One Foldable FRP Boat

The 132-pound, 12-foot boat is sold in 11 pieces, which are stored in two canvas bags, one for the hull and the other for the seats, transom, nose and other components. The boat assembles with a series of “quick-click” connects. Its design is made possible with advanced composite materials. The boat has a 5-foot, 6-inch beam – about the same as a bigger 14-foot boat – and can hold four adults. Affordability for the outdoor adventurer goes with the territory, so the boat is priced at $4,000.

Most of the hull is fabricated using hand lay up of fiberglass reinforced with high-end epoxy resin. This is reinforced with a high-density PVC foam core used in the aerospace industry, which is followed by another layer of the fiberglass/epoxy system to form sandwich panels that become the hull of the boat. Top sheet coating on the wear areas, such as the gunnel rail and keel, are made from a combination of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS). The flat panels are pre-stressed to give the structure the needed rigidity without having to increase the weight of the panel by increasing the thickness of the core or the skin.

The patented hinge design – what makes it a foldable boat – is accomplished with the use of FRP flanges which are bonded to Kevlar® fiber strips embedded with epoxy resin at the edges of each panel. This enables the hull of the boat to fold in on itself for storage in its canvas bag, which can be hung on a garage wall.  The geometry of each of the flat panels is narrower at the bow and wider at the stern to form the hull. The foredeck “nose,” a passenger bench, a captain’s bench and the transom pop in place to provide the horizontal and box structures that hold the boat open and keep it rigid. A motor of up to 10-horsepower is mounted on the transom.

Also patented is the design of the transom and associated triangular torsional bracing that addresses the need to absorb engine thrust. The thrust created by the motor has to have an opposing force, but the transom alone will not do it. By including composite-based poles to reinforce the transom, the thrust dissipates through the poles onto the captain’s seat and then onto the hull side panels, creating a triangular structure. The boat’s transom and hinge are just two of several mature patents and patents pending in Australia, New Zealand, North America and Europe.

Purchasing Fiberglass Chopped Strand Mat, please focus on SichuanSincere & Long-term Complex Material Co., Ltd, and contact email: zhouxiongfiberglass@gmail.com