Yesterday I went out to look at materials. I found the 3mm PVC I'd had in
mind, it looks good but the sheets are smaller than I thought, which means
buying more and attempting to join them. Of course, every join is a
potential leak spot, something I'd hoped to avoid in the first place.
Then I found some 1mm clear PVC available on a roll - it's used for green
houses and stuff. It looks pretty hard wearing, and it'd certainly remove
the need for joins. In fact, I could build the whole hull as one piece and
then cut it in three after, which might be better anyway, as it'd keep all
the lines together. But is it strong enough? Can't see why not it's thicker
than the PVC sheet used in folding kayaks after all. The other great thing
about clear is I'll be able to see that the bouyancy foam's got in all the
nooks and crannies, the downside is that I'll have to paint it of course. I
reckon it's worth giving it a go though - and it's a third of the price. I
also found the edging strips I had in mind. If I go for the 1mm these will
be even more important, but at least I know they're there. Now I just need
to source the box section aluminium, and at least I lnow where to find that.
Oh and of course the gears, the seat, the pedals, the propeller, the
waterproof stuff sacs and boxes, but hey it's not much really.
Still need to sort out those offsets though.
