ZEPHYR...

[GPW]

... and now for something different ... Well, not really ... Just some advanced thinking about "what next" ... the eternal Foamling' question ...

Take a 12' flat boat , turn it upside down , and make it 5’ deep ... and there we are ... Simple , roomy , and somewhat aerodynamic , or looks like it anyway ... another drawing to better visualize the structure ...

[GPW]

Inside possibility ...

[Mary C]

Kool!!!neat, a new novel Idea. gives me food for thought.

Mary C.

[atahoekid]

I love your designs. I'd love to see someone take that and build it. HMMMM Do you think my wife (She who must be obeyed) would mind me taking over the garage for a year and a half again????? Don't think that would be good for my health...

[GPW]

Just thinking this would be a fairly quick build ... Easier for me , cause’ it’s not too tall ... able to build inside my Studio ... unlike the FS which was built outside in the heat ... Not a standy' , but a roomy sleeper ... 5’ tall inside means you can sit upright in a folding chair and still have plenty of headroom ...

[R_W]

It looks like a shuttlecraft from Star Trek

[GPW]

RW, I think it’s supposed to ... sorta’ , ish’ ... These foamies' should be FUN eh !!! 

[GPW]

Actually the Zephyr was a roller coaster at a local amusement park , when I was a young one (some time ago) ... Popular ride, and place to hang out .... Elvis played there !!! This shape sorta reminded me of the lead car ... ( Aah !!! Nostalgia ... as they say here “ain’t dere’ no more “ )

[GPW]

We started searching for some framing wood .. Thinking of making the framing all Cypress , because it’s readily available around here... either re-cycled or dragged out of the bayou and cut up ... The native cypress seems very resistant to bugs and rot , and is a pretty butterscotch color too. A chance to use a clear finish on the framing for that "wood look” inside ...
And since there are a lot of old cypress houses being torn down here , we get to re-cycle the Old growth wood which IMHO is even better ... and Thrifty ... Ripped on a table saw, and run through a planer, it becomes Beautiful again..
If I start scavenging materials now , by the time we’re ready to start the build , we’ll have all we need... We may even get Lucky and find some Cypress T&G flooring we can make the floor out of (no Plywood ) ... Still wanting to try a board floor , like the old timers used ... My little Steel CT has a board floor and although it lives Outside , the boards are still in perfect shape ...
Just some considerations of this future build ... That extra trailer in the yard deserves a cabin ... Which will be essentially be some traditional “boat building “ in this case ...

[GPW]

Just more thinking ....
This time we’re going to finish the inside walls (foam ) before they get attached ... saving much Time and “fitting” after...

The roof , being a gradual bend will be able to be attached without any exotic bending or messy kerfing' , especially if we use 1” foam , doubled , for the roof ... That will save time too..
No reason , once materials are gathered and prepared , the actual build shouldn’t take more than a month, maybe less ...

[mgb4tim]

The roof , being a gradual bend will be able to be attached without any exotic bending or messy kerfing' , especially if we use 1” foam , doubled , for the roof ...

What do you use to glue the layers of the roof foam together? Contact cement? The gripper will never cure...

[GPW]

Gorilla glue would work if applied thinly enough ... And actually , tested on our planes , the Gripper does cure , just takes a while (a long while ) ... if we were in a hurry Epoxy does that pretty well ...

[GPW]

Just another drawing to further explore the construction techniques ... Framing is Simple ... all 1" X 4" , except the chine rail (stringer) .. Thinking Hickory or Pecan for that ... (very Strong )
Note: for those that would like to make a super Strong frame , a plywood “gusset “ could be added at the top of the frame intersection ... further adding to the rigidity of the frame , foam and skin ...
Further considerations of the shape (cross section ) ... probably more Rigid than a rectangular shape , and offering somewhat better crosswind characteristics... the side winds slipping over the top more easily than encountering a flat plate , perpendicular to the wind ...

*** Although on the original drawing , we showed a horizontal stringer in the middle of the wall frame , It may be better to add that inside as a sort of “chair moulding /hand rail “ thing ...something to grab on to when moving around inside ...


Please forgive all this rambling on about the design... Just trying to think this out before attempting the build ... much the same as we did the FS , and that took a while ...

[mgb4tim]

Gorilla glue would work if applied thinly enough ... And actually , tested on our planes , the Gripper does cure , just takes a while (a long while ) ... if we were in a hurry Epoxy does that pretty well ...

I have some old epoxy, I might have to mess with that a bit. Thanks!

[GPW]

Tim , we’ve been using Epoxy to join foam for many years now (planes ) ... The only reason we tried everything else is the epoxy is more expensive and potentially Toxic ... over time ... ( it builds up in your system and then one day , you become allergic to it, especially the Epoxy paints ) ... But it sure works ...