Now we put on a handle. Here is a cheap strap handle off ebay.
Note the little brass spacers I have cut to prevent the bolts squashing the thin twinflute plastic when I tighten them, and the wide sheet of hardboard to spread the load...
If you have decided to make separate end-pieces, they might look something like this...
And the middle will simply be a flat sheet...
To secure the boat inside, I use packing foam. You need to get the right stuff - the kind of tough foam that swimming aids are made from, not the crumbly kind.
This packing foam is usually in strange shapes. But it is easily cut with a long-bladed knife.
...and then just secure the end-pieces with more hot-melt.
Separate end-pieces really do need re-inforcing with half-a-dozen rivets at the corners, as shown...
Now is the time to bend the lid over, mark the flap position, and cut it to size.
And each piece can then be joined to another using a hot-air blower like a paint stripper. Simply play the hot air on each face until the plastic becomes tacky, then press together...
Here I have measured the inside of the box, and made up two chunks of foam to fit.
Then I cut the boat hull shape in the middle,
and finally glue the foam inside in the right position.
The boat bow and stern are held in position with foam off-cuts.
Note that I make my foam supports up to the deck level. Then, if I ever need to, I can put another matching foam piece on top of the boat touching the decks to hold it down, so that if the box is inverted the model will suffer no harm...
You simply assemble by making the sides bend upwards and stick to the flaps with a bit of hot-melt. You may need to trim the lip a little if your cutting is out a bit. I usually re-inforce the sides with a rivet or two once things are cool.
