Foamies are kind of a new thing, and in their purest sense are usually built out of thicker foam board (1-1/2 or 2 inch thk) with a minimum of wood, usually just some wood in the floor and the frame work around the doors. The outer skin is done in a traditional boat building method using glue (or paint as glue) and canvas which is then painted over; a poor mans fiberglass substitute... no exterior plywood and no aluminum skin. Insides can be canvas or bed sheets and glue, paper board glued on and painted, paper mache or thin (like 1/8 or 5 mm thin plywood).
The upsides are fast thrifty construction, potentially very light weight, good insulation value, long term rot resistance, and easily repaired.
There was one incident of a tip in high 50 plus mph wind, but that was attributed to a narrow 4 ft width, relatively high roof line (small footprint standy, IIRC), and very little cargo. (The big joke is that since foamies are so light, we need to carry 500 lbs of beer in ballast.)
For more info check the
Foamie section of the forums; read
the big "Thrifty" thread... if you dare (it's a monster
, but was the threshold of what I like to refer to as, "the modern Foamie movement". It now comes with a
thrifty thread summary index (under construction thanks to rowerwet).
Don't be confused if you decide to look at my build in progress. It is a hybrid version of a foamie with lots of extra wood on the inside (home built off road frame and suspension; 1-1/2 thk foam in the floor, walls and roof; lightweight rot resistant cedar sub-frame work; 5 mm Okoume marine ply inner skins and cabinet panels; Red Grandis hatch ribs; and 1x2 maple cabinet face frames). Foamie like on the outside; not your typical foamie on the inside; not thrifty, and, although I am spending a lot of hours working on the details, not fast building.
A-typical, and you get to decide what the "A" stands for.
You're doing fine. Please don't take my previous comments harshly. It's just that there is soooo much information here to digest that it is worth spending some time looking around.
by FARMINGDALEHC » Sat Nov 16, 2013 9:01 pm 
