pontoon boat

[cat chaser]

Im building a small pontoon boat (8' x 4' deck ) but Ive encountered two problems..(a) very small budget and (b) the largest pontoon material Ive been able to locate is 6" pvc.
If I use enough pvc to keep it afloat it wont be a pontoon boat, it will be a raft.
It needs to carry around 600lbs and the boat itself is guestimated at just under 200lbs. No deep water for this one, just for some slow moving river fishing and maybe some close in bank fishing on the lake. I plan on oaring it around or using a push pole.
Any sudgestions?

You can get 8" and larger diameter PVC from most plumbing supply companies, but it's not cheap. 20 ft of 8" PVC runs around $70-$100.

Aluminum might be preferable for weight. Have you looked at pontoon kits or are they too expensive?

[duluthboats]

You can make some very simple pontoon hulls from plywood, lumber, construction adhesive, a few screws, and paint. If you want plans. I could try to put some lines down if don't tell anyone where you got them from. :eek:
Gary

[cat chaser]

Unfortunatly the aluminum kits are way out of my price range...have a baby on the way real soon(and the cranky wife to go with) next question...what would be the smallest diameter tubing I could get away with and not end up swimming home :) and what other alternitives might be available... am looking into wood but need to keep the wieght down so one or two men can manuver it out of the truck and into the water.
Thank for your quick responses and help.

[Willallison]

Is there a particular reason why you want a pontoon boat. A flat bottomed punt, which cvouls be built easily and I would have thought more cheaply may suit your needs just as well

[Willallison]

Another case for looking at something other than pvc pipe:

If my calcs are correct, then in order to support the 800 lbs total weight that you have estimated, you would need 36 ft of pipe (in fresh water). That would still only result in a pontoon which just floats. You would probably need double that in order to allow for weight changes etc. So 72 ft of pipe on your 8ft pontoon, means 9 lenghts of pipe - you still got a raft I'm afraid......

[Nomad]

The only way I can see this working is with a budget increase. Sorry man. And good luck with your kid.

[duluthboats]

Cat, Will is right; it is very simple to build a small boat. Maybe even easier than a small pontoon. There are many plans to choose from. Here is a link to a boat anyone could build for under $200 US.

http://bateau.com/plans/small/FL11_study.htm

When you’re done with that one, you can move up to this one.

http://www.bateau.com/plans/misc/GP16_study.htm

I’m also working on your pontoon as an exercise for my self. It would help if I had a first name, (besides cat chaser) and a rough idea where you are from to keep in my mind while I’m working on it. ;)

Gary

[cat chaser]

Im not realy dead set about the pontoon , but I need something stable enough to stand and toss a cast net out of. ( not fun in a small boat in the dark ...have ended up wet trying) and something stable enough to land 50 or 60 + pounds of fish.... also un-fun in the dark of night. John boats tend to skitter sideways and Ive actually been towed around around the lake in one by some horse of a fish ( I think.... never got to see it). Thanks for all the ideas so far.

[Willallison]

Yep - from what you describe as the boats intended use, I'd definitely go for the punt. Blowing about in the breeze can easily be rectified by adding a couple of small keels to the boat - not only will they aid with directional stability, but they'll help protect the bottom when you drag it up the bank too

[cat chaser]

Forgive my ignorance.... please define "punt"

[Willallison]

Well, my definition of a punt is a flat bottomed boat where the sides don't narrow to a point at the bow. - a bit like this

[Willallison]

a bit of the bow seems to have vanished ther somewhere along the way but you get the general idea

[cat chaser]

Thanks for all of you responce and sudgestions... I managed to scrounge two 10" x 10' sections of pvc from a local construction site... if Ive done my math right that should be enough to float between 500 and 600 pounds... Im going to start construction this weekend ! Wish me luck!

[sd1359]

does anyone know where i can get plans for 20 ft. fiberglass pontoons ?

Say cat I already have one. and your right it is the poor mans TRITON. Drink a couple of beers and think it out, if you don't get it let me know. I'm 250# and my buddy is 320# we have taken it out on very windy days - with white caps - way to much gear and had no problem. It is nice because when you gotta take a leak there is no problem. STABILITY!! but not much on looks. To bad your not in Texas!

