The basics of mat making.

It's not rocket science.
Here's a really easy way to make a mat.
 You'll need a roll of vinyl or any sort of plasticised material, the essential thing is that the material you use is compatible with the glue you use.
This is the clear vinyl I bought, just google for it or keep your eyes open when you're driving around as there are lots of small places that sell or use vinyl.

It's clear weatherproof sheet. And the glue is a certain vinyl glue too. Made in the U.S. But once again Google for it.

And you'll need a cleaner to prep the material that you're glueing and that is easily available from any  hardware store.

And then just a roller to smooth the joins together.

And that's all the hardware you'll need. Sure you could buy or build a heat welding system but vinyl glues are used around the world for plumbing so it's tried and tested, the glue basically melts both surfaces and joins them together as one piece. Even thin joins are permanent and the material is going to fail before the join.

 Now all you have to do is come up with a design to build....

As a mat is inflated the deck and hull pieces become separated, as they separate the sides come in, quite dramatically in fact, some Mats can shrink by 5 inches.
I want my mats to be the shape I want them to be, its all about getting it right, the right shape, the right volume, rather than leaving design to random chance.
So starting with the right shape, factor in the number of pontoons, the curvature of the pontoons, the height of the I beams and the stretch of the fabric you get the original shape which is the intended shape of the inflated mat and the new larger outline for the uninflated mat.

I'm going to do another completely clear vinyl mat so the valve is glued into a clear piece that acts as reinforcement.

Chemical glue Vs Heat welding.

Two years later and I'm still making mats. I don't know how far the Invisible Mats have travelled but a few people have ridden them and not returned them so someone likes them.
I've always preferred glueing mats to heat welding, with the glues you can do any curves you like whereas the heat welding requires a metal frame so it's a bit limiting in design.
But I always wondered if glueing would last... Well wonder no longer !!

Glueing takes a bit of time, you have to prep the surfaces with a cleaner and then apply the glue and hold in place for a minute. But I wanted to see how long it would last so here's 7 different materials I glued onto a plastic sheet and have left outside nailed to a post for the past 2 and a half years.

Nothing's changed from the day I glued them on, the connection on each sample is completely secure and the only change would be that the excess glue has coloured a bit. That's a pretty solid result across a range of fabrics.

The next mat is going to be The Pestle. A little narrower in the front to reduce the buoyancy to help getting into waves and a curved outline in the back for a bit of wall grip when it gets steep.

And a few other changes outside the rectangle.