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| how do you keep it so stiff? http://www.hobie.com/au/en/forums/viewtopic.php?f=47&t=12909 |
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| Author: | Ditch Crawler [ Sun Jun 28, 2009 9:08 am ] |
| Post subject: | how do you keep it so stiff? |
I am gradually rushing headlong into purchasing a boat with a Mirage drive. I was bidding on Ebay for a one-year-old Revolution, but didn't win. So now I can go back to thinking about an inflatable - storage and transport issues make the inflatable models very appealing. So just how do the inflatable models manage to stay so 'stiff' at very low psi pressures. I saw mention of 'drop-stitch' construction, or some such phrase, but I cannot find any more information. It's only a guess, but do the slightly misproportioned bow sections of the inflatables contribute in any way? Ditch |
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| Author: | mmiller [ Sun Jun 28, 2009 10:01 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: how do you keep it so stiff? |
Hull stiffness is related to the pressure in the main chambers. The floor has the "drop-stitch" construction and this is the key to the stiff / flat floor. This technology has been used to make inflatable surfboards, so it is quite possible to get a solid structure this way. Imagine inflating and object... it wants to be round, so to prevent the floor surfaces from bulging, there are thousands of fibers attached to the two surfaces. These are all at specific length to keep the surfaces at a constant distance from each other. When inflated to pressure, the floor becomes rigid. |
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