[midnightkayaker]

I believe you still have an overturn problem. One ten foot length of 10" (I believe thats outside dia.) will provide 340#s of bouyancy. Plenty, until you stand on the side and begin to hoist a net load of squirming fish. Keep in mind that on a pontoon boat your weight will be shifting around above the center of bouyancy, and out near the side you can generate a pretty strong moment arm. As your weight moves soley onto one pontoon, the other may lift out of the water, putting the entire load on one pontoon, which may sink, and over you go. Pontoon boats only work well if there is gads of reserve bouyancy, or you don't plan on shifting your weight around. If you are a heavy set person, catch a load of fish or catch an unfavorable wave at the wrong moment, you could easily roll a boat as narrow as you've described.

You might consider a hybrid, build a punt and mount the tubes high on the outside. When you move to the side of the craft to haul your net you will have that 340#s of reserve bouyancy stabilizing the craft. With your weight acting below it, it will still be a righting moment instead of an overturning one. With such a configuration it might just be impossible to roll with just your body weight no matter where you stand or what you're doing. The punts really are easy to put together and if you design the sides high enough and mount the tubes outside the gunnels then they could fit above the wheel wells of your pickup when the craft is loaded in the bed. The pontoons will be out of the water under most conditions so the only detriment will be windage, and eek...style. Be sure to leave a few inches of freeboard above the pontoons. Keep in mind I'm just a civil engineer and not a naval architect.
good luck with it, sounds like fun.

[audredge]

I've obtained some 55 gal plastic drums and am also trying to build a pontoon boat.Wondering if the use of PVC pipe for the frame is possible?Also wondering how to calc the weight capacity of each drum. This is going to be an offshore gold dredge so it has to be stout! Would appreciate any help!

[Mike D]

audredge

This should help. I imagine that you aren’t into math so you’d like the minimum of calculations, I doubt if you’ll find anything simpler.

As you are in Alaska I also assume you prefer Imperial units not metric. So I would suggest you do your calculations in feet. One cubic foot of fresh water weighs 62.4 lb and salt water is 64 lb.

Let’s say a barrel is 2 ft diameter and 3 ft long and so the total cross-sectional area is Pi.r^2 i.e. 3.142 x 1^2 = 3.142 and say it floats with a draft of 8 inches. The ratio of draft/diameter is 8/24 = 0.33, read along the base of the chart to 0.33 and read up to the line and read of the value of the area proportion on the left. The answer is about 0.29 and the actual value by calculation is 0.2918

This is the proportion of the total area i.e. 3.142 x 0.29 = 0.91 sq. ft. is the actual immersed area. The buoyancy per foot of length in fresh water is 0.91 x 62.4 = 56.8 lb/ft and the barrel would be times 3 or 170.4 lb

If you want to do the detailed calculation there are dozens of sites, go here for a good one http://www.efunda.com/math/areas/CircularSegmentGen.cfm

Hope this helps you.

Michael

[audredge]

Thanks Mike!Useful Info

[redman]

I too am about to build a pontoon boat out of plastic barrels. I need your comments and suggestions as there aren't many plans out on the web.
I have 6 50 gallon plastic barrels. My thought is to use electrical conduit bent into a half circle to surround the barrels as they sit in the water. (I'm thinking 2 per barrel ought to do it). Across the top, I want to use 2" conduit for cross braces. To that, I'll attach 3/4" exterior plywood.

Here's another thought - your comments welcome - I'm wanting to use thin guage metal roofing along the sides of the barrels to streamline water flow and to improve the looks. I'm concerned about the blunt front end of the boat so I'm thinking I could "bend" the metal roofing cover in a shape like this:
" _____/ ". If I do this, I'm not concerned about waterproofing the cover. The barrels will provide the flotation. My thought is that the smooth straight edge of the metal roofing cover will improve my flow through the water.

Any thoughts? Any drawings out there?

