DIY PVC pipe pontoon boat - HomeMade boat - in 1 day 

For those interested in messing around with PVC for boats, you can easily find out how best to build your craft by paying attention to the weight you intend to haul with it. A cubic foot of water weighs about 64 pounds, so to float, you need to be lighter than 64 pounds per square foot on your boat. Think of a cubic foot of wood; if it weighs 64 pounds or more, it will sink. If it is lighter than 64 pounds, it will float. Wood usually is significantly lighter per square foot than water, which is why it floats so well. (On the flip side, that's also why a solid cubic foot of iron sinks rather than floats. It weighs hundreds of pounds!). Simply put, to figure out how much weight a PVC pipe will lift, calculate the volume of the pipe in cubic feet, and multiply by 64 (again, this being the weight of one square foot of water). This boat this gentleman has made, if you plug the PVC pipe dimensions he used into a volume calculator, which you can easily find online, you'll see he has approximately 10.9 cubic feet of inside space combined between the two pipes. Rounding up for easy calculating, 64 * 11 equals 704 pounds. Remember, each cubic foot of space in the PVC pipe weighs very little compared to the same amount of water, so that's how the PVC can carry so much. After all, that space only contains air! Now, you have the amount the boat can carry! Maybe take off 125 pounds for the wood frame, the pipes' own weights, and the motor, and then take off another 200 or so for the passenger, and you get about 379 pounds left! You can use that number to estimate how deep in the water your boat will be when loaded to any particular weight. As a percentage, 379 pounds (the amount of pounds left before the boat sinks) is about 54%. So, the boat is 46% loaded up, with 54% more weight left before the boat completely sinks. We should expect the pontoons to be about half way in the water, with a bias towards being out of the water when the boat is loaded in the video. And as you can see in the vid, that's fairly close! Of course, sitting in the back means the boat tilts and the back half sinks deeper than in the front. Plus, he may very well be lighter than the 200 pounds that I estimated. But most importantly, his boat is loaded to a safe margin here, since it would take another 100 pounds or more before the boat started dangerously getting low into the water. Keep in mind, you probably want a margin of 30% or more to keep your boat from getting too low in the water! Using this information, you can see why other PVC boat creators sometimes sink so far down and their boats don't seem to work; because they didn't use enough pipe! Or they put too much weight on one end rather than distributing it evenly. If you are into log rafts, you can actually estimate the amount they can hold too using this formula. Just look up the weights of different species of wood used and try to guess how water saturated the wood is to adjust for error. If you calculate the volume of the logs used, and do the math above, you should have a good idea of how it will fair. If you use simple math, you can analyze other boats on youtube, and you can plan your own boat to float correctly instead of praying it floats :D

I think you could add a third pontoon under the platform and increase the flotation. Shorten it so it's totally under the platform so it doesn't interfere with the motor. Another thing would be to fill the tubes with expanding closed cell foam so there's not room in side for water to leak into.

In the early 90's I used pvc pipe to mount alongside my jon boat for better stabilizing and it worked very nice. I had also included halogen lighting for underwater illumination. Plus, I had two electric trolling motors hooked up independantly with foot controls for steering while I fished. (The two trolling motors were more powerful than if I had bought the just one that was a size up and cost less too !!!

Ray, your Martin 60 outboard is a great motor. It was built by National Pressure Cooker and has a poppet valve for the intake - something not seen on other two cycle motors. The Martin's were known for their reliability and could idle down to a 'pop'. Great choice. It is 7.2 h.p., plenty of power for your boat.

Great job but I would suggest making a cone out of flashing material and secure it to the front so there is less resistance up front.

At the bow, how about putting an elbow, pref a 45 degree, instead of just a cap. The nearly flat caps create enormous bow waves. Another way to get a finer bow would be to carve bows out of foam and cover them with liquid plastic.

this little boat is becoming very popular!

I'm thinking of building one using 2x2's to make it lighter. I will use a electric trolling motor and install a battery box and pedestal seat! Great video!

Pretty cool looking although a little too close to snakes and croc's/alligators for me, LOL. You could expand on that now that you have the proto type and make it wider and put some rails and seats on it and perhaps a little canopy to keep your noggin from scorching.

i made my own off of this video but i made my own pontoons out of aluminum and some spray foam to help the back of the pontoon stay above water when I'm running it thank you!

A couple 2x6s for first and last crosspiece on the deck instead of 2x4s would enable the bottom side to be rounded out and give the PVC tubes a natural form to fit into and greatly lessen the strain on the straps over time. Nice simple design though!

thanx for replying. I'd like to add an idea for the front .I think that you can make a tapering front by heating the pvc tube by a torch and press the hot tube on both sides to make a straight ,sharp, vertical and tapering front .I think it would be less resistant than aconical front. This is ideal for lakes but for sea tubes should be with a bigger diameter and a higher dock .

