Sentisah's Novelty Boats!

 This is what I been doing for the last couple of months. There are always constant trial and errors in the process of creating a prototype. Well for me this boat is my prototype because I haven't seen anybody attempt to build out of the material I've been experimenting with.  After the Auset Fronds original design got extremely heavy, I wound up loosing the grip I had on it, when I was attempting to lift the vessel. I wasn't able to get her back right side up, so I started taking her apart. After much frustration, I started working on this new design, which was actually way easier because I spent the last two years experimenting with the materials. I was able to see what works and what doesn't in the process. This time around, I'm working towards keeping the boat close as possible to a basic true boat design. There will not be any extensive layering, only shaping the contours of the hull. Less will be way more in this case.

 The Auset Fronds is getting a make over. It's like getting  liposuction to remove all of the excess fat that has built up over time. The Auset Fronds will be more like a true boat, than a raft. The boat will have 21 fronds instead of 11, which will make the boat wider than she previously was. I also removed the fangs that's found on the fronds, to eliminate the gaps that separates them when they are laid next to each other. I'm also only using construction strength adhesive this time, to glue the fronds together, and the boat will be built  using fronds only.  Building the boat this way, cuts down on wasting the adhesive, and unnecessary layering. Once I join the bow and stern ends together, I will reinforce the joined ends to strengthen the center of the hull.

 The boat raft has become quite heavy, since adding more floating noodles to it. In order to protect the noodles that touches the ground, gap closing foam spray was applied to them. The boat raft will be put onto a Boat Dollie, and then moved underneath the carport. There the railings and seats will be added to the craft, in preparation for launching. A fundraiser has started to help raise money for transporting the boat, purchasing life jackets and renting out a lake for the day. An Egyptian Skiffy t-shirt is available for purchase. To place an order,  just  email (skhemithat@hotmail.com) or inbox me for more details.

I've been doing a lot of brainstorming. Most of the time it's trial and error. The good thing is, you are able to see what works and what doesn't.

 I've been making great progress in my experiments in using the technique of the ancient Egyptian boat builders in using tenons and mortises to join the fronds together. So far I have created a long spine of fronds joined together. I also finally calculated how much I been spending on the project for 2 years to the present. I'm beginning to tighten up  the business side of the project, now that I'm almost midway into the project. July is here, and I'm still waiting on the t-shirt with the Egyptian Skiffy logo on it for the fundraiser.

I I am almost done adding the last layer on the bow. I have to add the remaining layers on the center and bow of the boat. Once the layers are added, I'm going to add some foam rubber to the bottom Noodles in order to protect them from scraping when the boat is being transported to the lake. I want to make sure that I don't have to do anything else to the bottom of the boat for a very long time. This time I brought enough liquid nails and I finally brought the right caulking gun for it. I found it very hard to pull the Noodles off, once the adhesive is dry. It's been raining real hard, and the Noodles I layered using the liquid nails for construction, didn't come apart during the heavy rains. It showed the strength of the adhesive's water resistance.

 I  started adding more Noodles to the bottom of the boat. Everything was going great until I brought two tubes of Liquid Nails that wasn't the same as the first Liquid Nails I purchased last week. I couldn't understand why the Noodles kept falling off. The first tube of Liquid Nail that I brought was a heavy duty formula for construction projects. The Noodles bonded very quickly after adding the  construction adhesive.  In my frustration, I discovered that not all Liquid Nails adhesives are equal. Some are more like glue that peels off your hands like skin. It dawned on me that the tube of Liquid Nails I brought last week, was made out of hard brown paper. The tubes I brought over the weekend was made of plastic. The construction adhesive is more difficult to clean off your hands than the Liquid Nails that comes in the plastic tubes. What made things more difficult were that the Liquid Nails weren't all in the same place because of the different kind of applicatio...