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Home made pontoon boat

53K views 53 replies 33 participants last post by  Jenna123 
#1 ·
just curious on you all's in put on what materials u would make a pontoon boat from, im just talking about a 1 - 2 person boat, i was thinking mabe 10 inch pvc as pontoons, or really sumthing thats already prefabed but i'll take any input:D:
 
#3 ·
yeah i know, but im not trying to uses barrels for em i want to be able to make the front of the pontoons hydrodynamic by rounding them off in the front or sumthing i know i can come up with sumthin with the pvc idea but barrela i cant cut them round and fill the hole as easy, if i were building a dock id use the barrels, and also like i said i wanna make a small boat. barrels would be a lil big.
 
#4 · (Edited)
Something like this? http://aquacycleusa.com/original.asp

If my calculations are correct (4.75" radius of the inside diameter squared x 3.1416 Pi x 12" = 850.59 cubic inches. 850"/231" = 3.68 gallons. 3.68 gallons x 8.5 lbs/gallon = 31.3 pounds of support per foot of 10" pipe, minus the weight of the material.)

Using 30 pounds per cubic foot as a close approximation you'll need about 7' of 10" pipe for 200 pounds of carrying capacity with the pontoon completely submerged. More if you want a margin of safety and/or additional load capacity. It is not going to be a small craft. The larger the diameter of the pontoon the better.

Just my opinion.
 
#41 ·
I dont know about the calculations but i built one. I used 12" pvc water pipe capped. I didnt know how to calculate anything (still dont) so i didnt use any risers. I just made a frame from 2"x2"'s and bolted it to the pipe with 5/16 all thread made into U-bolts then decked it with 1/4" plywood. It would float me and my scuba gear level with the water surface. I put a trolling motor on it and had to put all the weight in back so it wouldnt go under. It was also heavy as hell. If i were gonna do it again i'd use thinnest pipe i could find and at least 3 pontoons if not four. Thats if i didnt have to move it. You can find all kinds of old aluminum pontoons around here off boats. They may need to cut to get the size ya want but they are usually cheap or free.
 
#5 ·
It is only the front of the pontoon that has to be hydrodynamic the rest is there for flotation...make a pointed, vee shaped front to be welded to the barrels and you're set to go...

Check down a few threads (10 or 12) from this one, on houseboats, and check out some of the info there as to makes and models...gives you ideas as to what can and can't be done...

A houseboat has the same space limitations as a RV does--rent either for a week and live in it to experience it first hand...
 
#6 ·
yes mr. young u have it nailed and seekher thanx for the input but i dont want that big of a boat or i would make drum pontoons but even if i wanted a boat that big i wouldnt use drums just because it would take a lot of fabrication to make it look ''good'' i dont want a bubba rig i want **** done right
 
#9 ·
I have to appolgize to everyone on the board. I woke up at eleven tonight realizing I'd transposed some numbers in the calculations for how muc 10" pipe would support.

I corrected the post.

I'm really sorry if I led anyone astray.
 
#18 ·
Re: home made pontoon boat



Bingo!

We made one while I was in high school out of eight 55 gallon drums. We did not have a welder at my house so we made the floor framing out of 4x4's coated with roofing tar, built a plywood cabin on the frame and made a roof top deck. The motor was an old 15 hp Johnson we found at the dump. the steering was from a VW bug, the stereo was a donated "Craig Power Play" AM/FM/Cassette.

Kid Rock had nothing on us, we did it first, that little floating party palace was a babe magnet... "all summer long!". It did not go very fast, but we where not in a hurry and the police never bothered us. Good times.

I wish I had a picture of the boat but this all took place in the mid seventies, we did not have digital cameras and all my old photos burnt up in a house fire. I came home from college at the end of my freshman year and my floating shaggin wagon was gone!

End of story.
 