Wow! Your first swing at a simple boat build and it came out great!

Very cool. Glad you changed the fronts. I would spray that expandable foam into the pontoons to make it nearly unsinkable. You never know when something will run into you and put a hole in the pontoon. : )

maybe a reducer cap for the tips. Has a taper to it. Pretty cool. Hey, add some pvc railings, Mini pontoon, fishing platform. even guys up north can use a pop up shelter on it and make a temp fishing shack, duck platform for hunting. If on thinned ice you will float. Might try me a smaller version using 6 or 4 " for a flow jump platform in the pool. Have to start someplace. In a few months we may see another video with all the mods you did to it

Cool,im a plumber so I was thinking put 1/4 bends (elbows) on all four corners turning up and you can frame off that.love country boy smarts😉

like the video. I would change the front pontoon caps to a 90 degree then cap it. one is deadhead and 90 degree water moves around it. just a thought. thanks.

Very sweet! Now just add some rails or siding and seats

Hey Ray - Try putting cones on the front of your pontoons next time. cut and shape some pvt- then PVC glue it together. maybe even add in some screws or nails (sealed with apoxy generously to the cones) Adding an over-set deck will also possibly help with stability- add additional lift to the front to bring your nose up when at running speed. If you don't know what i'm talking about; it's not DIRECTLY on the front it's more so just past the midsection.

dude nothing but respect,

Awesome SIMPLE idea! Thank you...... now.... THIS POOR GIRL can make a mini pontoon! I' ll use waterproof seal coat on mine. 😁✌

Thanks ray

Where did you get the tubes? Are they reasonably prices?

AWESOME you have my wheels spinning. great project for me and the kid.

this is great and I can't wait to get this out on the river to try out thank you for this idea.

Great video. Short and to the point! 👍

Great job, thanks for posting.

Wow, great job, i want to do this on a smaller scale to make a rc boat, unmaned, for fishing, trolling, as i sit on shore and control it.

Im gonna make mine even bigger and add Side railing Rod holders Tarp roof Ladder A few seats Its quite cheap since i already have tons of lumber and pvc just sitting in my garage and my uncle has a tarp at his house. Wish me luck

I would have put some elbows on the front to turn the pipe upward. Other than that, I loved it.

a bit longer with two wheels of a bicycle on both sids which can be lifted up when in water for trailng.

Let’s raise this to a million boys, also hi old friend

Thank you. I've always wanted to make one.

you can do it also with 180 liters drums welded together each side 4 drums

Should have put pvc cones at front so it can cut into the water, flat will make a drag as it's pushing forward. Other wise it's nice and a good idea, thanks.

This would make it Huckleberry Finn jealous. Great idea Thank you.

Martin outboards rule!!!!!

I was thinking of using 3 or 4 6" pipes 10' long that is schedule 20 thickness as for light weight. there apparently sold as vacuum tubing for I believe commercial systems.

Definitely going to make one.

Thanks for posting...

Nice.. simple yet it could get u to your fishing spot

love your little boat. just a quick thought though if you had put 45 degree elbows facing up on the end of the bow rather tan just capping them off like you did and filled the tubes with A-B foam before capping off the bow. you would have had almost zero drag in the water and the elbows would have made the pontoons slide through the water much smooth as well. just wondering where did you find 12 in PVC pipe?

Perhaps the only thing I would change is adding two 45s to the front to reduce the likely hood of getting stuck on something

That is one clean shot video . Very straight forward . Thanks for sharing your knowlage .

where'd you get the pvc

Great job! Time to be fun dude!😘

nice. this looks better than the barrel boats

front edges should be tapering for less resistatace and smoothly running. well done lad.

You're a naval architect in the making ! lol Hey , great job . Hope you get lots of time on the water with it !

allright I'm going to do this.

Check with the state you are in. You mat be required to register and have a number assigned do to the motor powering the vessel.

Please tell me where you got the pvc pipes from, I can't find any that are near my price range, the cheapest ones that I have found are $323.99!! Please help.

only thing I would change is making some more hydrodynamic nose cones for the pipes

What was the final weight? How heavy are you (I'm 230)? Don't laugh but I was thinking about dropping a hole in the middle, between the pontoons, so that I could vertical jig in the winter if I don't get any ice to ice fish! With that in mind, how stable is it? I can't afford to flip it in the cold water. If you had to do it again would you stick to 4' wide or would you make it 5 feet (especially if you were going to sit on a chair and not the deck!)?

fico fascinado com essas invensoes um dia vou copiar umas dessas pode ter certezsa

Question, once you build this, is it easy to take apart for storage in an apartment? I’m looking for something I can store in an apartment but take to the lake or river.

