Boat In a Suitcase

I am in the Maldives. I used to reside in Sri Lanka, but I am no residing in the Maldives temporarily. The few boat excursions I have had in Sri Lanka were in the Bentota area adjoining the sea and in an inland lake known as Bolgoda, where we were warned of crocodiles. My interest in boats is due to the beach nearby with kayak and jetski rentals and a some apparently abandoned boats that I can't rent out.

On the topic of crocodiles: how do you deal with sailing on bodies of water with crocodiles and other marine animals - a life jacket will not be of much use there. The seaside locations apparently are safe since much more water sports are done there.

The metal frame box boat is just an illustration of what could be done. The final shape will follow some established plan, with the frame being formed in this shape. Reserve buoyancy is something I have to look at, for example the kayak I used the other day had holes running through the hull but if floated. Thanks for the tip. Maybe fill it with empty plastic bottles in the stem and stern. Will have to be tested.

Mooring is an option, however I was looking at the other possibilities. Safeguarding and preserving the boat is problem with mooring, however I could dismantle it and store it close by as well.

Pictured is the canoe I rented the other day.

 

I found some discussion the other day about canvas boats, will look at that.

Homemade Tarp Boat https://www.boatdesign.net/threads/homemade-tarp-boat.22208/

I will post the final design, which is intended to be a stretched canvas over a metal frame.

I did find an instructable which nicely illustrates the concept, however this is for illustrative purposes only. I hope it does not upset too many of the experienced boat builders here, it is quite a sight.

Quote:

A boat you can build quickly without specific skills.
You will only need a bunch of wood, a saw, nails, a hammer and of course a resistant tarp

Easy Tarp Boat https://www.instructables.com/Easy-tarp-boat/

 

SL, I don't see how "the boat you want" from post 13 will fit in a suitcase? Unless you mean the suitcase boat is only a temporary solution until you buy the boat you want? Also, there are kits for building your own inflatable, which are nicer looking than a "tarp" boat and the inflatables are lighter, cheaper to buy already finished (intex 200 less than $20), less or a hassle to assemble, for a temporary solution that will fit in a suitcase... Of course, it might be that you will have a lot more fun building your own tarp boat from scratch...

As far as crocodiles, stay away from them or outrun them using a simple lightweight portable motor, haha!

 

Mini jets are kinda a big thing here. I'm on the hunt for a good power plant for a wide body version as I'm a bit taller than average and don't fit as well as my more normal height friends.

Long time friend and his dad build a similar platform as the mini jet. They are awesome awesome tools.... with absurd power. His dad's recent one has a 230 hp engine a 1/4 inch bottom clad in 1/2 uhmw and its about 11 feet long. The trailer has heavy ply truck tires and a long tongue as they routinely launch on banks with no ramp in remote alaska.

The low power variation is a rigid hull inflatable. Hull survives the beaching and tubes provide safe reserve buoyancy.

 

Will look at that next. The inflatable parts will fit in a suitcase as well as the middle rigid section when folded, along with the battery and power drill. The green section and yellow section are tarpaulin.

Here is another iteration of the design. Maybe 2 suitcases.

 

Just to keep you on your toes, this is more or less what you want.

 

Yes and no. The shape of the vessel is fine, and the fact that it is portable is just what I want, with a canvas exterior. The problem is that it takes so long to assemble as can be seen from the videos. The other thing is that it needs to be inflated. There must be an easier way.

I found some other information on the boat. There is this version:

Faltbootbasteln: Tragflaechen - Faltboot http://www.derpoly.privat.t-online.de/fbb-tragflaechenboot.html

30kmh on a 7.5 hp motor, that is one heck of a motor: "7,5-PS-Heckmotor"

 

What about a car engine or motorcycle engine. Alaska? Can't imagine what boating is like that I thought you use snowmobiles there.

I am not interested in power at the moment, just puttering around silently at walking speed is what I want, with an electric motor.

 

That is the design challenge.

