How to make a light boat from PVC pipes in one evening

A homemade boat is significantly cheaper than a high-quality purchased one, and it is also often stronger and more durable. It can be made from almost anything, from wood to aluminum sheets. All these methods are not so simple and require weeks of work in the workshop. It is much easier to make a boat from a sewer pipe. You can make a comfortable, mobile, quite neat watercraft out of it literally in the evening.

Materials:

• PVC sewer pipes 200 mm;
  
  
  
  
• 90 degree elbows – 3 pcs.;
  
• knees 45 degrees – 2 pcs.;
  
• tees – 2 pcs.;
  
• glue for PVC pipes;
  
• polystyrene foam 200 mm;
  
• durable flexible PVC or rubber membrane;
  
• board 10x100 mm;
  
• self-tapping screws;
  
• mounting perforated corners – 4 pcs.

Boat making process

The first step is to make a jumper for the boat frame. To do this, tees are glued onto a section of pipe using PVC glue.

The jumper with tees will set the width of the boat. It is important to spread the glue evenly to seal the seams and prevent the boat from taking on water in the future.

Next, 2 identical pieces of pipe are glued into the jumper.

Then 90 degree elbows are installed on their edges with a tube of the same length as the jumper glued between them.


At the next stage, the bow of the boat frame is made. To do this, you need to connect 2 short sections of pipe with a 90 degree elbow. Then the resulting corner is glued to the tees through 45-degree elbows. Before the glue dries, the knees need to be turned at 45 degrees so that the nose is raised.


200 mm foam plastic is used as the bottom of the boat. If it is not available in the store, you can use 100 mm sheets, but then the bottom layers will rub against each other and creak. The foam is cut out and tightly inserted into the frame in the main and bow parts.


To secure it, you need to loosen the straps made of rubber or PVC membrane. Then lamellas are cut from the board with a length equal to the width of the foam bottom. Grooves are cut out of the foam with small increments and lamellas are placed in them. At the edges of the boards, straps are screwed onto self-tapping screws.



The boat is carefully turned over, and grooves are cut in the foam opposite the already installed slats. Boards are also laid in them and straps wrapped around the pipes are screwed to them.


If the boat is equipped with a motor, then a wooden transom is attached to it. It can be screwed to the pipe walls through perforated corners.



The result is a very light boat that can be carried by one person. If desired, you can attach board sides to it with the corners and place a bench between them. The boat is not afraid of sailing through reeds and snags, which makes it superior to its inflatable counterparts. The weakest link in the structure is the foam, as it gradually collapses under ultraviolet radiation. In the future, if it wears out, it will be easy and inexpensive to replace.

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