

Adventures in designing and building a tsunami-proof boat - lisper
http://tsunamiball.com/

======
205guy
On the one hand, any do-it-yourself project is fun and rewarding, and boats
are fascinating and beautiful, especially if you build one yourself out of
wood.

On the other hand, I don't think this is a practical, generalizable idea, it's
not clearly named nor explained, and I'm not sure he's building it right.

I don't think it's generalizable because everyone would need the time and/or
money for this, not to mention the space. But there are much more effective
solutions such as going to higher ground (available in most places that have
tsunamis). For the naming, "tsunami-proof boat" has already confused most
readers here. All boats are tsunami-proof when offshore [1]. No, this is more
of a floating tsunami escape-pod. As for building it, it kinda looks like he
knows what he's doing with the planking and maybe cold molding [2], but he
doesn't really explain the engineering side of the process. I am also
wondering how he plans to test his escape-pod. And in the end, all boats need
maintenance, you can't just leave this in your yard for 20 years and expect it
to work.

I could sort of see this idea for low-lying islands, as a sort of community
shelter parked behind an administration building. But I'd expect any final
version to be built out of steel. And you'd also have to compare the cost to
just building a raised 2-3 story cement tower, which should survive a tsunami
as well.

[1] This is the most gripping account of the Indian Ocean tsunami I have read:
[http://www.condesa.org/assorted-adventures/on-being-in-
the-d...](http://www.condesa.org/assorted-adventures/on-being-in-the-
december-2004-tsunami/) [2]
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boat_building](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boat_building)

~~~
AmVess
You said you aren't sure he's building it right, and I'm with you on that.
Some of the structure appears not to be glued, only screwed. Scary. Also, the
planking looks frightening.

He goes on to say things like this:

"I’m not 100% certain how I’m putting in the port holes, but… I know I need a
hole. Cutting out these framing members will help me layout the next steps.
Right?"

and

"The project is a little on the dumbtacular side of things. A lot of my design
was done using old school brute force design instead of math and software."

Not that one has to use math and software to build a solid boat, but going off
the cuff with no experience and no start-to-finish plans is just asking for
trouble.

At very least, he should have drawn up the entire design and had an
experienced shipwright or two lend him their expertise.

The thing might make an interesting coral condo someday.

------
curtis
After watching a number of videos captured during the 2011 Japanese tsunami,
one of the things I learned is that cars will often float, sometimes for a
considerable amount of time. So if I was in the market for an emergency
tsunami-proof boat, I'd consider getting an old car and removing the engine,
then filling the trunk and engine compartment with styrofoam or similar
substance. Now you've got a car that will definitely float, and it should
provide you a fair amount of protection from floating debris.

~~~
lcedp
The idea is fascinating.

However, cars can float right until water comes in and then they will drug you
under the water. Not a very safe behavior.

I doubt styrofoam or empty bottles will provide enough force to compensate
mass of a steel frame.

Though if frame is enclosed and welded properly it will make a boat.

~~~
HeyLaughingBoy
At 10lbs per gallon, water is _heavy_. Remove the engine and transmission and
fill the trunk and engine compartment with foam, and I'd be very very
surprised if that car-boat couldn't stay afloat with a full load of
passengers.

Of course, if you're going to do that, why not just buy a cheap boat in the
first place...

------
BrandonMarc
From watching the tsunami videos, one major issue is the debris in the water.
If a 10-foot wall of water - terrifying enough - hits this, the pod will pop
up and float on top. The occupants will probably lose their lunch, but not
their lives.

If the water rises more slowly - well, 1 foot per minute is darned fast but
not the same as being hit by a 10-foot flood - the story is even better.

But if a 10-foot wall of jagged wood, metal, cars, and mud hits this, I don't
know how well it will fare. I suspect it'll be torn to shreds before too long.
Heck, the 2nd scenario, as rosy as it sounds, might be less so if the water
has enough debris.

I hope I'm wrong ... I haven't read every page of the site so maybe he's
addressed the latter scenario. Or, maybe he just plans to address the first 2
scenarios since it's possible, and in the 3rd everyone's screwed anyway.

~~~
JoeAltmaier
Agreed: the g-forces involved in repeated collisions with debris would pulp
whatever's inside.

------
jlgreco
I am under the impression that most boats are tsunami-prof as long as they are
out at sea since, at sea, tsunamis basically just manifest themselves as very
large swells.

This looks pretty neat though regardless. Wooden boat building is very cool.

~~~
pohl
From the "What is it?" page:

"After the Japanese tsunami in March of 2010 I started to wonder how a family
might survive such a brutal and sudden event. The project started as a series
of creative conversations and sketches with friends about possible ways to
escape a tsunami with your family in tact."

I'm taking this to be for a family that isn't already at sea but can, on short
notice, crawl into the emergency floating-ball escape pod for safety.

