"Snowman" wrote in message
om...
I'm looking at building a Geodesic Airolite Boat, (see www.gaboats.com
by Platt Monfort) but I'm considering an interesting idea and I'm
wondering what you all might think. Instead of using wood strips to
form the geodesic structure I am thinking about using foam strips
wrapped in Kevlar tape and epoxy.

I have been reading about the construction of these boats and found
that some people have trouble with bending the ribs to shape without
breaking, (and this is with better quality wood that I am able to
source). I'm thinking I can bend foam cores easily to shape and then
once assembled in a frame start wrapping it all in Kevlar tape,
forming a makeshift Kevlar tube frame.

-Does anyone foresee a problem with pursuing this type of
construction?
-How will Kevlar wrapped foam compare to the equivalent
cross-sectional wood piece in strength?

Potential problems: The foam is not as stiff as the wood, so you may
need to shorten the spacing between molds in order for them to lie
fair. I think laying up glass tube is not as easy as it sounds, but
a dedicated person can make it happen. I see it as being really hard
to keep the foam tubes fair during the layup process. I think
construction will go much faster with wood, as long as you can
find decent stock. Find a wood that bends easily, without a lot
of grain runout..

As far as strength goes, it can be as strong but I don't think it will
be as stiff. Wood is an incredibly stiff material for its weight, so
does a good job keeping the structure rigid. In essence, the GA
boats rely on the skin to keep the water out, and the shape is held
by the wood. If you don't have as stiff an internal structure, the
boat might be a little more bendy than you like. This may or may
not be a good thing - some eskimo kayaks were pretty flexible.
Whether this bothers you or not may be a matter of taste.

Matt