Ok so I decided on the Razor for a first footy. Got the plans on the website and printed them out. I also got swen’s version of the plans. I decided that I will build this little one using “poly properly” ( spelling? ) plasitic as it is easy to work with and gives enough flexibility to do almost anything and is not exspensive.
So I got myself a 2x1.5 meter piece of plastic to work with for only R80. That works out to about $10. Just imagine how many footy’s I can make with all that, hehehe.
Ok so building started. I firstly tried swen’s plans but things did not work out to well, as you can see on the pics ( the bad looking one on the left ). So I backed up and tried the plans from the website and that came out looking much better. I still need to seal the inside of the new plug but will be doing that tonight.
I must say alot of ideas have been running through my head fr improvements but would like to hear what you guy’s think of the building so far. Have anyone of you every tried this plastic before or are planning to?
Whats your thoughts on my idea of using this plastic instead of wood?
Looks like the styrene doesn’t bend the same way as 1/32 plywood I used. If your frames aren’t cut to match the size of your hull bottom, the sides will not fit properly. You could always build the bottom, attach the transom, then the sides. Finally cut the inside bulkhead frames to fit then put them in. I have done it both ways. Once you have correct patterns made, making more hulls are a snap. http://home.earthlink.net/~tigerprises/images/RAZOR%20FOOTY%20CONSTRUCTION/
Here are my latest Footy’s built using my method.
Sven
I would be concerned that polypropylene is a very flexible plastic (for those who are not familiar with it, polypropylene is the plastic used to make coffee can lids), and that the finished boat would not be rigid enough. After all, the purpose of a hull is to keep water out and hold the keel in a known position relative to the rig. This is especially true when I think that the only adhesives I know of that will stick to poly are the silicones or other “Goop”-type adhesives that are none too stiff, either.
Maybe I would try the poly skin with bulkheads of perhaps 2mm plywood for additional rigidity. The bulkheads would not need to be solid; large areas could be removed to reduce weight while keeping the desired stiffness.
Just a thought. Roger Stollery’s BUG is built using Corex (the plastic equivalent of corrugated cardboard used for lightweight signs, etc) taped together with insulation tape. Having had a BUG in myhands, the result is actually vey strong, stiff and light. BUG herself is left ‘as is’ to emphasise the construction, but a little attention to the aesthetics could produce something quite smart.
I have built a BUG hull myself from the Corex parts.
adaquately stiff,a little tricky getting a neat tape job done…but doable with practice.
The hull and deck weighs 40grams all finnished…which is pretty good considering the surface area of this design.
2mm Corex is what Roger specifys,avalible in a range of colours from signwriters.
If you are using Polythene for the hull, then I think you’ll want something just a little heavier than what Mannetjie was using, just to make the hull shape work out better. Also use the heavier sheet for the keel box, if there is one. The thinner sheet should be good enough for the deck, as long as there are a few deck supports.
BTW, in the U.S., the 3mm (1/8 inch) corrugated plastic board is about 5mm thick overall, is that right? I think that the 1/8 inches is the spacing between the two sheets. I had a lot of trouble trying to cut it with scissors!