Thanks,

[duluthboats]

Is this for a raft or are you planning on putting a motor on it. Around here it is common to use plastic barrels for floating docks. Usually you build a frame from treated lumber; the frame is gapped so it straddles the barrels. The barrels are held in place by plastic banding. Then some type of decking (usually cedar) is applied to the frame. This works great for docks; I could not advise using it for a pontoon with a motor on it.

Gary :D

[PAR]

Electrical conduit is very weak stuff, even "rigid" is not very strong. EMT is much better strength wise, but a rather poor choice in building material as the marine environment will eat it up in no time.

Why must you vary the ways laid down by well experienced and educated folks whom do this sort of thing for a living?

Pontoon boats are cheap. Finding one that needs a deck or engine can be very cheap. The engineering is done for you and you only have to fix it, which is quite the difference than designing it . . .

If this is a floating platform, then pick up a copy of the currently available Woodenboat magazine (April) and look at pages 28 - 31. The thinking is done, just build and you can use your drums.

[DAVID COX]

Im building a small pontoon boat (8' x 4' deck ) but Ive encountered two problems..(a) very small budget and (b) the largest pontoon material Ive been able to locate is 6" pvc.
If I use enough pvc to keep it afloat it wont be a pontoon boat, it will be a raft.
It needs to carry around 600lbs and the boat itself is guestimated at just under 200lbs. No deep water for this one, just for some slow moving river fishing and maybe some close in bank fishing on the lake. I plan on oaring it around or using a push pole.
Any sudgestions?

I BUILT A (PONTOON) BOAT FOR JUST WHAT YOUR TALKING ABOUT BY USING 4 HEAVY DUTY TRUCK TIRE INTERTUBES STREACHED OVERE A WOODEN SPREADER, ONE TUBE FOR EACH CORNER. WOULD BE HAPPY TO SEND DETAILS. EMAIL ME DVD1941@AOL.COM

[GEORGE L.]

Thanks for all of you responce and sudgestions... I managed to scrounge two 10" x 10' sections of pvc from a local construction site... if Ive done my math right that should be enough to float between 500 and 600 pounds... Im going to start construction this weekend ! Wish me luck!

how do you plan to attach deck to PVC
GeorgeLee@chi-caritas.org

[duluthboats]

This is for BHudson.
Gary:D

[Marten]

Hallo Everyone.

Sorry for my bad english, but I have to write.

I'm also into building a pontoon. I want a small one to have when I'll go fishing. Thinking on building one like:

http://i.walmart.com/i/p/00/02/98/08/00/0002980800273_500X500.jpg

I found that one on walmart.

I'm planning to make the pontoons with stich and glue (Epoxy), with thin playwood.

I'm thinking on attaching oars just like the imagelink.

Now to my question:
Anyone have any idea on how big they have to be? I'll not be standing up in the pontoon but it has to be a little stable so I don't have to swim.

Anyone have any pictures with homemade pontoons like this. If so I would apriciate to have a look.

Feel free to email me if anyone have any pics or drawings or plans or anyting helpfull:

marten@svemark.com

Thanks everyone in advance.


/ Mårten, Sweden.

[BOB1972]

I have just recently received a large quantity of aluminum from a sheet metal fabrication company that went out of business. I would like to build a 4x8 pontoon to fish from, and it seems from my calcs the sheet aluminum that I have is quite a bit heavier than what is used in other pontoons boats that are built. Along with this it will not carry as much weight as I would need.

The sheets of alum that I have are 48x48x 0.16. I have found a good fabricator that can make them round. a 48x48 will make approx. a 15.25" diameter pontoon. with that being said the tubes would have to be much longer (than 8') in order to carry the loads that I need plus a safety margin. the chart that you have shows a drag ratio, is this the standard for the tube to be submerged 1/3 of the diameter while loaded? my other question would be if I did make the 15" dia pontoons, say 11' long and welded a secondary 8" tube along side each of them would that hender the manuverabilty? make it more stable?
Thanks for any responses

[dsfi]

Hi all,

Does anyone have any links to buy actual pontoon aluminum floats? Like the original pontoon parts at good prices?