Is it possible to find 24 inches pvc pipes ,i need something bigger ,here there is where waves

Where do you find 12" PVC? I've only found up to 6" at hardware/lumber stores.

Ray, I'm mad at you! Now you got the "old rock tumbler" thinking! Ha ha ha! Extremely useful. With pipe running at $200, it's still very affordable. A person could go to a store like "Re-Store" to get affordable repurposed pipe. I think that I might build one for our small ponds out here in Idaho! You said that you would like to make it more secure. How would you do it? Thanks for the great idea!

How heavy is the pontoon boat without the motor? I'm think of possibly building one for fishing but it'll have make it light enough so I can strapped pontoon to the roof of my Rav4.

Cool video! Gonna do one of my own.

As, that is super cool you made that

Sweet Build- Cheers,Patrick

What size is that PVC,8", I ve seen guy use a 45° PVC then plug it.All others I seen made used to small PVC and it sunk in the water too far,I like the bigger PVC,is that as big as it comes,PVC?

This video is not good at all! Its freakin Awesome!

Volume being what it is, I'm wondering if 4 - 6" pvc pipes evenly spaced, would do the same as the 2-12'. 10 ft, pvc is standard in 6 " and is less expensive then the 12'-20ft. As far as that goes, now that you really have me thinking, I'm seeing a full scale, rails and all out of pvc, making a plumber's boat using lighter weight plywood with 2 and 3 pvc for supports, elbows and tee's for the railing. Thanks for the idea, look out lake here I come.

How long did it stay together with or without a few minor repairs here & there? Did the PVC eventually start taking on water? Any other afterthoughts?

The air volume can carry 212 Kg As per low of safe , it is for 1 person (75 Kg) + 107 Kg for Construction, motor, loads, and others if the length of pipe 12 feet it will be safe for 2 persons + 45 Kg for Construction, and the other loads Also . You have a very big resistant in the front , I can feel it is reduce you speed 40%

Did you have to register this? If you use a motor of any kind in PA, you HAVE to register it !

"So the next thing is to see if it would actually support the weight of a person". Heh... you can work out before hand exactly how much your pontoons will support... it's very easy actually because the pipes are plain cylinders, which makes the calculation very simple. Google actually has a calculator for it. Turns out a 10 foot by 12 inch cylinder of water would weigh as near to 474 pounds as makes no difference (215 kg for the metrically inclined.) Take the weight of the pipe and end caps away from that and you have a total buoyancy figure for the pipe. Double it up since you were using two pipes... and then subtract the weight of everything else. Or very simply: Weigh the entire boat if you have a weighbridge handy, and subtract that from 948. Whatever is left over is the number of lbs weight it will support. :)

Amigo el tubo de cuántas pulgadas es? Y que largo del tubo? Gracias desde Perú

Its very well built ! Thank you for sharing...

May some 1 keep me posted on how to make homemade boats with the latest updates And what schools or online classes is good for that ???

I'm thinking about doing the same thing for a deck but with diffrent pontons do you think it would be good to fish off of

cool build. how much did materials cost. 12 inch cant be cheep. As far as other comments, you could lighten the frame going w Aluminum channel or even a heavier gage metal framing used for commercial and residential housing.

Holy smoke! The two pipes alone are $460. I think I'll buy a boat ;-). It does look like a good job though.

K thank u so much

Good little unit.

Nice Job Ray!

Thanks for the video as this is the 2nd one I've just watched. Wondered what does it weigh?

ya thanks for the idea man

Great ideal , but it would have been better if it was video to see it actually in the water

does this boat works on the sea? or it is only recomended to use on lakes and rivers

Great job bro. Very interesting. Well done.

Nice work 🤙

Te quedo muy bueno, una pregunta, donde puedo comprar los pipes de 12" con los caps...

good job. seal the wood with paint

VERY GOOD VIDEO MANY THANKS FOR SHARING FRIEND

where do you find that big of pvc pipe bc my local lows dose not have it i keep getting some dumbass saying they don't make it and when they look it up on there site it 1500 dollars

awesome boat

Wow, amazing job!

Hi am pleased with your invitation sorry I did not read all comments!! Would you send me the specification, sizes, material used, .....etc thanks so much

This is awesoen

For people wandering here today, I would install valve stems and inflate them with air.

Pretty cool.

Great job!!!!!!

How were the straps anchored down to the platform and made tight?

Where can i buy that pvc? Home depot said they dont have that thick

It's Manny time baby. haha... That being said, not bad. Should probably find a way to Cone off the front to cut down on drag though, and definitely like you said, should probably have secured those pvc's a little better. But not bad either way.

Could you do this same procces but double the size?