I started laying out the pattern on my 4x8feet sheet of corrugated plastic. The brand is HI-Core 4mm Blue. I bought it in Rona, Its a Canadian Brand. I also bought a sheet of corrugated Plaskolite plastic from Home Depot but it had a curly warp and less interesting because it was only available in white. I preferred the brightly coloured Rona product. I'll use the white sheet for bracing the thwarts.
This plan is offered free by Ken Simpson from portableboatplans.com The layout and instructions with photos is available in PDF version.
I downloaded Ken's plans and printed the layout page. I also printed the layout page on cardboard to make a preliminary model of the folding boat.
After clearing the living room and turning the table sideway I'm ready to spread out. And so is Winston who makes a surprise inspection of the material. Most of my projects start by taking the cat off the material.
I built my Skerry in the living room much to the enjoyment of the neighbours!
I'm going to go and practice my Lumosity brain training now. I kept making mistakes and getting confused. Lucky for me Polypropylene does not mark easily and my wrong lines are easy to remove with alcohol. Finally I got my marks on the board.
Note that I have artificially coloured the big triangle in Yellow using Photoshop. In the original instructions this is to be cut out using a knife.
I will be modifying this by making a fold instead on the dotted line. I'm not comfortable cutting a seam and taping it back together. IF the tape lets go then the boat takes in water. The disadvantage of doing a fold is that the folding of the sides will be much more complicated because the direction of fold will change half way in the fold. It worked on the model and I think I can do it if I'm careful about scoring the plastic before bending.
I've marked my folding seams. I'm using a small tip marker used for CD's. It can be erased using alcohol and after checking I've found a couple of mistakes. Today I simply cannot measure correctly. So here is my sheet, with lines checked and re checked. I'm ready to start scoring the plastic.
I've now spent an hour making the model, and about 1.5 hours marking (and correcting) my layout.
My real job calls unfortunately, but I'll be scoring and folding tonight. I'll be using a heat gun and screen wheel to score. Here is my experiments working with coroplast
I try to be accurate and check my information, but mistakes happen. If you decide to build a coroplast boat remember its an experimental boat and you need to use it in safe water. Wear your PDF and have fun.
email me if you find mistakes, I'll fix them and we'll all benefit: Christine
This information is for general knowledge and entertainment. I'm not suggesting that plastic sheet folding boats are safe. I simply don't know.