Adventure Rowboat 1 Build
Project Description
Overview
In the Spring of 2024, I designed, built, and tested my 19-foot adventure rowboat. This was my first experience in boat design, construction, and rowing.
The Engineering Challenge
The core of this expedition relied entirely on the vessel. I designed, built, and tested the rowboat myself, ensuring it could withstand unpredictable environments while serving as my only form of transportation and housing. In this process I performed trade studies, designed and fabricated composite materials, and tested the craft to ensure it would operate in the conditions I required.
Process
- Construction: Stitch and glue fiberglass construction was used to build the primary hull. This involves precisely cutting panels that are stitched together to form the shape of the hull, which is then solidified with epoxy and fiberglass. The strength of the hull comes both from the wood panel core and the outer layers of fiberglass.
- Testing: Testing of this first vessel was not as rigorous as I would have liked. I loaded predetermined weights to understand where the waterline sat in calm water. This gave me a rough idea of how much mass I could carry on my trips. I also rowed in rough waters with differing amounts of weights and weight distribution to understand the practical limits of the boat. This allowed me to understand how the boat handles under these conditions and proved valuable knowledge while adventuring.