Forum Replies Created
-
Replies
-
For quick prototyping I’ve used clear polyethylene plastic sheeting (sold as vapour barrier for home construction or floor/furniture protection while painting) held together with vapour barrier tape. Both are available at building supply stores (in North America, at least).
Often making things smaller is significantly more difficult because it’s hard to work around small radius curves, so if you use cheap materials and make it full size then it’ll be easier.
Obviously I’m biased, but I would avoid the cheap Alibaba TPU fabrics, especially if you intend to use heat to weld them.
Yeah, I think the Skeena XL is a much better option for taking a small passenger. It’ll be much roomier.
Hmm, I haven’t heard of anything like that before, but it kind of sounds like the previous builder spread some kind of sealant over the fabric, thinking it would provide extra protection, but it didn’t stick to the TPU very well. Does that fit what you’re seeing?
Awesome, thanks for posting! I can probably do a multi for you next week – send me an email to discuss. Cheers!
Welcome!
Just scroll down to the bottom of the topics list when you’re logged in and you should see a form to create a new topic there.
Hi, some people have used hot air welders successfully, but I tried it and couldn’t get it to work well myself. I found that I needed three hands, and it was difficult to direct the heat only on the areas I wanted to weld.
I’m not sure if an iron will work on the banner vinyl material you have.
I don’t normally include the back band parts with the ultralight seat kits, but I can if you want. I think it would work fine, but I haven’t tried it, so I’m not 100% sure. Just send me an email if you’re thinking about ordering one and you want those parts.
Most of the weight savings in the ultralight seat kit comes from the seat bottom, which is separate from the backrest/back band.
(I’m assuming you’re talking about adding the ultralight seat and back band to a standard weight packraft – I would caution anyone against adding a back band to an Ultralight packraft kit.)
Yes and no… You can layer fabrics together to make something stronger, but you can’t iron directly onto TPU without making a mess, so at least one of the fabrics has to be coated on only one side. The woven fabric is less resistant to abrasion than the TPU (and soaks up water and dirt, etc.), so depending on the application, that may or may not be acceptable. Laminated fabrics will be stiffer, too.
Hi troc, thanks for the feedback – I will try to make that more obvious.
I think it will be easier if you simply trim off the red fabric and make a sandwich like you described. Remember you will need to extend the strip past the edges of the bag so you can attach the buckle. If you’ve trimmed the end flush with the edge of the bag, you can splice on an extension.
Happy new year!
Hi Sam,
Other than the Ultralight, any model will handle a 50 lb dog without popping. For alpine lakes, I would probably choose an Atlin (the largest size), because it’s wider in the foot area so there’s more room to share between the two of you. If you were going to be paddling with the pup for hours at a time, I’d consider a Skeena XL for even more room, but on alpine lakes I doubt that would be necessary, and the extra bulk and weight might not be worthwhile.
Cheers,
Matt
Great work, Joe – and gorgeous shot! Thanks for the feedback about the Ultralight – it sounds like you’ve had some great adventures.
As far as I can see, neither of those looks bad enough to risk removal and rewelding. I would just coat them with Aquaseal and not worry about it, because everything else looks great. For the sealant on the inside, I would proceed as normal, just making sure to plug any obvious routes where air could escape. Cheers!
Excellent – in my opinion, that’s the best way to do it – a little at a time, so you don’t get sick of it. Cheers 🙂
Hi Anders – don’t worry! It’s not necessary to go back and change anything – just carry on. Those inside reinforcements are only for extra strength (the Skeena and other packraft models don’t have them, and that has never caused a problem). If you are really concerned, you could add a wider reinforcing strip that bridges across the sealant, but again, it is not necessary.
Cheers 🙂
