Prototyping!

 Much thought has gone into the process of creating this prototype. I'm trying different ideas that I came across in my studies on boat building. My original plan was to create a small boat like the ones that were built in Ancient Egypt called papyrus boats. I had no resource that provides the papyrus plant, so I instead used palm tree fronds. These fronds are quite plentiful, and very light and is an easy material to work with. I never saw an actually papyrus plant that I can make a comparison with to palm tree fronds. Palm tree fronds, are very light weight and very easy to work with. I thought the two are very similar by the way the frond leaves fans outward. The boat is truly coming together nicely. I will be able to duplicate the process when I start working on another Egyptian Skiffy! Right now, I'm working on refining the design so I will be able to perfect it in the next model.   I also added some other material for making the hull watertight. I learned that tar has been used in boat building and I applied it to the inside of the hull and underneath it. I discovered that tar is made from wood, which makes it organic. Learning about this while watching different YouTube videos and reading articles about boat building have been very instrumental in the design development. I still have a way to go in building in precise measurements. Using fronds as a building material is a bit challenging, if you're trying to keep them in their natural state. There are several things that I have to do to make the frond water resistant as much as possible, since no fiberglass will be used to cover the fronds as skin. The goal is to continue to  build organic boats, that are functional as well as a pleasurable experience riding on the water in.