[quote]I've decided against the hard dodger windscreen. Too heavy. I need expertise in much lighter building tech.[quote]
Sorry to hear this Ebb, I thought the one you had worked up was very nice looking. I wish you well in your dingy building, I look forward to seeing what you come up with.
How about cutting bigger holes in the dodger for windows
http://www.wavestopper.net/
SeePete, Craig,
I like the Wavestopper itself.
It looks unaffordable taken together with all the other deck tubes I'm thinking about. Notice that they now have an even lighter model that you can't stand on! Probably cost more too!
Unless it's all fabric and tubes, you should be able to get on it, if you must. And greenwater too has to get on it, and off without damage, if it must. I would just assume that a pramhood dodger would get swept away if it came to down to that. That was the primary concept. To have an impervious window wall protecting the companionway. If everything else got carried away one could always rig something over the hole if the windscreen part stayed put.
But a hard dodger growing out of the trunk would have to be made strong enough to take nearly anything. My method created an item too heavy in any arena. Really. I like its shape, but the damn structure bothers me. I'll consult with a dodgermaker when it comes time to see if it can be cut WAY BACK, as you suggest, and maybe have the fabric and vinyl fitted around it. I wanted solid 3/8" wave stopper lexan lights in it. Which have their own weight to add. Thanks guys!
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Yves Gelinas (Cape Horn wind vane) on his Alberg30 JeanduSud had an inflatable dodger frame. Was nearly 24 years ago he did his Circumnavigation.
Yet this sailer/inventer hasn't got a flexible dodger on the market. There's a lot to like about the idea!
Hypalon fabric has the best reputation for lasting a long time in extreme conditions. My google searching brings up NOT A SINGLE do-it-yourself inflatable site. The rubber glues have evil solvents in them. The tech side keeps mutating. But wouldn't you think there would be a source for materials like there is for plastics and paints?
I guess Ives must have used bike tire tubes or something?
Nothing's easy, but it sure is a lot of fun.
Last edited by ebb; 12-05-2006 at 08:02 AM.
Ebbster -
I've compiled the materials for a Yves-type collapsible frame. Yves used fire hose for his tubing, with PVC fittings for the end caps, ring clamps and glue to attach the caps, and a bicycle/car tube nipple as the inflater. Nothing too esoteric, the man was on a tight budget (aren't we all?).
AFA the fore-house pram - I've long though to try making a dink using pink/blue foam (in lieu of the plywood which is in most of them), laminating it just like a surfboard once the foam was in the needed shape. Surfboards are pretty tough even with their relatively thin skins (1-2 layers of 4 or 6 oz glass), just avoid running them right into rocks - same as you would with a ply dink or an inflatable. Dings can be fixed. It'd be much lighter, and floatier.
If you haven't seen a good surfboard laminator at work, you should arrange a visit to a nearby factory and see how they do it. A 'pro' can get a board glassed to within I'd bet 15% or better of the efficiency of vacuum bagging. Waaay less of a hassle than vacuum-bagging, as did the fellow with that neat little boat.
Grist for your mental mill...
Kurt - Ariel #422 Katie Marie
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sailFar.net
Small boats, long distances...
hey Kurt,
I've ad nauseumed near every stitch and glue, tack and tape site on the www, and gained a little insight on a lighter style of shell making. It looks like you need some moves - generally it's straight forward if you work neat and have a little experience with the steps. I may give it a whirl on the house-pram, using 3/16" meranti and 6 oz? woven glass inside and out. This is a big little pram and we'll have to fight to keep it light. The trial model will be 1/4" luan from H.D. which is actually 3/16".
Surfers have a simple solid structure to work on, while kyackers are skin. I'd like to look in on a master on that! (If you have more than a vague interest in the process, check out OneOceanKayakdotcom, incredible!) Have not seen a foamsheet canoe/kyack yet. For weight control, once the fabric is wetted, you can carefully squeegy off excess epoxy - one guy said - almost as good as vacuum. Dynel and matt could not be used.
But foam is a way to go. One site reminded us that added unsinkables should be above the waterline. (Some water in the bottom of a dinghy might be a good stability thing. Burden boards (added weight) be good to design in.
A solid ply bottom sounds right to me, with composite foam sides, all composite foam interior, seats and closed off spaces. But the weight will add up fast.
You can get foam composite board already made up. But it is way too stiff to be used when you need to bend it. Unless you have an oven it which to soften it. Too tech for me.
With a curvey pram you'd have to use sliced foam and the vacuum method to drive the epoxy into every small space. The result would be fantastic, but probably the result not lighter than a shell boat.
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Did have a mental about the flooding scenario of a self-rescue dinghy.
That is: a shaped nylon tarp could be fitted loosely into the interior of the boat, attached around the inwale. You would with a crisscrossed strap or two, yank up on this membrane to spill the water from the dinghy. You wouldn't need to have this in place all the time - it might be good to have it rigged in its waiting rescue mode when the dinghy is stowed on deck. The tarp wouldn't have to waterproof the interior, it could be removable for normal tendering, or it could become a tent in rescue mode still attached to the wales. The idea really is to lift the tarp and pull a good amount of water out to get the dinghy habitable.
Well, OK, good beginning. Let's do make the water-out tarp the dinghy's tent and add some pumpup tubes for ribs to keep it up, and let's include a valve with which we can collect rain water, but of course... Make it so!
Last edited by ebb; 12-12-2006 at 06:19 AM.
Little late posting these photos taken in September at the last InterClub race. First photos are of the total assembly, followed by photos of each end.
The ends are more interesting . . .
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