How to Make a Sailboat out of Styrofoam 

Great demonstration of what can be done with simple materials and a creative brain! You must have heard "that can't be done" so many times....

Just curious, when sailing, did you find that it would perform pretty well without the daggerboard? It seems that with those narrow hulls, it wouldn't really need the daggerboard.

I had thought you'd lost your mind but I am truly impressed with your build.

I'm digging the idea. It could definitely take some innovation but it has a very practical and cheap design. Lovin' it

Nice. I particularly liked the concept of the foam panels in vertical position rather than the more common horizontal. That alone made the video worth. :-)

Josh, saw this video after countless other "styrofoam" boat videos. I liked you idea so much, I'm currently building a 12' LOA with a 7.5' beam version of your boat. I'm going to use 2" foam instead of 1" for better floatation and load capacity. I'm also going to wrap the pontoons in "poor man's fiberglass" for durability. I've aquired a 14,5' fiberglass mast from a windsurfer and going to make a boomless sail. Hoping to have it done in a couple weeks. If all goes well in her maiden voyage across Barnegat Bay, I'll post up some video. Thanks for the great idea!

Great work! One of the best designs i have seen. In terms of easy, few materials.. Great idea!

Good proof of concept...obviously not made for longevity but it works and apparently works quite well. Thumbs up.

Nice video and nice job! I’ve been wanting build my own sailboat, so I may have to try this!!

I think I’m going to build this for a physics project this year! Thanks a lot!

You’re a genius! Thanks for sharing.

👍 Nice concept to reality build. Simple enough that even a young teen with some tools skills and knowledge could build. I mention this because as a young man I wanted to build a sunfish sailboat and have the plans but could not do everything on my own. One question though, how did you get the mast and sails?

BRILLIANT ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT !!!!!THANKS SO MUCH FOR THE IDEA..

Nice! That is a simple inspirational design to begin with. It is a good start. Good size sails for the boat.

cool build man. one of a few things I would do is put a wooden dowel in place of the lower bolt for your rudder board so it can break out just in case you hit a reef or sand bar log etc. that will allow it to pivot up, well I think you get the point. I would do something like that for your dagger board make it pivot on the retract and have a wooden dowel in it to keep it in place and again just in case it can break out and allow your board to pivot up and not damage the boat very much if at all. you have the front up so your weight balance is good your nose is not diving into the water so it looks pretty good. I am going to build a boat if we can ever get back to the Philippines the virus really sucks.

Cool affordable design ! Nice job.

Hey Josh, this is awesome, thanks for sharing! After seeing this, I'm going to build some outriggers (for sailing kayaks and canoes) similar to your amas, but maybe with thin, treated plywood that I seal and paint (or do it up with "poor man's fiberglass" like some of the foamie boats I've seen). I've been looking for a good way to do it and I think you're onto something here.

genius!! well done

Learned something awesome today. Thanks! I have a couple of questions for what could be my application. Input is appreciated! 1) I was wondering if this could be done with a waterproof wood substitute since wood will rot sooner than later if used, say, every other weekend and you would wind up trashing it. I would still use the design and the pontoons would be built the same way, albeit with thicker 2 inch foam for better flotation for a guy like me. (I weigh in at 200 lbs). No, I am not into doing extra steps such as covering the wood with fiber and resin, since actually there are companies that sell these boards, but it could get REALLY expensive, maybe someone out there knows of a cheap wood substitute? 2) The other concern would be to build it in a way that is really portable in that it can be assembled and disassembled quickly by using a combination of cotter pins, clasps and straps. So you would carry: a) Pontoons - 2 b) Frame platform broken into 2 or 3 ready to be connected parts and into the pontoons, each one with its own frame section. Some sort of 2 x 4 sized-board(s) under it to provide more rigidity. One of these would have the base to mount the sail. c) Sail mounted on pole, ready to be attached. d) All other HW (which I would acquire from a marine shop for longer, rust-free life. This would help me with 2 requirements: Longer lasting and easily transportable due to assembly/dis-assembly

Really cool!looking good! I built a raft too recently! Being on the water like this is SO good!

great vid ,,yes simple and quick builds

good job. i like the simple design

Wow!!! Yes! Awesome idea! My dream cat can fly at low cost!

