Adventures in designing and building a tsunami-proof boat

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... [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boat_building

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.

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.

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.

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/

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.

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

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

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.

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

http://www.designboom.com/design/noah-emergency-capsule-for-...

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.

Here is a video of his presentation at Ignite: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxWH_mjrscs

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.

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

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.

Tight like unto a dish.