#13 ·
i was kinda hoping for more input and ideas though here guys, i realy need some brainstorming here, wut do u guys think of 10-12inch pvc as a start for the pontoons, after they are cut and shaped in the front to be hydrodynamic i guess fiberglass culd be used to cover the front, or i guess i could start with foam blocks and carve them to shape then build a wooden frame around that and fiberglass over everything, i just need help here guys
 
#14 ·
Here you go Davis:

Calculating Displacement

"Question - My Dad and I are going to build a sail boat using PVC
pipes for flotation. Is there an easy way to caculate how many 8 foot
long, eight inch diameter pipes we will need to support our weight and
keep the boat floating?
-----------------
The weight that the pipes will support is the weight of the water they can
displace minus the weight of the pipes themselves. To calculate this, you
need to know the volume of the pipes, the weight of the pipes, and the
density (weight/volume) of water.

Fresh water has a density of 1 kg/liter. Salt water has a higher density.
The volume of the pipes can be calculated from their diameter and length by
the formula

V = L pi r^2, where
L is the length of the pipe, 8 ft = 96 in.,
pi = 3.14159,
r is the radius of the pipe, 4 in.

So the volume of a pipe is

V = (96 in)(3.14)(4 in)^2
= (96 in)(3.14)(16 in^2)
= 4823 in^3

Now you need to convert cubic inches to liters. 1 cubic inch = 0.01639
liters, so

V = (4823 in^3)(0.01639 L/in^3)
= 79 L.

So, in fresh water, an 8-ft length of 8-in diameter PVC pipe can float 79
kg minus its own weight.

Richard E. Barrans Jr., Ph.D."

http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/eng99/eng99093.htm

Hope this helps.
 
#20 ·
Re: home made pontoon boat



Howdy Davis,

That was a "quote" from the site where I got the information for you.
Not my project. Just trying to help you out.
 
#16 ·
Re: home made pontoon boat

i was reading and an idea popped inside my tiny brain , what about filling the pvc pipes with polyurethane foam , that would be waterproof , plus if the seal ends broken the pontoon will not sink fast cause of the tiny bubbles trapped inside the foam , about 156 years ago my father designed a steel made pontoon for as scuba platform for a job , it consisted of several oil drums secured with Steel clamps that are like a zip tie but made of inox steel the kinds that is used to secure equipment to telphone posts , cause welding the drums was dangerous , they can explode if heated with a torch or when welding (yeah even those that are empty) and welding damged the oil drums making them shatter at the welding points
 
#17 ·
Re: home made pontoon boat

well yes sir u got an idea in fact i was thinkin the same thing but still fiber glassing em, but the drum idea will work but i want it hydro dynamic if i were building a platform or dock then yes drums would be the route
 
#25 ·
Re: home made pontoon boat

My Uncle once made a trimaran with ferro-concrete also know as ferro-cement.
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Do-It-Yourself/1972-07-01/How-To-Build-A-Ferrocement-Boat.aspx (this is not my uncles but it will give you the basic idea.)

I would try using the 5 gallon white plastic buckets that food comes in. Seal them with aquarium sealer, then make the frame with green PVC, the kind with the drain holes in them. Use a good tarpaulin for the deck. You can lash down through the hole in the pipe.
 
#27 ·
Re: home made pontoon boat

To make the pontoons, take an 8 inch pvc pipe, cap one end up and attach a 45 degree elbow at the other end and then another few feet to to that elbow. You'll get something that will cut through the water a little better. On top of each 8 inch pontoon, attach two 6 to 8 inch pvc pipes. Each piece will basically consist of three pipes together, that's over 400 lbs of support per 8 foot pontoon. Each pontoon would be a rounded vee shaped, 8 inches wide at the bottom and 12 to 16 inches at the top.

An 8 foot wide boat would need 6 or so of these pontoons for every 8 foot of length. A 16 foot long pontoon boat with need 12 of the pontoons and would support almost 5000 lbs at full submersion. Lash on a simple trampoline like cargo place like found on a 16 foot Hobie and you could haul a heck of a lot of cargo.
 
#29 ·
http://www.simplicityboats.com/jitterbug.html

You may be able to modify the plan above to replace the PVC pipe. If you extend the length and width a bit, cap off the ends and fill them with foam, you would be able to leave the center compartment open and be able to sit and row. That would wind up being a flat-bottomed canoe. Finish it off to suit your taste and pocketbook. Built of 1/4 inch A/C plywood, it would be reasonable in price.
 
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