bamboo strip planking for structural use

You don't split them! That would ruin all the fun!

OK, if your going to do this, make sure you have a really good fireplace screen, because when the air expands inside the chambers of the bamboo, they explode like barrel bombs! It's really loud and really scary!!!

That's a good input. Something to consider in my design, imagine a fire in a boat full of these barrels ... sprinkler system is mandatory !

I don't think the fire dangers will be an worse than normal fiberglass/carbon fiber boat, in fact, the loud popping of the Bamboo burning may make for a cheap sort of fire alarm!!

That could be a very positive side effect if it happens while you are sleeping!!!!

Seriously, though some testing is needed first to prove the theory either way, one of the problems of natural products is that the quality from even the same piece of bamboo is variable and you need a method of identifying these changes and to use them to your advantage, otherwise the carbon fiber and aluminium honeycomb will be a better alternative, though probably not cheap.

But when in the middle of the ocean and things start to go wrong.......

Most things on a boat need to be built to withstand 2 - 4 times more stress than anyone could possibly think possible, wave power is not to be sniffed at.

Multihull boats (my personal wet dream!)(well they are in seawater!!! What were you thinking of???) need to be built like aircraft, light but exceedingly strong, to allow them to move/react and basically "get out of the way" of large wave actions. Not having a heavy keel to drag about is very, very positive!

Arthur Piver, whose Multihulls were groundbreaking, did not build so light and he was lost on one of his own design. His boats also did not point well either, but it was the early day of trimarans.....he was a Pioneer in the full sense of the word.

Modern Tris and Cats, even if upside down, remain afloat, even if rather uncomfortable. Masthead flotation devices can even get them back on an even keel. A monohull just sinks under such conditions....

this is good thinking ! details sometimes may seem trivial but ... Kusrt hughes says the same thing, lightness is safety because the most possible material goes into the structure. Speed allows one to escape trouble. In fact, the tris are now mandatory to have the sort of chicken loop we have on kites. I designed such a system on my kite and planned it on my cat. Then again, a formula cat is different from a pleasure cat.

Each piece if bamboo, will be tested individually for a safe stress load, i just bought some testing equipment. That is also why a kitamaran could be so safe, if something is terribly wrong, pull the chicken loops and it flies away. By By ! A huge mast will fall on the boat or people. Kite requires driving it at least for the cloth, GPS for the rudders, and very short over designed masts take care of the very slow or very fast winds. Gusty weather ! set small sails and a kite on the chicken loop. In fact i would bet a quater that the 50 knts barrier could be beaten with a kitamaran. It will be a done thing before me, unless. One thing i was considering is, would i be sliding on skis or foils if i was to go fast on sand ? I would likely try on wheels, hence, at 45 knts +, its pretty hard on my barefeet, water as well, a wheel ski combo would probably do it. I threw many balls on water and the ones that had some grip seem to go farther. So rain threads would be better ...

Got to run, lightning outside ...

Dear Sir,

I have lived in the tropics for a very long time. As a young man during the war I was introduced to a sailing canoe built on the design of a Gilbert & Ellis canoe.(now Kiribati)

The canoe had a main hull (the originals were built, by the native craftsmen, using timber plankings which were secured onto the ribs of the main hull by coconut fiber ropes through holes drilled into the planks.Natural adhesives were used to water tight the work,) The unit I purchased from an earlier trader was built in thin kaori planking . The hull was V shaped with a deep part in the midlle and tapered on both extremeties. The hull was decked with light ply covered by painted canvas. The hull was about 8 meters long about: 1 meter in the center. There was no rudder . A single oar was used against the hull at either ends where at each extremety a solid timber about six inches by two inches was secured twarthship onto the deck and against which the above oar was held securely. ( very hard to hold on to it a safety lanyard was secured on deck for heavy weather)

The outrigger was a light -wood log shaped again with both ends sharpened so that the unit could travel in both directions. The supports for the outrigger were made of bamboo(yes bamboo) which were secured with local vines and coconut fiber ropes and covered with light bamboo rods so that one could walk quickly from one end to the other or act as counter-weight to keep the craft in balance.

Where the craft differed very much from what all of us were used to was the fact that the mast was in the exact center of the craft. The sail (of cotton, as against the original which were of : natural woven coconut leaves). The mast was stayed only to windward i.e. towards the outrigger. It was about twenty feet in height. The sail had a bamboo frame (on which the sail was lashed through eye fittings). One bamboo (the pointed element) was lashed to the mast top .( In height it extended about 15 to 20 feet above the mast) . The lower or horizontal boom was able to swing 180o in relation to the mast. Because there were no stays or riggings in the way it could revolve around the mast .

