by ManInBlack on Mon Oct 04, 2021 3:07 am
Finally, I remember when I first was exploring building the PocketShip, I saw a few questions about how waterproof the cabin is when it rains. So I thought I would mention an accidental test in this regards that I've performed as part of the ballast and motor tests mentioned above.
Short version, the PocketShip cabin is _extremely_ waterproof.
Construction note: I am a first time builder, and didn't make any intentional modifications beyond what was described in the manual. So this should be read as a test of a "stock" PocketShip, and not anything special that we did to waterproof it.
I've temporarily docked my PocketShip in my pond up against my house (which is also floating on the pond). I'm experimenting with camping aboard the PocketShip a few days like this, which seemed like a good idea for testing it since extra pillows, blankets, cushions, night-lights, and DC fans, etc. are all readily available right there in my home if needed aboard the PocketShip in the middle of the night. But what I didn't consider is that the roof of the house extends out just far enough to funnel the rain onto the dock side top of the PocketShip. (Picture attached.)
And boy has it rained. I am in Bangkok, Thailand, and if you've happened to catch it in the news recently, there has been extremely heavy downpours flooding large parts of the country, with the flooding having just reached the outskirts of Bangkok. This is the monsoon season, when the heaviest rains of the year normally come down, and this year's rains are exceptionally heavy.
So in the past few days, I've measured rains where my pond's water level has risen about 10cm (4in) in about 1-2 hours of rainfall within a single day. And the roof of my house is funneling a larger area of this downpour right down on top of the PocketShip. So the right side of the PocketShip is probably seeing about 30-40cm (12-16in) of rainfall over the course of an hour or two. I didn't happen to be inside the PocketShip for this, but when I swung by afterwards, the deck drained all the water on deck out with nothing more than some wet surfaces, I couldn't see a single drop of water inside the cabin anywhere.
So in summary: I accidentally took one of the heaviest downpours of the past 5 years in one of the wettest countries in the world, and funneled a large area of that water onto my PocketShip increasing the amount of water hitting it by several times. And the deck drained it all without a hitch, and the cabin stayed perfectly dry.
- Attachments
-
- IMG_20210929_115824.small.jpg (135.21 KiB) Viewed 3130 times