The SS Flying Boat is easy and inexpensive to build and looks great. This coupled with how nicely the SS Flying Boat flies off water make it something you SS owners really ought to try. I’ll try to make it clear how to build the SS boat but as I go through this building post please feel to ask questions as others may have the same question.

Sturdyboard
My SS Flying Boat was build primarily from Sturdyboard foam which is essentially 3/16” Depron. You can make the boat from a single sheet of 20” X 30” Sturdyboard which will cost you $1.97 at WalMart. Occasionally you can find it on sale for even less. The only problem with it is removing the paper covering. Everyone has their favorite method for removing it..
Mine is as follows;
With a sanding block I round the corners to prevent it from tearing the plastic bag I’m going to put it in. I take it outside and soak it down with the hose, put the sheets in a lawn and leaf bag, add some water, seal the bag and lay it on a flat surface (I use our picnic table) to soak for several days.

After soaking I let the sheets dry and then peel off the paper. This is less messy than doing it wet and it generally comes off in large pieces down to the bare foam. For the stuff I can’t peel off I use the garden hose with the nozzle set on the fan setting to spray off the rest of the paper.

Plans
You can find the plans here. They are in a TIFF format and any graphics program should be able to print them out. For the longer parts just print them out with overlapping tiled pages and tape them together. I added the vertical lines to help with alignment. The size should be right but I added a scale on each page so you can double check and adjust if needed.

Cutting the Parts
To attach the patterns for cutting lightly spray the back of the pattern with a spray adhesive. I used Duro all-purpose spray adhesive but other spray adhesives should also work. Let the adhesive dry for a minute or so and then smooth the plans onto the Sturdyboard foam. The adhesive will hold the pattern on for cutting but will come off cleanly and easily after cutting. Use a straight edge and X-acto knife for cutting. You will find that the foam is very easy to cut. For a straight edge I use a steel ruler with a cork backing that prevents the ruler from slipping.


Glues
There are all sorts of glues that you can use for building with Studyboard foam. You can search the Foamies group for the merits of each type. Among them are epoxy, polyurethane, hot glue, perfect glue #1, foam safe CA, Titebond II, and Weldbond. Because exposure time is brief glue rated as weather resistant should be sufficient. For laminating parts I used either epoxy , foam safe CA or Perfect glue #1.. For most the joints I used Weldbond or Perfect glue #1. Both dry clear and flexible. I avoid the harder glues as much as possible as it is difficult to sand the hard glue with the very soft foam.

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