A deck panel seems like a really simple thing, but it is vitally important to the River Rover Hovercraft. It has to be really light because every part of a hovercraft has to be carried around on a cushion of air. It also has to be able to support people walking around on it, or support concrete bio-sand filters, bags of rice or extra fuel cans pushing down, whilst also holding in the cuchion of air lifting the hovercraft up. Add in that it needs to be able to fold in a way that allows the hovercraft to be towed by a trailer or put in a container, whilst being quick to fix in place and airtight, and it needs to be “modular” so we can replace any sections that ever get really damaged. It’s actually a very cleverly engineered object, and yet you’d probably never notice it!