[ScourtU]

I have built this "contraption" as some would call it. I used 1 sheet of good non treated plywood 3/4 inch thick. For flotation i used something as light and as bouyant as possible. 2 inch foam! I cut 4 full sheets of foam 16 inches wide and got 12 pieces. i used spray adhesive to bond them together and applied them to the bad side of the plywood. I then used a piece of nex-wood 3 1/2 inches wide and long enough to go from the rear of the foam and attach to the front of the plywood to use as skidders so the foam wouldnt get chewed up beaching. I then used carriage bolts to squeeze the nex-wood, foam, and plywood together. I used an electric chainsaw to slightly round the edges and to form the front of the pontoon. I smoothed it all out with a belt sander.It is kind of in that order but whatever. Next step was paint... exterior paint works painted the whole thing dark green. i attached 2 spindel seats on top, 1 mushroom anchor, and a simple eye bolt railing system with rope through it to stop anything from getting kicked overboard. I use a foot controlled trolling motor and a big deep-cycle battery.I cut a "sporty" tunnel hull looking front end on it and attached 2 oars to the edge of the plywood. I have had it out twice now on the mississippi river and it does fine. looks cool and floats in 6 inches with all equiptment and my skinny behind on there which is 140. The boat without the battery and motor and seats is literally no more heavier than just the original plywood. I would say less than 100 lbs and can get most likely over 500-600 lbs before the deck hits water. But unless you are a drunken fool it wouldnt have to carry that much weight. I use my mini van to transport the "contraption" to the river and i just slide it in and slide it out of the back of the van. Way lighter without the battery than with it while loading and unloading. Even my co workers think i did a really good job and even wonder what posessed me to build it. Simply put, i wanted a good fishing boat that didnt need a trailer and light enough for 1 man (mainly me) to load and unload. There you have it...MY VERSION of a perfect fishing boat. Im thinking of calling it Foam-ula 1. Ha-Ha... Thanks and hope this helps every home boatbuilder out. i wonder if there is a place where i can post a pic... Thanks ....Mike

[Abel1955]

Hey Y'all
I'm New at This,Can Anyone Tell Me If Block Foam 10"x12"x7' Can Hold Two People
Okay?The Block Foam Is Cut From 2 Sheets Of 2"x4'x8' Plastic Foam From Home Depot
I've Glued 4 Pieces Togather And Plan on Using Fiberglass Wrap on Them Afterwards.
I've Also Put One 2" Pvc Pipe on The Top Inside on Both Sides To Help Make It More Rigid. Tell Me What You Think! Thanks.

P.S. I've Also Started Working on A WeedWacker For Something To Push it With But Can't Seem To Find The Right Size Prop. Any Ideals?

abel1955

[newbie]

Look for irrigation pvc. I'm sure you'll find what you need.

[Comet1955]

Thanks Newbie.
I've pretty much got everything done on my pontoon boat,and I have started it about 4 months ago. The good news is, it only cost me about $300.00 dollars to builded it and that's including the 34 lbs thrush trolling motor. And man it's no titanic But one thing for sure, "This Boat Is Unsinkable" I will post some pictures soon after I learn how to on this site. So you all be good and will see ya soon

[SafariMan]

Hello, In a little less than a week my friends and i are building a pontoon boat and are planning to raft down the Niger river from the capital city of Niamey to the border of Benin, a small town called Gaya. It is about a 120 km trip (80 miles), and i was wondering if you had any experience with pontoon boats? The river is a relatively large one with a current flow of about 7mph. So far we plan to use 3 large barrels for each pontoon with a welded steel cone on one end. In between these pontoons i was planning on placing an angle iron frame and wood planks. The dimensions are about 2 and half meters by 3 meters. Thanks for the help! :)

[JEM]

A quick and dirty design to get you on the water cheap.

http://www.jemwatercraft.com/pontoon.php

[abacuss2]

Have you considered usinging fiberglass and truck bed liner as materials to coat a pontoon?

I've not tested this but I am considering using this to coat some closed cell poly foam shaped like a drum.

