Stitch and glue Lightweight platform update

[Oyster9]

Very nice! I'm planning a similar arrangement.

That canoe is great! Guess we have things in common as I've been wanting to do a freighter as well, I'm hoping for a 24' 60" beam with a little more freeboard, decked. Can't find plans so it may end up as a box boat or more of a sharpie. Ever hear of a liveaboard canoe? hahaha.... Too many projects!

thanks,
the canoe plans i built mine from came from cnc routing and design out of maine.
great boat and the designer is a fine fellow.
if interested google it.
he will spend all the time you need to help.
i feel the big freighter may be some what better in foul wether than the sharpie, just one mans thoughts
i know what you mean about projects , never enough calendar.

 

[Ozarker]

Agreed the Sharpie pounds, Bolger used a false bow to overcome pounding, might be an option but the freighter is the first choice to date.
Any other storage solutions to add? :coffeedrink:

 

[Oyster9]

Agreed the Sharpie pounds, Bolger used a false bow to overcome pounding, might be an option but the freighter is the first choice to date.
Any other storage solutions to add? :coffeedrink:

As far as storage solutions go,
Two things I would change on this set up is add a back and sides to the back 1/3 of the cooler slide out to stop items from rolling off the back when rolling it out,and cut the extra aluminum off the left side of the drawer front as it takes a little end gate counter space away when sliding the drawer in and out
Not so much a storage solution, but my latest project is a 18' skin on frame canoe.

 

[Rezarf <><]

Love the build, very well thought out and your attention to detail is great. Thanks for taking the time to share.

 

[magentawave]

Nice job and thanks for sharing! I'm thinking of using the "stitch and glue" method to build an aerodynamic roof top cargo box made out of thin plywood.

Three questions please...

1) Was all the strength of your joints from the fillets only...or did you put any epoxy in between where each piece of plywood touches the other piece?

2) What tool did you use to apply the thickened epoxy to the plywood to create the fillet? A throw-a-way cake frosting squeezer thingee?

3) What did you use to make the epoxy thicker? Cabosil or milled fibers?

Thanks

 

[Oyster9]

Love the build, very well thought out and your attention to detail is great. Thanks for taking the time to share.

Thank you and it is my pleasure Drew

 

[Oyster9]

Nice job and thanks for sharing! I'm thinking of using the "stitch and glue" method to build an aerodynamic roof top cargo box made out of thin plywood.

Three questions please...

1) Was all the strength of your joints from the fillets only...or did you put any epoxy in between where each piece of plywood touches the other piece?

2) What tool did you use to apply the thickened epoxy to the plywood to create the fillet? A throw-a-way cake frosting squeezer thingee?

3) What did you use to make the epoxy thicker? Cabosil or milled fibers?

Thanks

All joints, tee or corner got primed with straight epoxy, then the fillets applied after a half hour.
A ziplock bag with a corner cut out of it works good for putting the fillet material down, but that can be done with your fillet tool as well.
I cut my fillet tools from 5 gallon plastic buckets to the radius needed.
I have used wood flour a lot, but now use 1 part wood flour to 3 parts cabosil.
You get a good wood color and it makes smoother fillets,I feel.
Also you may want to tape the joints on a roof box.
I feel this would make a great roof box and hope you post pics for all to see.
I hope this helps and if you need more just shout

 

[magentawave]

Hey that's a great idea for using a zip lock bag to squeeze out fillet goo. Simple and cheap. Thanks!

Instead of using stitch and glue, did you ever consider applying epoxy to the parts to be joined > then tack those joints together with a pin nail gun > then apply the fillets? The pin nailer would just be used to hold everything in place until the fillets dry.

 

[Oyster9]

Hey that's a great idea for using a zip lock bag to squeeze out fillet goo. Simple and cheap. Thanks!

Instead of using stitch and glue, did you ever consider applying epoxy to the parts to be joined > then tack those joints together with a pin nail gun > then apply the fillets? The pin nailer would just be used to hold everything in place until the fillets dry.

Thank you,
I feel to nail 1/4 ply would end with delaminated ply or blowing out the side of the ply.
Plus it is easy to stitch together and it lets you get every thing fair as you tighten the stitches.

 

[magentawave]

Oh sorry, I forgot that the ply was only 1/4" thick so I understand now why you chose stitch and glue. I'm thinking of building an aerodynamic roof top cargo box using stitch and glue and epoxy. I wish I could find plans somewhere...

 

[Oyster9]

Oh sorry, I forgot that the ply was only 1/4" thick so I understand now why you chose stitch and glue. I'm thinking of building an aerodynamic roof top cargo box using stitch and glue and epoxy. I wish I could find plans somewhere...

