(Ruth Ann) wrote in message . com...
I want to build a boat out of two liter soda bottles.
Why? Why not? I can make the time and the space to do it and it's
something I've wanted to do for a while.
I've looked on the web, but haven't found any sites on doing something
like this or any people who have done anything like this.

So, my question, does anyone know of any web sites that talk about
something like this or people who have an idea of how to go about
something like this?
I'm an engineer, so I've got some ideas on how to start, but would
like to see what others have done and have someone to bounce ideas
off.

Thanks
Ruth Ann

Well, we could start by asking what kind of boat do you want? That is
to ask, what do you need your boat to do, in what conditions, how big,
how many people, how will it be powered, transported? Sometimes folks
don't understand why we ask these things, but trust me, it makes a
difference.

Anyway, consider a female mold, skinned over with pourable foam then
stick on a bunch of bottles, fill in around the bottles with more
foam, skin the inside of the hull. The biggest problem I see is
attaching them in and creating stiffness in the whole structure,
assuming you are thinking a hard hull. I don't know of any adhesive
that would work so you will have to use a mechanical bond of some
sort, either sewing, tying, or surrounding and encapsulating them
somehow. Maybe you should consider smaller bottles, thinner sides.
Again, a lot depends on how big your boat needs to be, and what it
needs to do for you.
Scotty from SmallBoats.com

I'll bite! Where do you want to build this venture?

Don Dando


"Backyard Renegade" wrote in message
m...
(Ruth Ann) wrote in message
. com...
I want to build a boat out of two liter soda bottles.
Why? Why not? I can make the time and the space to do it and it's
something I've wanted to do for a while.
I've looked on the web, but haven't found any sites on doing something
like this or any people who have done anything like this.

So, my question, does anyone know of any web sites that talk about
something like this or people who have an idea of how to go about
something like this?
I'm an engineer, so I've got some ideas on how to start, but would
like to see what others have done and have someone to bounce ideas
off.

Thanks
Ruth Ann

Well, we could start by asking what kind of boat do you want? That is
to ask, what do you need your boat to do, in what conditions, how big,
how many people, how will it be powered, transported? Sometimes folks
don't understand why we ask these things, but trust me, it makes a
difference.

Anyway, consider a female mold, skinned over with pourable foam then
stick on a bunch of bottles, fill in around the bottles with more
foam, skin the inside of the hull. The biggest problem I see is
attaching them in and creating stiffness in the whole structure,
assuming you are thinking a hard hull. I don't know of any adhesive
that would work so you will have to use a mechanical bond of some
sort, either sewing, tying, or surrounding and encapsulating them
somehow. Maybe you should consider smaller bottles, thinner sides.
Again, a lot depends on how big your boat needs to be, and what it
needs to do for you.
Scotty from SmallBoats.com