)
    82.9%
  3. Maybe

    6 vote(s)
    14.6%
  1. alan craig
    Joined: Jul 2012
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    alan craig Senior Member

    He started the same thread again in the electric propulsion forum so I doubt if he will come back here - or build anything.
     
  2. RonL
    Joined: Nov 2010
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    Location: Central Texas

    RonL Junior Member

    Thanks alan, I just wonder if he is aware of the risk (assuming he is a legitimate adult):)

    Fraudulent use of a patent pending designation is prohibited by the law of many countries and inventors should be cautious when marking products or methods that may arguably not be covered by any pending patent application. In some jurisdictions, such as the United Kingdom, a warning notice should ideally mention the number of the pending application.

    Patent pending - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patent_pending
     
  3. Matthew Lee Towne
    Joined: May 2017
    Posts: 142
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    Location: Oviedo

    Matthew Lee Towne Senior Member

    Hello All,
    I thought i should give you all an update on the progress. Basically I'm stuck in the 3d printing phase. After getting a pattern that prints well, is lightweight and fits together well I'm in production mode. That has had many failures. Hopefully that trend stops at testing. It takes 14 hours to print. Assuming that there isn't a filament break, tangle or some other anomoly. At which point i have to start all over. I'm attaching a pic of all the attempts for you doubtors out there. Which i think is most of you!
     

    Attached Files:

  4. Matthew Lee Towne
    Joined: May 2017
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    Location: Oviedo

    Matthew Lee Towne Senior Member

    Weren't you the one that said in your second post that you weren't going to respond anymore? So here we are many many post later, and your still responding. Deep down inside, in places you don't like to admit, you think this is going to work. Otherwise you would have kept your promise.
     
  5. Matthew Lee Towne
    Joined: May 2017
    Posts: 142
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    Location: Oviedo

    Matthew Lee Towne Senior Member

    Feel free to call the patent office. They will confirm my patent pending status.
     
  6. Matthew Lee Towne
    Joined: May 2017
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    Location: Oviedo

    Matthew Lee Towne Senior Member

    Wow. The majority is often wrong. The sad thing here is if I were 16, this would discourage me and I would quit. I'm the father of four children and hope they never have to run into this even if they are completely wrong. Simply because I disagree with you does not make you right.

     
  7. upchurchmr
    Joined: Feb 2011
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    Location: Ft. Worth, Tx, USA

    upchurchmr Senior Member


    No, this is such a disaster, I keep hoping someone will say something to help you out.
     
  8. Matthew Lee Towne
    Joined: May 2017
    Posts: 142
    Likes: 1, Points: 18
    Location: Oviedo

    Matthew Lee Towne Senior Member

    Well you are definitely leaning towards the positive side. Though I don't think I would count the sparkly unicorns as positive. I appreciate the suggestions and the input. I'm printing a scale version of the trantoons but may well use some of your other suggestions for the first prototype. Your flattened tube design resembles some of the tracked versions that have been tried. My gut reaction is that the rubber that would have to be used for something like that would add a level of inefficiency that would be greater than the inefficiencies created by my design.

    Nonetheless, I do appreciate the input, and this is why I posted here. In the hopes that you all would help me to hone my desing into something useful and maybe fun.

    BTW. I'm not sure what this design will excel at. I simply believe that there are so many possibilities that it should be explored. I can live with it being inefficient if it ends up being fun and/or functional.

     
  9. Matthew Lee Towne
    Joined: May 2017
    Posts: 142
    Likes: 1, Points: 18
    Location: Oviedo

    Matthew Lee Towne Senior Member

    So you guys just can't stay positive can you! I mean the first part of your post was downright decent. Then it sunk to the bottom of the lake like you all claim my design will.

    Ok, to take the high road. I call your curved deflectors baffles and have been kicking that idea around since the beginning. They could also help with buoyancy.

    I had not thought of the discs at the ends of the trantoons. Good idea. Thanx for that.

    I will build a working prototype. It will work in some way shape or form. Nothing anyone has said here has convinced me otherwise.

     
  10. Matthew Lee Towne
    Joined: May 2017
    Posts: 142
    Likes: 1, Points: 18
    Location: Oviedo

    Matthew Lee Towne Senior Member

    So what MPG do you think a pontoon boat gets?
     
  11. Matthew Lee Towne
    Joined: May 2017
    Posts: 142
    Likes: 1, Points: 18
    Location: Oviedo

    Matthew Lee Towne Senior Member

    I'm sorry, I actually meant to respond to the Witches post. No trolling. I'm actually working on this and I definitely don't find most of the responses here amusing.
     
  12. Matthew Lee Towne
    Joined: May 2017
    Posts: 142
    Likes: 1, Points: 18
    Location: Oviedo

    Matthew Lee Towne Senior Member

    Hello All,
    So here is what I've learned from this discussion so far:
    1. Once on plane, the River Roller can stay there.
    2. There are speed limits based on conventional displacement hull design.
    3. Paddlewheels are generally less efficient than propellers.
    4. If the RPMs are too high the River Roller will be ineffective.
    5. There are no design standards that directly and completely apply to this design.

    I think that sums things up right?

    My conclusions of are:
    1. The lighter my craft is, the better it will perform.
    2. I should really be spending more time on my prototype and less time responding on this forum.
    3. Proving any of you wrong will really be fun.

    I will keep you posted. Right now the 3d printer is kicking my butt. Hopefully I will have a full set of trantoons soon.
     
  13. ondarvr
    Joined: Dec 2005
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    Location: Monroe WA

    ondarvr Senior Member

    Do you think your craft can do better than this, at least in power consumption, I know you plan on "free solar", which typically comes at a high cost for a limited run time.
    And 6 MPG would be a poor figure for a Cat/pontoon boat designed to be efficient, even traveling at a respectable speed you could easily do better than that.
     
  14. RonL
    Joined: Nov 2010
    Posts: 94
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    Location: Central Texas

    RonL Junior Member

    Thanks, your response tells me what I need to know about a patent pending number.
     

  15. PAR
    Joined: Nov 2003
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    Location: Eustis, FL

    PAR Yacht Designer/Builder

    A 3D printer, really? About 5 minutes with a glue gun and some cardboard toilet paper rolls, left over in the trash, can yield some quick and testable 'toons. Spray with some aerosol varnish and they'll last long enough, to make some conclusions.
     
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