The first step is to work out the volumetric factors. The boat will be made out of aluminium square tubes - these were not very expensive and I have some experience getting things made with it. So as I said the first step is to check if the parts will fit in one suitcase - maybe I will have to enlarge the suitcase.

Assume each piece of aluminium square tubing is 75 cm long, and 3/4 of an inch or 2cm in wide, then how many of these pieces fit in the suitcase?

X-Large Suitcase 81cm / 32inch 55.8cm / 22inch 35.5cm / 14inch

Guide to Suitcase & Luggage Sizes | You Could Travel https://www.youcouldtravel.com/travel-blog/understanding-suitcase-sizes

55 x 35 / 2 x 2 = ? or 55/2 = 27 times 35/2 = 472 pieces? Can anyone do a reality check for me? That should be enough for a transom 2 cm thick and two bulkheads.

The design may have to be revised. I cannot get the idea of a metal frame with a canvas that you fit on and lace up like a shoe. The design will not be that expensive, however after this design exercise I will probably go for a nested boat which can be transported by car or van, and I can find a lakeside resort with a jetty where they may let me launch. These things have to be registered, however, and I am no sure how that will work out.

Our boat industry: (what I could find on the internet)

Neil Marine | Leading Fiber Glass Boat Builder in South Asia http://neilmarine.com

 

You can make it assemble faster, you need to use round tubing and HDPE connector clips on the frames. The problem with the skin is that you need it tight, and I mean really tight, and in all directions. But, in order to insert the frame in the skin, you need space, and that has to come from somewhere. Using ballonets combined with a separate longitudinal tensioning system (screw, excentric, even hydraulic) is the easiest and fastest way. If you don't want ballonets you need the tension to come from somewhere so it's either the frame or the skin. Using a lacing system is possible, but it's slow and has its own problems.

 

I don't think the motor in your video will fit in a reasonable sized suitcase - and if it did, the gas fumes might cause the suitcase to blow up, if there was a spark, or even heat from your exhaust pipe. I think it makes sense to keep a gasoline engine, and its tank, in a place with very good ventilation. Electric motors, and their batteries, can generally be stored in doors - but while charging, batteries probably still need good ventilation, because they may create explosively flammable hydrogen gas. AFAIK, you won't get the kind of power out of a reasonable sized electric battery and motor that the gas motor shown in your video has.

Please don't feed (yourself to) the crocodiles!

My experience with crocodiles is extremely limited. But they tend to hide mostly underwater, maybe just exposing their nose holes, so you might not see them. If that little lightweight jet boat hit one, you would likely stop dead, and wouldn't surprise me if the crocodile took unfriendly actions.

BTW, crocodiles can "jump" out of the water - if I remember right, to a height of about 2/3 their length. So in principle, they could jump into just about any open boat. I'm not saying they do it a lot, but you haven't got complete safety. I honestly don't know a good solution to that.

Maybe paying close attention, and polarized sunglasses, would help, because polarized sunglasses let you see a little into the water in spite of glare. And don't go out at night. Apparently most crocodiles are most active at night. I personally would have trouble enjoying boating long term anywhere there were large aggressive animals, but I'm not you. I tried to look up dealing safely with crocodiles, and a lot of the suggestions boiled down to staying away from the water.

People do put small motors on some kayaks and canoes, BTW, though they aren't designed to go very fast. And they put motors of many sizes on inflatable rafts. Since you are worried about crocodiles, you don't want an inflatable boat to deflate and sink. So a toughly built inflatable raft with several (redundant) air compartments might do the job. They won't take you out of crocodile "jump" height range, but like I said, if my information is correct, that's uncommon. OTOH, perhaps a decent sized crocodile could tear a raft to shreds rather quickly.

BTW, motors aren't completely reliable. If you worry about crocodiles, you don't want to try to swim your boat to shore, so bring a spare paddle, and learn how to use it.

In fact, you should check with local authorities about how to deal with crocodiles. It might not be a good idea to have a boat you had to wade into the water to get in, or one where getting in required you to be at the shore too long.

You mentioned you can't store the boat at home. If that is because of space, you can maybe keep a boat on top of your car, or in your car.

