Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

ghcoe wrote:A good read about fiberglass, canvas, wood, TBII and paint.

I like using this method after seeing it used on west coast work boats and it lasts for many years under very harsh working conditions.

Thats a great endorsement for canvas construction, I had no Idea that boats were once upon a time using these methods.

Wood canvas canoes were quite popular before the advent of fiberglass/plastics.

jakejakejake wrote: I had no Idea that boats were once upon a time using these methods.

I am banned from shopping
However I am making a list.

ghcoe wrote:Wood canvas canoes were quite popular before the advent of fiberglass/plastics.

A foamie Canoe would be killer, lightweight and extra flotation! I keep thinking a stand up paddle board would be a good use of my scraps, but maybe I'll be the first TNTT boat build?

jakejakejake wrote:

ghcoe wrote:Wood canvas canoes were quite popular before the advent of fiberglass/plastics.

A foamie Canoe would be killer, lightweight and extra flotation! I keep thinking a stand up paddle board would be a good use of my scraps, but maybe I'll be the first TNTT boat build?

No, foam boats are nothing new. We have a few that build them on this forum.

I think this build would be cool in foam https://www.boatbible.com/mini-camper-cruiser/ . I have seen another version of this that I liked better but cannot find it now.

GHCOE your sir are a bad, bad influence!

jakejakejake wrote:GHCOE your sir are a bad, bad influence!

I know. Did you see the link to this page? https://www.portableboatplans.com/mini- ... ruiser.php . Nice thing about it in foam is it is waterproof already and won't sink...

... something like this ???

GHCOE- I love the space saving flip portion of that design, and the flat bottom would be perfect for the shrinking muddy puddles around here that they call lakes. Ive had this John style bookmarked for years https://www.vintageprojects.com/sites/d ... -plans.pdf

GPW- Kowabunga dude! looks to be about 14' that would be plenty of space for me and the trusty sidekick.

I should be working on the camper!

The young lady in the picture is 6'1" tall and needed a long board ... It was so easy to make .

For foam boats , check out " Rowerwet" ... A Foamie boat is next on my project list . Canvas covered , of course...

GPW wrote:The young lady in the picture is 6'1" tall and needed a long board ... It was so easy to make .

For foam boats , check out " Rowerwet" ... A Foamie boat is next on my project list . Canvas covered , of course...

I was also going to mention rowerwet. FYI he is in New England and has built several types and sizes of foam/PMF watercraft. He has a website with several “instructibles” on the topic. He is a pastor and I believe he actually applied PMF as the exterior coating of his church steeple. Great guy and also happens to be one of the admins on my Facebook foamie page.

Now then , I've heard a lot of negative comments about Foamie boats from regular boaters, Not from experience but speculation , much the same as when we proposed Foamie trailers... Those that have tried them Love them ...Lightweight , unsinkable , and easy to maintain ... and easy to repair should that be needed ... Yet they spend thousands on a POS moulded plastic boat ...that can sink , and is not that easy to repair ... "To each his own" ...

Took a while, but I mocked up both weights of fiberglass onto the XPS.



That's the heavy weight fiberglass, obviously. I think if I needed the structural rigidity that gave, I'd have to put down a lot thicker coating of fiberglass.





That's the 6 oz fiberglass, I think it's how it's described. I put the epoxy down over the XPS and placed the fiberglass on top, then smoothed it a bit with a stick. The epoxy wicked up through the weave just like they said it would, and the finish is pretty good, some high and low spots, but the idea was to put another layer of epoxy over top when the first coat came to just set. Unfortunately for this side, set happened after only a few hours, where I expected it to stay open for a day or so. This is supposedly 72 hour cure epoxy, but having never worked with it before I may have misunderstood the time it would take to get tack free. Anyhoo, I'll be doing the back side so I'll keep a better eye on it and add my second layer before it sets this time. Probably watch another video . The shape of the XPS was to see how well it cut with the jigsaw, I just buzzed through it with a coping blade, it did a decent job, but I'll have to take my time when it comes to the actual pieces I need for the cabinets.

I don't know why that second pic of the heavy FG is showing up in the post, I don't even see it in my text. If a mod can delete it, I'd appreciate it.

GPW wrote:... something like this ???

Costco had a family sizes board a few years ago!
I stared and thought how terable That would go for me, but I wanted it.

kstills wrote:Took a while, but I mocked up both weights of fiberglass onto the XPS.

Looks good, just practice on few more small samples and it becomes easier each time.

A couple of tips:

Ive found that prepping the foam to an 80 grit finish produces a better glass to foam bond. I use a cheap random orbital sander to do this.

Get a few plastic bondo spreaders https://tcpglobal.com/products/dynatron-3-pack-spreaders-358?_pos=2&_sid=a8250cbf2&_ss=r and squeegee the cloth down with them. it will produce a nice flat finished product. If you wipe them off with a paper towel when you are done they last forever. You can get these at any auto body supplier for a buck or so each.

a chip brush https://www.harborfreight.com/1-in-chip-brushes-36-pack-58084.html does a great job of wetting out your workpiece. Also used to work air out of the cloth and the resin into the cloth. Use an up and down motion like you are poking the workpiece with the bristles, if you use it like a paintbrush it will distort the cloth, which is to be avoided.

I have used 6oz per sq yard cloth almost exclusively on my build. Give a multi ply layup a test. 2-3 layers will surprise you with its strength.

Welcome to the club!