~~~
jlgreco
Ah, that makes more sense. I'm not sure how well it will work, being made of
wood and considering how violent and chaotic tsunamis are once they hit land,
but I suppose it must be better than nothing.

~~~
primelens
That's what I was thinking. The problem on or near land wouldn't be staying
afloat (which I assume a ball like structure would manage) but surviving
crashing into structures and other floating debris. Wood seems to be a less
than ideal choice for that. Perhaps a metal ball would dent but not break/leak
like I'd expect wood to.

But it looks like the maker has given this thing a lot of thought, so there's
probably something I am missing.

------
chrisdoozicom
Hello everyone. I'm psyched to see that the idea is so interesting to you all.
Comments are great. I have updated the FAQs on tsunamiball.com to address some
of the concerns here. Thanks again for your interest.

[http://tsunamiball.com/faqs/](http://tsunamiball.com/faqs/)

You say you are building a tsunami-proof boat, but aren’t all boats tsunami-
proof? If you are about to experience a tsunami then the safest place to be is
far out to sea in a boat. In that sense, a boat could withstand a tsunami very
well. However, the idea for this boat is to have it in the back yard above the
detached garage, several miles from the water. The focus is on building a
vessel that could withstand the initial impact of a tsunami from any direction
while on land.

Your boat is made of wood. Won’t it get ripped to shreds from the debris field
at the front of a tsunami? It’s possible it will get thrashed by floating
debris. This is definitely the biggest threat to the safety of the occupants.
If the tsunami is massive, then I would rather be in the tsunamiball than
anywhere else. The outer hull will be 2 1/2 inches of marine grade plywood
covered in xyletol and epoxy. Xyletol is a very abrasion resistant polyester
material. When combined with epoxy it is very similar to kevlar. The danger of
the debris field might also be reduced by half-burying the tsunamiball in the
backyard, or putting in a couple of protective walls. We’ll see.

A wooden boat? Really? Why not steel or fiberglass? I considered all materials
before I started. Since the boat will be built and stored in the backyard it
was important to use a material that wouldn’t require as much upkeep as steel.
Fiberglass is not very tough when it comes to collision. It is also a pretty
hazardous material to work with when it comes to sanding and putting lots of
fiberglass into the air where your kids play. The plywood I am using is very
lightweight, and has 5 layers in the 1/4 inch sheets. This means that by the
time we have 2 1/2 inches on the exterior hull there will be 60 layers of
wood, each layer bonded to the next with epoxy. This is pretty tough stuff.

What’s with the crazy time consuming process? Why not just build a regular
boat. This looks foolish. Yeah: maybe foolish. It’s definitely not intended to
be a model for other boat builders. It takes way too long for it to be viable
for production boat building. The idea behind all of the tongue and groove
framing, however, is core to my interest in the project. By building the
framing in large circular components I am able to distribute external stresses
evenly across the outer surface of the boat. The tongue and groove “boxes” in
the frame don’t help traditional boat rigidity any more then traditional
stringer construction, but again I believe the frame is super strong with
respect to collision from any direction.

The frame is the skeleton for both an exterior and an interior hull. Between
these multi-layered hulls I will inject each of the “box cells” with
floatation foam. The foam will act like a cushion against impact. Puncture
will be an issue with a wooden boat, but now we are talking about one interior
hull, wrapped in a cushion of flotation foam, and supported by the exterior
hull. Its like a floating bicycle helmet.

When I saw your site I thought I saw that some of your boat is just screwed
together. That’s nuts! That would be nuts! I do screw elements together to dry
fit them, but all elements are assembled with aeromarine epoxy. The screws act
as clamps to pull the wood together for this process, but they are all
intended to be removed. I also use plastic staples and brads designed
especially for boat building to hold down the plywood strips for the hull.
These stay in the boat and are sanded and filled with the subsequent layer of
epoxy/stripping.

------
rwhitman
After reading this I saw an application as a 'tsunami panic room' within your
house. It could act as a living space, but can seal up and break away from the
rest of the structure safely in the event of a tsunami. That way you don't
have to have a back yard in order to keep it handy

------
stretchwithme
I've often thought about how to build a flood-proof house. Most people do live
in houses, after all. What if houses rose with flood waters instead of trying
to keep water away from houses?

Turns out there is an effort to do exactly that, create an "amphibious house".

    
    
      http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/jan/14/rain-square-flooding

------
sologoub
Very cool boat!

From the standpoint of being tsunami-proof. This thing is made of wood, so if
a tsunami were to pick it up and throw it around with the other debris,
wouldn't the hull get punctured and occupants drown?

Rubber (or something similar) would seem like a better material to withstand
the beating. Not sure how the occupants would fair though.

------
js2
The Tech Museum in San Jose has a model of one of these:

[http://www.designboom.com/design/noah-emergency-capsule-
for-...](http://www.designboom.com/design/noah-emergency-capsule-for-
tsunamis/)

------
throwaway420
Really cool project. Not too many people can say that they've built a boat.
While I doubt it would be actually safe to get inside this during a Tsunami,
this is still a very inspirational project.

Just a guess, but I think if the goal is surviving any kind of storms,
tsunamis, or rogue waves, building some kind submersible is probably the most
realistic solution that could survive. When the surface of the ocean is
choppy, it can be calm just a bit below the water.

------
pseudometa
Here is a video of his presentation at Ignite:
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxWH_mjrscs](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxWH_mjrscs)

~~~
dw99
This is an awesome summary, I get it now.

------
BrandonMarc
Heh, going beyond tsunamis ... some folks in New Orleans should consider this
idea. If your below-sea-level city is next to a massive body of water,
preparedness is smart.

------
edouard1234567
The most impressive part is that Chris did this all by himself.

------
trebor
Actually, the OP is about an attempt to build a tsunami-proof boat. The
about/"what is it?" page gives more insight.

Hope things work well for him.

------
arxpoetica
Tight like unto a dish.

