Link to Amazon inflatable boats here amzn.to/2iJa8Lr
If you want to build my $100 inflatable sailboat, here is a video explaining the individual parts and their costs. This is not a step by step DIY video, just a long overdue video on the parts I used and what worked and what did not and the cost and links to other RU-vidrs who have related videos that will help you too.
I used a $39 four man Coleman PVC inflatable sailboat I bought about ten years ago. The equivalent in today’s market would probably be the Intex 4 man inflatable rafts. You can see them on Amazon with the link I gave above.
This boat will not go to windward in strong winds or against any large choppy waves, it is a very small lightweight boat.
However, it will go to windward in protected waters and light to moderate winds, but not as good as most small sailboats like Lasers or a Sunfish. The raft has space for a marine battery and a motor mount that will take a small electric trolling motor. I used an old 12 volt 12 pound thrust Shakespeare model motor I bought used for $15. The battery and trolling motor is not necessary, but it will greatly expand the enjoyment and range of your boat and is very low maintenance.
I built this sailing rig to see if it would work with this particular raft, as an experiment. I used whatever material I had available. If you build yours and want it to last, make sure to use stainless, aluminum or brass fittings. If you have access to aluminum tubing, use it instead of steel conduit. If you use anything that will rust on a sailboat it will rust up quick and you will be unable to take it apart when you most need to, and the rust will stain your sail.
If you use a wood 2x2 for your mast, be sure to chamfer or round off the edges so the sail will not bind when raising or lowering. Pick the strongest wood carefully with no knots.
Rafts do not make safe choices for areas where you can be blown out to sea or be blown into rocks or snags or into boat traffic, only use the rafts in protected waters you are familiar with. It is also a good idea to try to plan the beginning of any trip against the tide or current and wind, that way should anything happen, you can let the wind or current take you back to your starting place. Wearing a life vest decreases your odds of drowning to almost zero, and frankly, wearing the vest makes lying in the bottom of the raft more comfortable.
I forgot to mention the floorboard is 5/8 inch scrap plywood. The floorboard can be cut into pieces and hinged to make storage easier.
I use my marine battery not just for the boat, but also at home as emergency power for lighting and communication in case of a power outage and it also makes a temporary backup battery for my car. I use a battery charger to recharge it after use and a trickle charger to maintain its power.
The sail and its spars store behind the couch in my apartment and the deflated raft fits in my closet in a cardboard box. There is practically zero maintenance or additional cost. That is a sentence you will not see often in any text concerning boats.
You may be made fun of by other boaters, as this is really just a very large pool toy,, but in the right wind and location, you can have a ton of fun with a boat like this and have the knowledge you spent less money on your whole boat than most boaters will spend in a day on gas for theirs. If you want to reduce punctures, be sure to inflate the raft while it is laying on a tarp, you can also make a cover for it that helps protect it while inflated.. Finally, because of the wood floorboard, it is easy to add stuff and modify the boat as the floorboard gives you something to attach stuff too.
Have fun and see you out there.
Check out my small boat play list and my own boat videos.
• DIY low cost boats, sa...
Here is James Luckett's channel that has a lot of great sailing raft videos, you can learn a lot about rigging and sailing inflatables by watching his videos amzn.to/1w8pgF3
David Goodchild's channel for learning how to make your own sail / dngoodchild David has a lot of great small boat information.
If you like my videos, please subscribe, I add new videos weekly on all sorts of subjects.
Robb's Homemade Life
/ mrhulot101
9 сен 2024
