Making Amas with Polystyrene Foam

A lot of folks these days are making very small boats, such as kayaks, with expanded polystyrene foam, covered with fiberglass and epoxy. What is more of interest to many small tri builders, however, is the potential use of this building method for making lightweight amas.

Outrigger canoe designer Gary Dierking included a section in his book, showing his method for doing this. I was thinking about this when I cam across the following “instructable” link, which may be of interest to some of our readers: https://www.instructables.com/id/Foamboat-construction/

This approach to making amas wouldn’t be a good fit for everyone who wants to build their own outriggers, of course. But it’s always good to have awareness of various building methods.