Yep, and here is Wrench in his Coast Guard rack...it just looks soooo comfy cozy...lol...lol.No sleeping in an Army tent for me , In the CG I got to sleep in a rack
TESS 1,2,3
- Thread starter Wishbone
- Start date
Funny Funny picture on the wall,
in the show - Uncle Fester proposed to "Diana" the bearded lady
Amwicr
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I build a coroplast boat from that dude!
He mentioned it already, but you can't use foam alone. Generally speaking it needs to be reinforced in some manner with a composite. Fiberglass is the strongest/lightest, but people also use what is known as Poor Man's Fiberglass (PMF) with great success. The downside is, it will be a touch heavier than proper fiberglass. This is a good article that covers PMF and the process. I am still working on my hybrid teardrop camper build, so I have done a ton of research into this.
Another problem with fiberglass and foam board is that the cheaper type of resin, Polyester Resin, will melt the foam board. This means that you need to use an Epoxy resin, and epoxy resin is a tad weaker and a lot more expensive.
Honestly, for a first go around with foam for a bike "camper" I think a framed PMF foam board shell might work out well. That is the exact same concept that my hybrid tear drop camper design is focused around. You can do foam with no frame either, and being that small it probably won't need it. My frame idea was to use plywood sheet to cut out the majority of the center and leave just enough to do roof slats and sections for things like the bulkhead wall and hinge for the galley and side doors and maybe a small port window. Then I can fill in the voids with foam board cut to size/shape and use epoxy resin to water proof the wood and help secure the foam - maybe with a layer of glass on the outside for a little added strength.
It's fun finding ways to balance cost, strength, and weight.
robe
Well-Known Member
Polyurathane foam can be used with all types of polyester and vinyl ester. The styrene doesn't eat it up. Surfboard blanks are made with polyurathane foam.
Frames can be made of 1 inch material and 1/8 ply can be bent over and glued/ fastened to the frames making a strong stessed skin. The problem with most sheet goods is no compounding curves so you are stuck with 2 D, like a tear drop trailer look.
For many years on boats, canvas was stretched over the sub straight and painted with enamel paint. This lasted for a number of years.
Good economical performance can be had with fiberglass thin mat called a vale. This applied to tacky paint and another coat overtop works very well and is much less expensive than glassing the whole thing.
Frames can be made of 1 inch material and 1/8 ply can be bent over and glued/ fastened to the frames making a strong stessed skin. The problem with most sheet goods is no compounding curves so you are stuck with 2 D, like a tear drop trailer look.
For many years on boats, canvas was stretched over the sub straight and painted with enamel paint. This lasted for a number of years.
Good economical performance can be had with fiberglass thin mat called a vale. This applied to tacky paint and another coat overtop works very well and is much less expensive than glassing the whole thing.
I guess I should have specified. EPS and Poly resin =/= friends. Poly foam and Poly Resin get along great.
The real point was simply to emphasize that one needs to pay attention to the materials and pick the right ones.
As for their point on the curves, there is actually a way to bend foam board around curves, it just requires scoring cuts at intervals on the inside of the panel to the curve being made, and then avoiding trying to bend it too far.
robe
Well-Known Member
Curves are easy to bend, it is compound curves that aren't.
My suggestion of using 1/8 ply on frames was the lightest most economical method I could come up with for a light weight build.
My suggestion of using 1/8 ply on frames was the lightest most economical method I could come up with for a light weight build.
compound curves are doable as long as you understand the kind of scoring cuts you need to make.
robe
Well-Known Member
I have twenty five years experience as a finishing carpenter and 10 repairing wooden boats so I've bent and glassed some wood in that time but carry on with scoring cuts.
Maybe we just are talking mild compound curves, not more developed like the peel off an orange type curve or the bow of a shapely boat.
Maybe we just are talking mild compound curves, not more developed like the peel off an orange type curve or the bow of a shapely boat.
