Here's another design based around corrugated plastic. Site is a little thin on details, although there have been links from Make and Gizmodo (that second one has a picture of a actual craft). read more »
I hadn't really expected NPR (National Public Radio) to be a source for my boating interests, but they surprised me yesterday.
They have an ongoing series of "SoundClips" segments (many are quite interesting) where listeners send in interesting sounds that they have encountered and recorded. The segment yesterday dealt with a "Origami Boat" that a man produced in Austin, TX. read more »
Alex has another couple of videos up covering the initial launch of a nice Brent Swain origami steel sail craft... video moves a little slow at times, but its always fun to see another successful launch.
Note that Alex also produced what is supposed to be a very nicely done DVD package showing the build sequence of a Brent Swain Origami boat. I haven't seen it, but plan to order it:
...there is still available the 3 hour DVD set detailing the construction of an origami boat from flat sheet to bare hull, cabin and decks. $54 USD, shipped worldwide.
There is a method of building that I ran across recently that has been popular for many years in the canoe/kayak world... skin on frame. Its a matter of building a lightweight framework from wood/metal/plastic and stretching a skin over it. The flexible skin becomes the hull.
Fascinating to look at some of the ideas of work. This is all a bit smaller than I'm interested in, although it fits in some way with the Origami Dingy that I'm (slowly, I know) working on... some of these kayaks use the same material as specified for the dingy.
I can't help but think there may be some applications for these skins on larger craft... not as a self-supporting hull, maybe, but as a "coating"? Heat shrink a skin onto a wood backing instead of epoxy? Worth some thinking/testing/playing.
Anyway, here's a collection of sites for those interested:
