New Teardrop Kit from CLC Boats!

[p40whk]

I stumbled on this when I went to their site to order marine hardware and was shocked to see a teardrop kit on their front page.

Here's the link: http://www.clcboats.com/shop/boats/development-projects/clc-teardrop-trailer.html

It's still in development but I love the shape of it. What I don't like is the fact that there doesn't seem to be any insulation or electric. Would make a great kit for just the basics if the price is right but their kayak kit's are right in the $1K range so I would imagine this will be similar.

Click on the gallery links for pics and construction, there's also a video lower on the page.

[halfdome, Danny]

Kind of looks like a full wheel barrow.
Danny

[lrrowe]

[p40whk]

I like the wheel barrow analogy, I found the price they're thinking about and it's around $1500 for the kit so that's a little pricey for my blood.

I did think it was interesting to see an actual manufactured kit out there.

[p40whk]

By the way Danny,

You have a very nice looking teardrop there! That's probably what I'm looking to build myself.

[angib]

That seems a design that is being clever just for the sake of it.

Just look at the assembly technique, where an 'negative' mould of framing is produced to hold the body panels in shape before they are glassed together:

clc-tear.JPG (36.76 KiB) Viewed 2086 times

Similarly, making doors with a knuckle between top and bottom halves seems an excellent way of making sure they won't fit the body exactly.

[p40whk]

That seems a design that is being clever just for the sake of it.

Just look at the assembly technique, where an 'negative' mould of framing is produced to hold the body panels in shape before they are glassed together:

clc-tear.JPG

Similarly, making doors with a knuckle between top and bottom halves seems an excellent way of making sure they won't fit the body exactly.

Most of their boats are built this way and there are quite a lot of them out on the water. It doesn't surprise me that they designed it to be built this way but what does surprise me is that there isn't much in the way of technique from this site applied to their design. Kind of makes you think they didn't do a lot of research.

[wanabxtrm]

I built one of their canoes about 10 yrs ago, their plans and support are great; though I agree on taking tips from here. First glance shows a lot to edit.

[Esteban]

Watched their video and immediately saw that the cabin doors don't snugly fit with the cabin's curvature. It looks to me like they'd be very hard to seal out air and water leaks. The doors were less curved (flatter) than the side cabin walls. They were very noticeably mismatched with the cabin at the top and bottom. I'm not favorably impressed by their teardrop design.

[rowerwet]

Already posted viewtopic.php?f=2&t=65136
I let John Harris know about the issues we've noticed, he says the camper on the road is insulated, the other issues will be addressed with a new bigger design, down the road.
Seems like a lot of first time builders will be disappointed, and that is a bit of money to not be happy with.