Crazy Pallet Boat idea?

Traditional canoes in the pacific were often made from a patchwork of small planks, with the exception of the keel and spars. The planks are all sewed together and caulked. You could make a proa or a catamaran this way. Just laminate a few beams for the keel and cross beams and use the rest of the wood as is. See figure 8 on this page (and read the rest too).
http://www.janeresture.com/kiribati_canoe/history.htm
-Thomas

 

That is an elegant design.

 

boats have been made from anything and everything, even bamboo and concrete.

skin on frame is a possiblity, but if you do not have good quality fabric availible that would be a costly way to go. Even building skin-on-frame in the United states, the skin or fabric is the single most costly component.

I would consider cold molding thin strips of wood in a diagonal pattern, using some kind of water proof glue. Epoxy is common today, but other types of glues have been used in the past. this would be a good method for smaller planks, it is also not as sensitive to having a lot of small nail holes in the wood either.

 

Hey dllcooper
Did you ever try your idea of building from pallets?
To the other smart boat builders out there; I came across this because I was looking to see if anyone's tried using pallet wood as a core? It's generally pretty soft light wood; with a bit of shaping it would make a decent (read "CHEAP ") core with fibreglass skins?