This is where the system was totally different in as much as the sail (the shape of which was what used to be known as a : Latin sail,) enabled the craft not to have to heave to for a tack. The two crew would run from one end to the other and the sail would be swung around . The craft always had the lighter side or outrigger side "to the wind". Friends of mine in US Navy clocked the craft over a mile stretch on a very good south easter exceeding 15 knots .

I am relating this to you firstly to garantee the integrity of bamboos which I tested in quite high seas regularly with that craft , but also to perhaps contribute to the design of your craft ( A canoe with outrigger would I have no doubt be far faster than a catamaran . Particularly if as my crew member used to do very efficiently was to balance the outrigger out of the water . He had an uncanny habit of " whistling for the gusts of south easter ". ! He would then scamper up towards the outrigger even before they would hit the sails !

Good fun writing to you about and hope that you enjoy your project . Keep us all advised. Thanks and best regards,

Labor

Great post!

There are so many ways of building boats, but some of the most enjoyable are with traditional materials. The America's cup boats use all sorts of high tech materials, and cost $millions... but a Polynesian proa from a few centuries ago could sail right past one.

Just a thought:

If 3-phase systems are naturals : Self-balancing,Self-correcting : in Air /free space.

Examples :

• 3 phase Electric transmission/Distribution
• 3-thrustor Ultra-power rockets to Moon

Then 2-Hull Catamarans are naturals for Stability in Stormy Seas-not Trimarans:

Catamaran (Kutta-Maraan) was evolved over Millenia to save Fishermen venturing out to sea in the East coast of South India . Built entirely of Bamboo.

We want Yellow Cat to add massive innovations to Catamaran's possibilities.

Hollow Bamboos to make up the Hull. Dismantlable to 2 Portable 20' half- lengths,ie total 4 pieces to carry back to his Garage . Steel bolted flange-rings separates 20' @- like you join up fuselages.

This HULL will always remain safely afloat even on a smash-hit through Skin.

Wrap Bamboo woven 1mm thick Mat around the Hull+Plaster Mat with flexible Epoxy.

That impervious skin enables sleeping inside.

Sail-mainmast supports can be cleverly engineered as attachments to Hull-joinup flanges.

Catamaran separating 3 Spacers can be at extreme ends and at middle(at joinup steel flange ) Spacers can be light bunch of tied Bamboos(to give L/R for massive compressive thrust+Tensile)

The thought of the day "if only we didn't want a better life, we would not have to work our brains out discovering science". YC

The last comments were very interesting. In fact, from the various types of races, am. cup, quebec/saint-malo, route du rhum, break the 50 knts speed record, vendée globe, etc, we can find pin point technos adapted to each. One race that could be introduced is the FUN cup, Foire Universelle Nautique cup. Where all kinds of marine apparatus would show up for the pleasure of being on the water, have people try the tries, the cats, the proas, the americas cup , all kind of boats. We had EXPO in 1967 in Montreal and it was a success for uniting people of the world in one cause, humanity exchange. Although not being a huge fan of monohulls, because we have to choose in a man's life time, i love the America's Cup for the international open meet, it should be called the World Open Cup, but for tradition lets keep it the way it is. TV did not cover it as well as i wanted but that's life.

Back to the concept, compromise is the essence of boating, technically and humanly, ask my wife , the Cat i am about to build will reflect technique and pleasure.

Why a cat ? Besides the fact that i am totally in love with my Prindle 16 1978 and my friend's Nacra 5,8, would be of a F18 Tiger or Nacra F18 if we had a group on my lake. By the way today is the Laser1 Christian's cup race (remembrance race) 11 th edition. At 52, Chriss past away this May. With winds from 11 to 22 knots, should be interesting.

For my compromises, a cat has many advantages. Technical aspects have been solved, now being in the Can We Do Better phase, and i think at this stage i should lay out the constraints i have.

1 - Each item that goes into the boat has to have at least two uses. i.e. the anchor chain (s) will be tension members in traveling mode. The anchor(s) themselves will be the captain's seats ... How the hell is he going to have two uses with the toilet ? a compost toilet ...

2 - Under the cat, a day fun beach (raft) and a beach with all the amenities for moorings activities. You can guess how i will do it. This is practical for safety, boat cleanness, ease off marine activities, etc a must.

3 - The cabins are twin, starbord and port, no, it's not in the pontoons, it's like a Safari Condo or a Westfalia roof. This is where bubble insulation, Kevlar and other strong and light materials come into play. Why a passage in the middle ? For safety moving aboard and kite launchings. Imagine a huge Hobie 16, posts being part of the independant suspension ... trator. Twin masts like mediatis yves parlier's cat, excusez moi, hydraplaneur. On youtube by the way.