[Ptimmiem]

Would like to build a 25ft or 30ft ponton but do not know were to start. Thank you moutianman2001@yahoo.com

[darren2sell1]

powers pontoon has done already what you are trying to do and it is already patented not to mention that from reading your statements your 3 years behind it in development check out powerspontoon.com

[darren2sell1]

:D check out powerspontoon.com you'll see what your looking for

[toplessjeepchic]

Just mentioning, I have used 8 inch dia on a small single person peice of crap that I build eons ago. BUT I first drilled a 1/4 inch hole in the cap of one end, added a valve stem with epoxy, and pumped -if I remember right- about 20-25 pounds of air in each side.
It ended up holding my pregnant self at about 180 and 2 small kids on it with all of our picnic and fishing stuff with relative stability. Any one who has kids will know how much crap is required to take em out for a couple hours! Then the kids got big (like I TOLD em not to but did they listen?) and I gave the thing to my nephew who continued added another seat to use it with his wife. Just an idea for you to consider...my hubby thought I was nuts but it worked :confused: ...

[HurleyCove]

Replacement rails for pontoon boat. I'm restoring a pontoon boat and it needs new rails. I've seen some sites that do this but it's almost 1000 1300 for a full set of rails. Anyone have any good ideas?

[lewisboats]

Hey Y'all
I'm New at This,Can Anyone Tell Me If Block Foam 10"x12"x7' Can Hold Two People
Okay?The Block Foam Is Cut From 2 Sheets Of 2"x4'x8' Plastic Foam From Home Depot
I've Glued 4 Pieces Togather And Plan on Using Fiberglass Wrap on Them Afterwards.
I've Also Put One 2" Pvc Pipe on The Top Inside on Both Sides To Help Make It More Rigid. Tell Me What You Think! Thanks.

P.S. I've Also Started Working on A WeedWacker For Something To Push it With But Can't Seem To Find The Right Size Prop. Any Ideals?




360 lbs to top of foam for fresh water. (5.8 cu ft x 62.4 lbs/cu.ft. disp) 370 for salt water. (64 lbs disp/cu.ft.)

Try a replacement prop from a trolling motor.

Steve

[texaswarlord]

Cool story Scott I would love to see a photo.

If you would email me a picture Ill host it on my server and people can click the link to see it. webmaster@texaswarlord.net

I have been interested in something similar and would very much like to see the foamula 1 :D

Thanx Tex

[djwkd]

You can make some very simple pontoon hulls from plywood, lumber, construction adhesive, a few screws, and paint. If you want plans. I could try to put some lines down if don't tell anyone where you got them from. :eek:
Gary


Gary,just wondering if you could design other boats and possibly e-mail them.please replly to this with your answer.

[djwkd]

Im not realy dead set about the pontoon , but I need something stable enough to stand and toss a cast net out of. ( not fun in a small boat in the dark ...have ended up wet trying) and something stable enough to land 50 or 60 + pounds of fish.... also un-fun in the dark of night. John boats tend to skitter sideways and Ive actually been towed around around the lake in one by some horse of a fish ( I think.... never got to see it). Thanks for all the ideas so far.


hey!you could change your name to 'fish chaser' then or 'catfish chaser'!

[djwkd]

Thanks for all of you responce and sudgestions... I managed to scrounge two 10" x 10' sections of pvc from a local construction site... if Ive done my math right that should be enough to float between 500 and 600 pounds... Im going to start construction this weekend ! Wish me luck!



Luck.

[djwkd]

I've obtained some 55 gal plastic drums and am also trying to build a pontoon boat.Wondering if the use of PVC pipe for the frame is possible?Also wondering how to calc the weight capacity of each drum. This is going to be an offshore gold dredge so it has to be stout! Would appreciate any help!



well,you could build a simple raft (very simple) by tieing the water drums together with wood (you get what i mean) but ive never built one before,but am hoping to soon.

[djwkd]

I too am about to build a pontoon boat out of plastic barrels. I need your comments and suggestions as there aren't many plans out on the web.
I have 6 50 gallon plastic barrels. My thought is to use electrical conduit bent into a half circle to surround the barrels as they sit in the water. (I'm thinking 2 per barrel ought to do it). Across the top, I want to use 2" conduit for cross braces. To that, I'll attach 3/4" exterior plywood.

