Forum Replies Created
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Hi Naas, I can’t see any reason why that wouldn’t work, so if you give it a go please let us know how you like it compared to the regular method.
Cheers!
Hi Naas, I tried using TPU tape and couldn’t get it to form a strong bond with the fabric so I gave up on the idea, but if you figure out a method that works, please let us know!
Another excellent idea out of Fairbanks! Thanks, Bruce, and keep ’em coming!
I’ll add this to the how-to page so more people will see it.
Excellent – sounds good!
One thing to note is that the higher up the center of gravity is, the less stable the boat will be and the lower the sides will seem. It should still be really stable (because it’s so wide), but just be careful with the little ones 🙂
Hi Thomas – you would need 2m (~6′) of tube fabric to make the two tubes 3′ longer, plus 1 m of floor material. Cheers
Hi Joe, I’m sorry to say I don’t have much useful experience when it comes to taking on smaller passengers, so I can’t really say how much room they’ll need. My experience has been that you can cram a lot of people or gear into a small area fairly easily, but the amount of time it remains comfortable depends on how much room everyone has to shift around. If you’re planning on traveling long distances as a family, you’ll want more room, but if you just want to pile in and go for a little paddle now and then, you’ll be able to get away with a shorter boat. You mentioned just one person will be paddling, so maybe the most comfortable and efficient use of space would be for you and your partner to sit facing each other at opposite ends of the packraft and the two kids in between (probably with one of them nestled between the non-paddling adult’s legs and older child sitting cross-legged between the two adults’ feet). Kids have a tendency to grow though, so I’m not sure how long this arrangement would last.
Another way to get more space out of the boat might be to make thicker inflatable seats that put you up higher with your knees bent – like sitting on a canoe seat instead of a kayak seat.
I haven’t really answered your question, but hopefully I’ve given you some more ideas to help you decide what length you want to make it…
I’m not sure if there’s a limit to what length can reasonably be managed by one paddler, but even a long boat should handle alright on flat water without too much wind.
I second Mark’s opinion. It’s safe to open the top cover of the Boston valve on the water because of the one-way valve inside, and you can top up through that. Bruce from Fairbanks carries a ~1 meter length of 7/8″ OD silicone tubing to plug into the Boston valve so he doesn’t have to twist around to get his mouth on it, which is a good idea. I can do it without the tube, but it takes a fair amount of flexibility. If you’re paddling with a partner, it’s a bit easier if you raft up and top up each other’s boats, and in many cases it’s just as quick to go ashore for a minute and top up there.
Hi @stevoggo – I checked the MSDS for Aquaseal and it looks like the main ingredient is 4,4′-methylenediphenyl diisocyanate, with toluene as a solvent. Shoe Goo is tetrachloroethylene and styrene, 1,3-butadiene polymer. So, not the same thing, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it won’t work just as well – the only way to know for sure would be to test them side by side.
This thread seems to have some good info from people in Australia, so give it a look: https://www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Kitesurfing/General/What-brand-of-PU-Glue-do-you-use?page=1
Cheers!
Hi Lyn, thanks for posting this report and especially the video – it’s very helpful seeing your technique in action! I imagine it must have taken quite a bit of trial and error to arrive at such a slick method – thanks for persevering and sharing what you learned. I tried using a larger pistol-style hot air gun, myself, and quickly gave up on it because its nozzles were too big and it only had two different temperature/airflow settings.
I think this will be a good method for more experienced DIY’ers to try, depending on the cost of heat guns where they live – for some reason ones like yours are really expensive here in Canada, like $200.00 to $350.00, but I see they’re much more reasonably priced in other countries.
I’m going to feature this post on the blog so more people will see it.
Hi Lewis, thanks for your interest in the packrafts!
I’m not aware of anyone making a traditional multi-chamber inflatable from one of my designs yet, but it shouldn’t be too difficult. It’s a bit more work to seal off different sections of the tubes, but it can be done. If you cut the side tube in half and add an extra-wide seam there, you’ll have an inward-facing TPU surface you can heat seal a circular bulkhead to.
A simpler method is to have separate cylindrical drybags that you insert into the tubes through the airtight zipper before inflating the packraft. These can be made of lighter fabric (40D), or the same fabric as the tubes (210D), depending on whether weight or durability is most important to you.
You can also make an inflatable floor insert, which acts as an additional chamber, along with your seat.
Cheers
I haven’t tried it myself, but can’t think of any reason it wouldn’t work for a small volume inflatable.
Hi Veets, I’m not sure of the failure pressure of the materials, but it would probably depend on how you design the seams and would take some experimentation to get right. They can be made rigid, but I’ve never made anything as small as 1″ thick.
Note that cargo holds on most airliners are pressurized, but some smaller regional aircraft have rear cargo holds that aren’t pressurized, so the relative air pressure between the inside of the inflatable padding and the atmosphere would change significantly at altitude (at a cruising altitude of about 20,000 feet the pressure would be twice as much as at sea level), so you’d have to take that into account if you plan to travel in smaller airplanes.
This is outstanding, Bruce! I never thought to file the iron to the shape I want. If it’s alright with you, I’d like to post this under the How-To menu (with full credit to you) so it won’t get buried in the forum over time. Thanks for posting!