But you should wash the salt water and unclean water off any boat after use, and let it dry. If your boat folds, up, be sure to let it dry before you pack it away.

I've seen a 15 passenger van that was 18' long. If you took the seats other than the driver's seat you could fit a lot of types of boat inside that. In a pinch, it could also become your home. But it must be hard to park in places with limited parking.

 

A crocodile's instinct is to flee if at all possible, when something unfamiliar approaches, especially if it's something larger than they are, JMHO. There are crocodile tours in Costa Rica, which try to get you close enough to get a picture. Of course, there may be certain situations where it's dangerous to be around crocodiles.

A patent has been granted for an electric shock repellent device for sharks, maybe something like that would work against crocodiles, haha!

 

On the subject of crocodile attacks, these are rare. Sometimes they attack persons who are on the bank of the river, as in this case:

British man dies in Sri Lanka crocodile attack https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-41277930

It all comes down to what risks you want to take. In the Maldives for example, there were warning of the 'Portugese Man o War' creature that causes a painful sting, however I see adults and children playing on the beach. Keep vigilant.

I will have to decide whether I am to give up boating because of the risks, or to continue. There are all sorts of dangers out there, but I will have to look at that later. Thanks for all the input.

https://thefamilyfreestylers.com/cr...y-safe-at-elephant-rock-lagoons-in-sri-lanka/

Back to designing. Maybe my seat can be a flotation device and mini boat.

 

First of all, calculating volume both on paper and 3D shows that the suitcase 35 cm wide can hold at least 24 2 cm wide square aluminium tubes. Three layers makes it 36 tubes, which is more than the 20+ tubes used on the frame. The tarpaulin and battery and motor could fit here as well.

The T- shaped connector is what I thought could be used, held in place my a nut an bolt combination through a hole drilled in the connector and the aluminium tubes. I calculate 15 seconds per connector, so with 20 plus connectors that comes to 3 minutes total time to assemble.

I am not sure what you mean by ballonets or HDPE connectors. The materials fit in the suitcase, however, which is a real bonus. Two fold able bulheads should also fit. These bulkheads could be pressed down and inserted into the boat to push the sides apart and create some tension, not sure how that will work, but like the portaboat. Using chord like laces could be done on the fore and aft sections of the boat, with the seating area tensioned some other way.

A model has to be built I guess

 

I guess the risks may be no greater than for people who play in class 5+ whitewater, ski through avalanches they create by skiing very steep slopes, or other extreme sports. BTW I knew people who took some very cool pictures of alligators swimming over them while scuba diving, I think in Florida.

As far as inflatables, Zodiac is a pretty well known brand.

Zoom Away With The Zodiac Boat In A Bag https://www.yachtandboat.com/zoom-away-with-the-zodiac-boat-in-a-bag/

People say Zodiacs are pretty well built, and have multiple air compartments, and are repairable. A lot of inflatables are repairable - which tells you they sometimes need repairs.


You could always just use an off the shelf PWC that fits inside a van or on a pick-up truck. There are home-built PWC plans, like Hydrorunner or the old Aquarails that used outboard motors. I've never seen either, but maybe they could outpace a crocodile.

I wonder how hard it would be to bolt cross beams onto a couple pontoons for a catamaran, small enough to fit in a car, or on roof racks, with a motor mount. (BTW, what type of car, and how much space do you have).

Something close to

Mobility https://www.x-cat.com/en/mobility

https://xcat.co.il/wp-content/uploads/x-cat-catalogue-english.pdf


Lot's of people have designed genuine non-inflatable suitcase boats, e.g.

(kind of cool looking)

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/353321533252270601/

Folding boat changes from rolling suitcase to canoe in 10 minutes https://newatlas.com/onak-folding-canoe/43887/

Log into Facebook https://www.facebook.com/toteboat


There have to be trade-offs as opposed to a rigid boat. But I guess you have accepted that.


Yostwerks is a popular DIY kayak website with info on folding boat building. None have motormounts, but maybe worth looking at.