homemade 2 man pontoon boat quest

[longdude17]

I am a collelege student so i am on a budget , but i want a small little boat to fish the college lakes with. I have been looking at those small two person plastic boats and they seem pretty cool but are really expensive. So i decided that I would build me a miniture pontoon boat. Has any of you done this before? I was going to use two ten or twelve inch pvc pipes 6 or eight feet long and filled wiht stryofoam and 4feet apart. Is this a good guess? will it hold up me and a friend (total of maybe 600 max) I want the rig to be as light as possible so i can unload it my self. Do i have the right idea? how would i mount the deck any ideas on how to make the deck. I am pretty good with tools so i am confident i can build it, i was just wondering if anyone has done it before and would like to give me a few ideas. oh and theres only 3 weeks till school so i gotta hurry. thanks<br /><br />D

 

[Dunaruna]

Re: homemade 2 man pontoon boat quest

Scrap the PVC idea, way too brittle and the diameter too small.<br /><br />Two direction you can go - <br /><br />1. Do as I did as a teenager, strap treated pine decking onto toons made from 44gal drums. Weld the drums together. <br /><br />2. Buy aluminum toons and build a floor ontop - just like a house - bearers and joists. The toons should come with mounting points for the bearers - use a large bearer at the rear to mount a small outboard or elec kicker.<br /><br />Aldo

 

[alden135]

Re: homemade 2 man pontoon boat quest

<br /><br /><br />Perhaps you could lengthen this fine design.

 

[jmccall001]

Re: homemade 2 man pontoon boat quest

back in the "old" days, we used tip tanks/fuel tanks from salvaged jet fighters and bolted them togather beneath a platform. Got some streamlining and a little more length.

 

[C-Roy]

Re: homemade 2 man pontoon boat quest

Alden that thing looks like fun. Any idea what that thing is using for floats?

 

[mrloring]

Re: homemade 2 man pontoon boat quest

Looks to be a foam insulation board. <br /><br />Check link<br /> http://www.owenscorning.com/around/insulation/products/foamular.asp

 

[mrn714]

Re: homemade 2 man pontoon boat quest

HEY that's my lawn chair, you better give it back or I telling mom

 

[fishingdan]

Re: homemade 2 man pontoon boat quest

Here is a site with a free set of small pontoon boat plans. The designer is very helpful and reputable.<br /><br /><br /> JEM Watercraft Pontoon boat plans

 

[cpj]

Re: homemade 2 man pontoon boat quest

Eye theenk u mint tu saay "college" not collelege. I think that the pvc would work just fine,and it would be cheap and easy to do make.I have read about others wanting to do it,just have not seen the results.As for being brittle,I cant imagine that anything you would run into at the speed you would be going could put a hole in it.Think about it being buried in the ground with a whole lot of rocks and dirt on top of it.And for the diameter being to small,as long as it floats 10 or 12 inches would be fine.I have seen some "factory made" 10' pontoons and those are not any bigger than 10 or 12 inches.<br /><br /> http://www.ourfamily.com.sg/olsen.html

 

[i rowboat]

Re: homemade 2 man pontoon boat quest

Is there any formula or way of calculating how much flotation a 12"x 10' pipe of pvc would provide?

 

[SeaMasterZ@aol.com]

Re: homemade 2 man pontoon boat quest

hang on, have to figger this one out

 

[alden135]

Re: homemade 2 man pontoon boat quest

12"X 10' X 2 = Swimming.

 

[Dunaruna]

Re: homemade 2 man pontoon boat quest

A very rough guide is - I sq metre of encapsulated air will support 1000 kg. That will place the top of the toon at water level, to have the toon half in - half out, you need 2 sq metres of encapsulated air.<br /><br />12" diameter just ain't gunna do it.

 

[alden135]

Re: homemade 2 man pontoon boat quest

I'll bet you could buy an old jon boat or skiff for less than what you'll spend making something.

 

[SeaMasterZ@aol.com]

Re: homemade 2 man pontoon boat quest

pi times radius squared times length ....<br /><br />3.14 x (.5 x .5) x 10 = 7.85 square feet of water displaced<br /><br />whazzat mean?<br /><br />7.5 pounds of water in every square foot of water, therefore 58.9 pounds of weight would submerge the pontoon<br /><br />you want to have the pontoon at half depth so judge the capacity of the craft on ONE pontoon, that will give you both pontoons at half depth<br /><br />diameter is the biggie here, bumping to a two foot diameter tube gives FOUR times the volume, easily supporting a two hundred pound fisherman<br /><br />A three foot wide, 12 feet long tube would displace 84 3/4 feet, or 635 pounds of water, two would carry two good sized guys an outboard and ice chest.<br /><br />Im no good at math, I may have screwed this up, tell me if Im off base, but as usual I think im right<br /><br />

 

[longdude17]

Re: homemade 2 man pontoon boat quest

thanks for yall ideas, but when i got the prices for the 10" 12" and 15" pipe it was out rageous. for what it would cost i can buy a pre fab plastic two man fishing rig. dont that suck! <br />Thanks for yall ideas anyway. If anyone else has any good suggestions please let me know<br />d

 

[i rowboat]

Re: homemade 2 man pontoon boat quest

Thanks, Tin Boat Two, for the formula; you're better at math than me, I forgot all about pi. Thanks, Dunrama, too!

 

[jtexas]

Re: homemade 2 man pontoon boat quest

did somebody say pie?<br /><br />btw, don't forget about the weight of the pipe. and the weight (and cost) of the foam. unless you're confident you can get it watertight and keep it watertight.<br /><br />how many empty 2-liter soda bottles would it take, I wonder. wait, you're going to LSU...we'll have to find a beer that comes in plastic bottles. I have seen vodka in plastic bottles...should have plenty by the end of pledge week...

 

[trebor0301]

Re: homemade 2 man pontoon boat quest

Alden is right about buying an old jon boat cheaper than what you want to do.see them for sale all the time.mostly under 100 bucks.when school is out you could easily sell it to get money back.

 

[longdude17]

Re: homemade 2 man pontoon boat quest

yeah trebor and alden buying a old junker jon boat would be cheaper but most ive looked at are 14ft or 12ft. I drive a small nissan truck with a bolted in alum toolbox. so that doesnt leave much room. maybe 6ft with the tailgate down. i was thinkin of finding a good junker alum bateau (jon boat) and cutting it down to around 8 feet. then riviting on a piece of alum sheeting for the transom. I aint really worried about strength of the transom cause i aint putting a motor on the back. do yall think this is a better idea.....other than the silicone it would take to make it water tight cause i dont have a alum welder. thanks for yall input. D