Basic Research Lab

Here is a photo of the almost complete prototype.

Front view of the Basic Shelter

The building is 8′ x 15′. It has an 8′ ceiling. There are three large windows in front and two smaller windows in back. The exterior can be painted or left natural.

Interior Wall

The interior walls are pre-finished. For the prototype I used 1/8″ mahogany type plywood that came as packaging for sheet metal. It actually doesn’t look too bad. The metal strips are the clips used to assemble the building. Continue Reading »

Wall Panel

My solution is to use two basic panels as the building blocks to assemble a building. The wall panel is 16″ wide, 2″ thick, and 8′ long. It is formed from 22 gage into a ‘c’ shaped panel. 1″ holes are pre-punched in the flange near the top and bottom of the panel to run electrical wiring if desired.

Assembled Wall Panel

The inside of the wall panel has a 3/8″ air space (thermal break), 1-1/2″ EPS foam insulation, and a pre-finished 1/8″ interior wall panel. There are also half panels (4′ long) and quarter panels (2′ long) that are used to create openings for windows. Continue Reading »

The primary goal of the Basic Shelter Kit was to design the minimum number of components that could be used to build a variety of shelters for disaster relief operations. With this in mind I developed a list of attributes to design towards.

1. Minimize the number of primary components. Ideally there should be three or fewer ‘building blocks’, and 10 or fewer auxiliary components.
2. None of the components should weigh more than 30 lbs. One person should be able to carry and install all components.
3. No components will be longer than 10′ or wider than 4′.
4. The components for an entire building of approximately 120 square feet should fit in a standard sized pickup.
5. The components for at least 12 buildings of approximately 120 square feet should fit in a standard 40′ container.
6. The buildings must withstand 100 mph winds and moderate earthquakes.
7. The roof must support 2′ of snow.
8. The building must be watertight, insulated, and wind-tight.
9. Few or no tools should be required to assemble a building, and no power tools should be required.
10. One person should be able to assemble a building of 120 square feet in one day.
11. There should be zero waste produced during the manufacturing and assembly of a building.
12. All materials must be recyclable and should have a high content of recycled material.
13. All components must be reusable. A building should disassemble quickly for shipping and  installation at a new location.
14. The same basic components must be capable of being used to build structures of various sizes and configurations.
15. All of the components for a 120 square foot building should cost less than $2,000 to manufacture.

As usual with boat work, my progress has been slow. I thought I would be getting close to finished by this time, but I’m not even close. I have continued to tweak the design. I have moved the paddling position back into the pilothouse – decided shifting weight from position to position would not be practical. Had to redesign the pilothouse to accommodate paddling. I’m also working on the sailing rig – still not happy with it.

I’ve added bulkheads to the hull, front and rear decks, and framed the front hatch where my bike goes. I have built the pilothouse shell, but it is hideously ugly. I’m going to try to improve it, but function has to take precedence. I have to be able to paddle comfortably, so I may end up with one butt ugly boat. See the photos after the jump. Continue Reading »