I think that a roof box is a fairly easy project to design with out plans.
Get some dimensions from a store bought unit to get a starting point.
A pencil,architectural scale, compass, paper and start drawing it out in scale until you get what you want.
If you don't know how to use a scale, its not hard to do.
I find the design process as much fun as constructing

 

[magentawave]

I'm thinking that there are three ways to be able to open the roof top box...

1) Put hinges on one side.

2) Put hinges at the front only.

3) The simplest and probably most watertight way would be to make it so the back hinges open like a garage door. I could have a lip above the hinge so the hinge is protected from rain.


The downside to having it hinge at the front or the side (#1 and #2) would be in keeping the box watertight.

The downside to the small door hinged door in the back (#3) is that access would be limited and it would be difficult to retrieve small stuff that has slid forward in the box. Also, how would I do the fillets all along the seams inside if I can only access everything from the back?

What do you think?

I think that a roof box is a fairly easy project to design with out plans.
Get some dimensions from a store bought unit to get a starting point.
A pencil,architectural scale, compass, paper and start drawing it out in scale until you get what you want.
If you don't know how to use a scale, its not hard to do.
I find the design process as much fun as constructing

 

[Oyster9]

I'm thinking that there are three ways to be able to open the roof top box...

1) Put hinges on one side.

2) Put hinges at the front only.

3) The simplest and probably most watertight way would be to make it so the back hinges open like a garage door. I could have a lip above the hinge so the hinge is protected from rain.


The downside to having it hinge at the front or the side (#1 and #2) would be in keeping the box watertight.

The downside to the small door hinged door in the back (#3) is that access would be limited and it would be difficult to retrieve small stuff that has slid forward in the box. Also, how would I do the fillets all along the seams inside if I can only access everything from the back?

What do you think?

I feel that hinges on the side is the only way to go, if you use hinges.
I don't know how high your vehicle is and how many times a day you would need to get in the box.
With that said, what would you think about a shoe box style lid with ledgers for weather stripping?
And a cam latch at each corner.
A lot simpler to build especially with curved sides.
Just a thought.

 

[magentawave]

Thanks for replying.

The cargo boxes will go on top of an 18' Toyota Sunrader motorhome. The Sunrader has a fiberglass body. I wish I could avoid hinges and I really like your shoe box style idea because its simple, but because of what I'll be doing I think I'll probably need hinges for the following reasons...

1) ACCESS: Sometimes I might need to access a box twice a day - once to grab a surfboard and later to put it back in. I might have two boxes side by side which will make it very difficult to access them without hinges. And even if I have only one box, how would I handle taking off and putting back a shoe box style top with cam latches by myself?

2) WEIGHT: I plan on making the boxes as light as possible using thin plywood (or possibly build them out of fiberglass with a female mold) and will probably mount two 250 watt solar panels on top of each box. I don't know how much a solar panel of that size weighs yet, but that weight will probably also require the top to have hinges.

What are your thoughts?

I feel that hinges on the side is the only way to go, if you use hinges.
I don't know how high your vehicle is and how many times a day you would need to get in the box.
With that said, what would you think about a shoe box style lid with ledgers for weather stripping?
And a cam latch at each corner.
A lot simpler to build especially with curved sides.
Just a thought.

 

[Oyster9]

Thanks for replying.

The cargo boxes will go on top of an 18' Toyota Sunrader motorhome. The Sunrader has a fiberglass body. I wish I could avoid hinges and I really like your shoe box style idea because its simple, but because of what I'll be doing I think I'll probably need hinges for the following reasons...

1) ACCESS: Sometimes I might need to access a box twice a day - once to grab a surfboard and later to put it back in. I might have two boxes side by side which will make it very difficult to access them without hinges. And even if I have only one box, how would I handle taking off and putting back a shoe box style top with cam latches by myself?

2) WEIGHT: I plan on making the boxes as light as possible using thin plywood (or possibly build them out of fiberglass with a female mold) and will probably mount two 250 watt solar panels on top of each box. I don't know how much a solar panel of that size weighs yet, but that weight will probably also require the top to have hinges.

What are your thoughts?

I think that being you will access it from the back of the vehicle off a ladder, it lends itself well to hinges on the front.
I don't feel it is worth building a mold for a one off project out of fiberglass and you can get equal strength and stiffness with glass sheathed ply for around the same weight.
If you are thinking of two boxes any way, how about one box the width of a sheet of plywood, hinged on front, with a couple gas springs to hold it open?
You could put a divider in it to keep your surf board separated from your other gear.
I feel one box is at least 1/2 again less labor.
Just more thoughts.