We are getting this TriPod base prepared for launch and we are coming down to the final steps to get everything good to go. One of the final steps is to prepare the Pod support rests. The actual Pod will slide over the top of this center spar and most of the weight will rest on these supports.

One of the things about building a floating home is dealing with movement. While the base is very stable and you typically won’t feel any movement in the home, everything is constantly moving around ever so slightly. If we were to mount the fiberglass body of the Pod to these steel supports, over time the movements would deteriorate the fiberglass and risk the possibility of a failure.

So before we put this TriPod in the water, we are attaching a small high-density rubber to each support. The rubber will be between the steel and the fiberglass and act as a bushing to prevent friction from micro-movements. We are also using rubber in between the surface of the spar and the inner part of the Pod. Basically, we want to have a bushing anywhere that metal is in contact with fiberglass.

You can visualize this by thinking about walking on concrete. If you walk barefoot on concrete, then you may not have problems short-term but your feet would start to show wear after a while. When you put shoes on, you can walk on concrete as much as you want because your soft feet will be protected from the hard concrete. The same concept applies here with the rubber pieces being the “shoes” that will protect the soft fiberglass from the hard steel.

We are working hard every day to get this floating TriPod base in the water. Be sure to keep an eye on the blog for more updates about our progress as our global launch quickly approaches!