Blog
Oct 9, 2021 A good Youtube video downloader
In making my Youtube videos, sometimes I have to refer to other Youtube videos. Because of copyright law, I usually can take a 10-12 seconds clip of the relevant part of the video. I have tried screen capture to create the clip. However, a better way is to download the video using Youtube downloading programs. I have tested many versions and finally I found the 4K Video Downloader which works well for me. The basic version is free, I have used it for a few years and it is meeting all my needs. It's download speed is fast. The UI is simple. The best part is it also has an option to control the download speed so my wife will not complaint when she watches the on-line videos while I am downloading.
You can download the free 4K Video Download application here. I use the Windows 10 version.
https://www.4kdownload.com/products/product-videodownloader?r=free_license
May 12, 2021
Where do you buy the coroplast for this boat?
Thanks for this question...The one I used in building most of my coroplast boats were custom ordered from China. I could get what I want (5' x 10' 6 mm thick, density 10 lbs/5'x10'). I have to buy in bulk and I don't recommend people to do that. At that time, I have not discovered heat fusion and local stores, Home Depot, Lowes only have 4' x 8' 4, 5, 6 or10 mm thick coroplast. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Coroplast-48-in-x-96-in-x-157-in-White-Corrugated-Plastic-Cardboard-10-Pack-WC4896-10/202489118
Now there is an option to fuse sheets together to make a larger sheet. I have been slow in releasing the DIY video for this solo canoe because I am modifying the design so people with 4'x8' 4 mm thick coroplast can build a canoe similar to the one in the video. Other places that make signs, or sell plastic products may carry 4' x 10' coroplast. Building a boat with 4mm thick coroplast takes more work. There is an article you may want to read to give you a feel of the techniques used in using 4 mm thick coroplast for building a kayak. https://makezine.com/projects/origami-kayak/
The Gen 14 series is about this kayak https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2ShZzOUu01v-D-Ap1XcX8TgnFlzwf1NP
If you are in US, you may order the 5, or 6 mm thick coroplast from home depot and then fused them together. The result will be much better than using 4 mm ones. If you use 4 mm sheets, you will have to double or triple the thickness on the floor. This will add to the cost. For me, building this solo canoe is under $100. It will last for a few years if you treat it like an inflatable boat.
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Thanks for the 2 videos you have made. I'm not trying to build a boat at present but am interested in what you are doing and especially your experiments. The process you are using could be useful for some prototypes I'm making. Watching your process suggests that the heating is uneven, so the fusing of the 2 sheets is uneven and will have varying waterproofing and bond strength across the joint. So how to get even heat by hand tools over the bonded area? ..........
Reply June 1, 2020
I really appreciate the information you have provided. I am not aware of the Polyimide strip heater. All your comments are 100% accurate. Using a heat gun is really difficult to come up with a good joint. If I limit the joint to 2" in width, I can come up with a usable joint (still not that even, but much better than what you have seen in the video). To work around the waterproof issue, I now go with 'dual seams joint' illustrated in this video https://youtu.be/TvnjSLL67iU
When needed, I may add another 'bandage strip' on top. I actually built a heating strip using the nichrome wire (photo below). To be effective, I need a high power transformer (don't want to us AC). Hence the heating strip I built is useless.
Even if I had perfected this heating strip, I need a large workshop to accommodate the large coroplast sheets (can't do it on the garage floor) and additional tools to create a production level joint. My wife would object me in investing in this.
I have an idea to design a 'heating head', similar to a sewing machine, with spot heat plates ( and hot air) to heat up both coroplast sheets and with rollers ( with controllable pressure) at the back to press the sheets together. I would do this if I plan to turn this into business (but I have decided not to do another startup :-)
I use hot fusion for small jobs also and it turned out to be acceptable. An example is in a video I took 3 days ago.
I have watched many people building wonderful boats, Most of them have a nice workshop, tools, equipment. Very often it cost a lot. My goal is to create boat building videos for other people to copy and to experiment. Majority of the people have limited time, skill, tools, money, space to build a boat. Therefore in my designs, I try to take all these into consideration. Rather than sitting in an arm chair to admire others creating wonderful looking boats, I hope my simple designs will encourage people to get their hands dirty and build a boat that at least can float :-) and doesn't look like a box.
That said, using a heat gun and other simple tools can still making something usable. My latest double seam heat fusion approach can hide some of the imperfections with the joint. I am working on a non-foldable kayak and I attempt to do the whole boat using heat fusion. I will learn more about this technique when I complete that boat (hopefully complete that in 3-4 days -this Friday).
Thanks for your comments and excellent feedback.
Heating strip 4' long
Dec 9 2020
gerald lim • 8 hours ago
I made a coroplast boat 5 years ago for duck hunting, but was limited to a standard 4X8' sheet, so it's a small boat. Your fusing method is SO helpful, THANK YOU! Now I can make a nice big boat! Now if only you can invent a method to make paint stick to coroplast.......... :-)
Reply Dec 9 2020
Thanks for sharing your experience. Most people, including myself have a very difficult time to find a larger coroplast. That's why I have been trying to solve that problem and looks like fusion is a low cost and workable solution. There is ultra-sonic welding equipment but it is not something a hobbyist like me could afford.
My friend Nat recently come up with a very user friendly way to fuse the sheets and I have detailed that technique in this video. https://youtu.be/KzS6iqQnSCA
Now, a good news. A magazine sponsored Nat (a very talented and trained boat builder) to build a foldable kayak using the 4'x8' 4 mm coroplast sheets. You can get all the materials from Home Depot/Lowes. I provided the design and he did a few revisions of the design, This is a 10' kayak. We keep it under 10 ft to work around local rules and regulations. It folds the same way as my Gen 12 kayak.
The Magazine will publish the design guide in Jan 2021. I will supplement that with videos on Youtube afterward. Please stay tuned. I took the liberality to share two of the many photos here hope the Chief editor of the Magazine will not mad at me :-)