Here's another thought - your comments welcome - I'm wanting to use thin guage metal roofing along the sides of the barrels to streamline water flow and to improve the looks. I'm concerned about the blunt front end of the boat so I'm thinking I could "bend" the metal roofing cover in a shape like this:
" _____/ ". If I do this, I'm not concerned about waterproofing the cover. The barrels will provide the flotation. My thought is that the smooth straight edge of the metal roofing cover will improve my flow through the water.

Any thoughts? Any drawings out there?

Thanks,





i would have thought that a sharp edge would help!

[djwkd]

I have built this "contraption" as some would call it. I used 1 sheet of good non treated plywood 3/4 inch thick. For flotation i used something as light and as bouyant as possible. 2 inch foam! I cut 4 full sheets of foam 16 inches wide and got 12 pieces. i used spray adhesive to bond them together and applied them to the bad side of the plywood. I then used a piece of nex-wood 3 1/2 inches wide and long enough to go from the rear of the foam and attach to the front of the plywood to use as skidders so the foam wouldnt get chewed up beaching. I then used carriage bolts to squeeze the nex-wood, foam, and plywood together. I used an electric chainsaw to slightly round the edges and to form the front of the pontoon. I smoothed it all out with a belt sander.It is kind of in that order but whatever. Next step was paint... exterior paint works painted the whole thing dark green. i attached 2 spindel seats on top, 1 mushroom anchor, and a simple eye bolt railing system with rope through it to stop anything from getting kicked overboard. I use a foot controlled trolling motor and a big deep-cycle battery.I cut a "sporty" tunnel hull looking front end on it and attached 2 oars to the edge of the plywood. I have had it out twice now on the mississippi river and it does fine. looks cool and floats in 6 inches with all equiptment and my skinny behind on there which is 140. The boat without the battery and motor and seats is literally no more heavier than just the original plywood. I would say less than 100 lbs and can get most likely over 500-600 lbs before the deck hits water. But unless you are a drunken fool it wouldnt have to carry that much weight. I use my mini van to transport the "contraption" to the river and i just slide it in and slide it out of the back of the van. Way lighter without the battery than with it while loading and unloading. Even my co workers think i did a really good job and even wonder what posessed me to build it. Simply put, i wanted a good fishing boat that didnt need a trailer and light enough for 1 man (mainly me) to load and unload. There you have it...MY VERSION of a perfect fishing boat. Im thinking of calling it Foam-ula 1. Ha-Ha... Thanks and hope this helps every home boatbuilder out. i wonder if there is a place where i can post a pic... Thanks ....Mike


click 'manage attachments',i think.

[djwkd]

Pontoons are stable,and the definition is just that there filled with floatation,and theres usually a few.

[djwkd]

Hello, In a little less than a week my friends and i are building a pontoon boat and are planning to raft down the Niger river from the capital city of Niamey to the border of Benin, a small town called Gaya. It is about a 120 km trip (80 miles), and i was wondering if you had any experience with pontoon boats? The river is a relatively large one with a current flow of about 7mph. So far we plan to use 3 large barrels for each pontoon with a welded steel cone on one end. In between these pontoons i was planning on placing an angle iron frame and wood planks. The dimensions are about 2 and half meters by 3 meters. Thanks for the help! :)


i dont think you need any propulsion,but i would take a few oars to steer,if you just went and just steered with the oars,you would get there in just under twelve days or so (call it 15,so that you can sleep...)

[rooster]

Hi Everyone

Rooster here from South Africa im new to this forum and hope this is the wright place for this message . i am currently looking at building a pontoon boat i have checked all the websites i could come across and gathered quite a bit of info , now is there anyone out there that could assist me with the designing of the pontoon or is there plans anywhere that i could purchase .
The pontoon will be 8 meters long by 2.5meters wide with a platform and slide which will be collapsable for towing purposes .
Any info would be appreciated .
thankyou
Rooster
email address : ddossantos@telkomsa.net