Comment

Comment by Rick Newman on August 2, 2011 at 8:36am

I think that given the potential places you are hoping to float that your boat will be very sturdy, alot like your Landcruiser. There are times I wish I had my 1971 Landcruiser. It was never restored, but it sure was fun with a 327 Chevy in it. Especially in low range!

 

I have a fifty cal. smokepole that would put a heck of a dent in your test pieces. Haven't fired it in years, maybe it is time to do a few test pieces. We could compare notes.

 

If you ever get out to the McKenzie River area you should see Greg Hattens FJ. It is immaculate and runs really well.

 

Rick Newman

Comment by John Kappus on July 31, 2011 at 3:27pm

This is the first boat that i have ever built actually. So i don't really know what the heck i'm doing.

All i know is that i want this thing to be pretty stout.

I am going to be using this boat in Michigan quite a bit, on the PM and Manistee and other rivers. and in Pennsylvania to fish the Delaware and New York. Oh yeah and it will probably go to West Virginia a few times im sure.

Eventually i am thinking of taking it out to Utah and leaving it with my brother so that we can fish the Green and maybe take it to MT and WY. I have some big plans for this boat : )

 

As for the ballistics testing : )

 

I just am curious to see what will happen : ) I have two pieces to test with right now so i will do my red neck bullet test and see what happens. And i am thinking of a way to do a more scientific test with the other piece. I'll let you know how it goes : )

 

Comment by Rick Newman on July 30, 2011 at 3:26pm

Sorry John, I just read the first few words of my response and realized I left out "know" after the don't.

 

Sorry,

 

Rick Newman

Comment by Rick Newman on July 30, 2011 at 3:25pm

I don't the type of river(s) you are using it on so it is hard to comment. Kevlar is noted for its' light weight and its resistance to abrasion. Every layer will add more strength and abrasion resistance, however it will also add the weight of the epoxy. Are you vacuum bagging so you can reduce the weight of the epoxy? It seems like you must be boating in a highly abrasive environment if you need so much protection.

I have no opinions nor experience with either or the liner materials. Why not drag a variety of the samples around with some weight on them in an abrasive environment and see how they do? I am wondering how shooting the sample would relate to actual streamside damage, are you going to boat in Iraq or Afganistan?:<) It would seem like dropping a loaded sample of the bottom on a pointed rock would more resemble actual conditions. Maybe hinge the end of a 2 x 4, fasten a sample of the board to the bottom of a box mounted on the end of the 2 x 4 and drop the box on to the rock and see where the damage occurs.

 

My bottom line is, what form of damage are you most concerned about reducing? Will the construction method I am trying reduce that type of damage?

 

I worked in an outdoor store that sold Wenonah canoes. We had a sample cross section of a Wenonah S-Glass canoe hull that we used to demonstrate the durability of the structure. It didn't seem to matter how many times, what size hammer, where the sample was hit but in two years I don't remember any damage beyond chipped gel coat. No one could ever punch a hole in it.

 

Was this a true test of the canoe hulls strength? I don't know, I am not an engineer. Was the small size of the piece, 2 ' x 3' small enough to be stronger than a real canoe? Was it not possible to generate enough power with a human powered hammer to fracture the hull?

 

I do know that when you combine the speed of an object in moving water, with a load in it against an immovable, especially sharp object can generate a significant amount of force. Probably more than and arm and a hammer! I do believe enough in the results of the "hammer" test to spend the small amount of additional money required to purchase S-Glass over E-Glass. I wanted it on the inside of my hull to reduce the possibility of puncture going completely through my hull. I also have S-Glass on the inside of the sides of my boat.

 

So will my structure work? I hope so. That and careful boating should help. My past drift boating experience with Washington, Montana and Oregon rivers has only resulted in a couple of scrapes and hits along the gunnels of the boats I've rowed. With Rafts in bigger whitewater rivers in Idaho I have bounced off a couple of rocks and scraped over many more, no patches were ever needed.

 

I hope this helps you out. I am interested to see how your testing works out. Good luck in the war zone. :<)

 

Rick Newman

Comment by John Kappus on July 30, 2011 at 10:39am

Hey Thanks for your relpy Rick!

 

the bottom panel has one layer of fiber glass on the top side. Then on the bottom it has one layer of glass then one layer of kevlar and then ANOTHER layer of glass. So right now there is a total of 4 layers on the plywood. I forget the weights of the fiberglass and kevlar material, but they are fairly substantial.

 

I have enough kevlar to to another layer on the bottom. Right now that is what i am contemplating doing. Do you think this is going overboard? 

 

When the boat is complete i am going to do some sort of "speedliner" coating on the inside. And for the bottom i am considering either Coat-It or perhaps a linex spray-on? still not sure, but leaning toward the Coat-It.

 

I have some laminated pieces of the bottom that had to be trimmed up. I am going to do some "testing" as well. I'm going to try shooting them and just how durable they are : )

Comment by Rick Newman on July 30, 2011 at 7:56am

John, what is laminated to the inside of your floor? My framed Tatman floor currently has a layer of S-Glass on the inside, I believe it is 12 oz.  When completed, (mine is also taking some time) I will add a layer of 18 oz E-Glass and graphite. I am looking for a combination of durability and strength, with the glass on the outside for abrasion resistance and the S-Glass on the inside to reduce damage from impacts. My experience with canoe hulls built with S-Glass gave me the confidence to try this. I have enough extra S-Glass, plywood and epoxy to do a test. I probably should have done this first but I was in a hurry to get the boat built. However life and the need for income has slowed down the process!

Your build looks great, thanks for sharing the pictures.

 

Rick Newman