4 - Everything heavy goes into the pontoons, even clothing, yes it's not made for 60 people ... and although i am 200 lbs, i won't be or fit in the amas.

5 - Has to be good looking, have you seen waterworld ? ... I am inspired by shells. With the new flexible solar panels, should be fun.

Once the CADD drawings done, my friend want's to do an animation and we will put it on youtube for interested people or should i say scholars...

Got to go, a friend needs help , he broke a jib hoist rope, we may have to capsize his Prindle 18, ahhh, they never listen.

YC

I am sorry to have to take you to task, but you are maybe very good on strong safe hull construction, but you show little knowledge or understanding with regard to both types of multi-hulls, with regard to their particular sailing characteristics.... especially modern ones!

I have the impression that you may have sailed on cats but never on a modern Tri!!!! And then probably as a passenger only.....sorry to be so vindictive and unfriendly, but you are putting a good boat type down....

This comment from you:- "Then 2-Hull Catamarans are naturals for Stability in Stormy Seas-not Trimarans:" is so throwaway and so uneducated, that I had to react as there might be people who think you know what you are talking about in this area.....

It is true that Cats have a very strong righting moment, which impresses the hell out of non-sailing people, but only till you get past the point of no return, then before you can blink an eye, they are upside down, if you don't have a working, automatic mast buoyancy system. A good Cat captain knows this and watches the speed of the wind and reduces sail before danger arises. Some call him chicken, but he knows best.

Skippers who learnt on normal mono-hulls, who use the deck angle to gauge when to shorten sail, are often caught out on a Cat......Cats sail very, very upright in very strong winds.....which again is why landsmen like them most of all.

A modern, properly designed Trimaran has many of the good characteristics of a Cat, but is not so stiff with regard to righting motion and depending upon whether its a sinking outer hull type or not, demonstrates that sail needs reducing by heeling. Not as much as a Mono by any means.

The older Tri designs (from Piver -rhymes with diver- for example), with their large deck windage (modern designs have nets between the hulls to stop this trait), tend to be less safe as once the hulls are up, the wind can catch on this large underside area and turn them over....but these designs are around 50 years old now and as far as I am aware, not built anymore, sadly the plans are available for free, so i could be wrong. (Googling Arthur Piver will bring many good infos about the Father of the Trimaran to light.)

Strangely, Multi-hulls fix one of the relatively uncomfortable points of sailing, when sailing directly downwind for example, as most mono-hull yaws from side to side in a most uncomfortable manner. Yawing is not a Multi-hull problem!

You can also tack downwind in a Multi-hull, much faster than most Mono-hulls can sail there directly!!!

Well designed modern Multi-hulls are easier to get planing as there are no big heavy keels to break the waters surface, they are also much lighter for their length and sail area, like a sports car is to a saloon car (or lorry!!). They do not follow the waterline length rules of mono-hulls either. So you can go farther, faster in a similar length Multi-hull than you can in a mono-hull in the same time scale.

In a storm, lying "a-lee", a Multi-hull properly set up, actually makes up slowly into wind or holds its position, whereas Monos are driven backwards, sometimes onto lee shores.......

Like aeroplanes, the designs are still evolving and I do not keep quite so up to date as i did a few years ago as I have lived too far from the sea for the last 26 years....

The Mono-hulls are also evolving, but slower as they are a long way down their road with regard to design etc...

I would like to say that I prefer good Tris, (I have sailed on many different boat types) but a good Cat is the next best thing, both (when properly constructed and properly Skippered) are far, far better than any Mono-hull in my opinion for a "normal" sailor....but some (sadly) are not properly constructed and not properly Skippered......

A good Cat is probably the most exhilarating of all when well Skippered, but a good Tri does not demand such superhuman qualities when the going gets rough.....at the end of the day "you pays your money and you makes your choice!"

Andy ,

I hang down my head having made a biased comment. I must learn more!

Indeed -as you said ,a well EngineeredTrimaran could be another easy-self-regulating SYSTEM like the 3-phase power or Trifoil Power Cable or 3 thrustor Rocket.

TRI-M may be possible to be evolved to the most stable vessel in real-time massive-impulse modes of Storm/Gusts/Storm-induced waves. We need a whole University team to model all the Goodness of a Trimaran.

Hamburg/CopenHagen/Kiel -they must be on it already.

I shall Dig the Theory part first- and come back to you!

Thanks for setting the CAT on a stable course.

Best Regards

mm

My pleasure to talk to you.

Have a great day.

An ancient experiment reenacted several thousand years later!!! Coincidence?

No such thing as 'coincidence' (?!?). I'll split the difference cos I'm trying to stay on topic.