Congratulations! Fabulous plan

Now I’m thinking of making one. I might open AutoCAD and make a similar design a few adjustments, maybe increase the LOA so I can fit more accommodations but keep the beam similar. I can’t afford a slip, so she needs to stay towable. Aside from the rough construction and some concerns I have about the durability of the hardware store rudder assembly, it seems like a nice simple, solid design for someone who wants to get out on the water without paying a fortune.

Dude, could you please post the measures of the sail and sail-strukture? Great work! thkx!

Awesome work!

Josh this is awesome!!!

Love it, very inspiring. How did you calculate the buoyancy based on the foam? I have been thinking something similar for a take down dinghy to conservative deck space and as emergency backup for off shore.

I made this boat and it works amazing

I think I will build a outrigger for my canoe out of this idea. great job dude.

Good job,whats important is you had fun,

Love joy peace wealth &abundance for all from Thailand .

It is an awesome catamaran! Greetings from Germany!

Very good idea, giving people a good inspiration

I've always wondered if a dagger/center board is needed since the pontoons already sort of serve that purpose? Nice design.

Nice...!!!!✨👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

This is amazing!

Super cool project :) How about the mast and sails? I assume those are store-bought, or is the mast diy as well? :)

Amazing sailboat

Cool boat josh ..do you have measurements for the parts somewhere ? Would like to build it

Well done.

Very cool design

I'm sure someone else has already mentioned this, but I don't see any waterproofing of the wood at all, solid woods will warp and plywood will separate unless all the wood is completely and thoroughly waterproofed.

Bloody hell - that's great!

凄いね！！　自然の中に風と共にある・・。僕も作ってみたいなあ・・・

Josh: Do you have a list of materials and dimensions for this great project. Looks great. Looking for a winter project!

Can you please post a parts list and some measurements?. Love this and wanna do one myself

Awsome video. I used this video to build the same boat. 😃

FAntastic. IS great idea. A like from Brasil!

Great Project

Great creation! Only please could you tell me about the sail you are using and the ties I am an old lady wanting to do it. Thanks.

Real Cool! Thanks for sharing :)

I Absofreakinlutely love this!!!! I was thinking of ditching the sail and putting a small motor on it and using it as a fun fishing or sun bathing platform. How is the buoyancy with two adults on it?

pretty cool, maybe triple the foam would make it rude higher, handle more weight?

I am impressed.

Wow this great👍👍👍

That's really cool

That was a fantastic cheap, fast, easy way to make a simple sailboat. I wish you had shown more detail of the mast step. It looks like you heated and crimped the bottom of the PVC pipe somehow. Also, luckily you had real sails already. That could be the expensive part, but there is a cheaper way if you're without them. Some people have used Tyvek house wrap, or even tarps to make sails.

Awesomeness!!

Well done

Great video Friend!! How thick, side to side, was your side beams? In other words how thick was your styrofoam, not front to back but inside boat to outside, just one outer beam? If I could get your outer beams entire dominions that would be great. I’m not building a boat but rather just something to carry a heavy 12v car battery and a “”Hookah diving unit.”” The car battery is probably at least 50 pounds and the diving unit is 12” x 18” and probably 35 to 45 pounds. So I only need to float about 100 pounds but would rather know it would float much more if needed. Thanks a lot my friend and thanks for taking the time to make and share your video. I will hit the like button.

Well done! But you forgot to mention that you changed the construction of the rudder as it could not be turned starboard first...

Can you make a video of how you did the sails? I kinda got lost there, thanks

You don't need a center board, the pontoons do the job of a center board with a catamaran.

Very nice. How much load it can carry?

Hi . Just wondering. don't you need some kind of water proofing? Did you do it off camera perhaps?

LovelyLovelyLovely ..&motivating! Thanks!

Really cool!

very nice!👍👍👍

Cool boat

HEY JOSH BUILDS Have you ever thought of buying or making your own sailboat and sailing around the world? One that you can live on. You could go to the Caribbean, the West Indies, Costa Rica, Belize all those warm climate places when it gets cold here.

what kind of glue (brand, product, type) do you recomend to use with STYROFOAM?

I built this not knowing much about boat building. If you are new to sailing and boat building I'd recommend building a Puddle Duck. I sort of followed his plans online, but designed it to be taken apart and put back together, and never made a sail. Great concept and idea, but there are better ways to do this.

It's a dagger board not a center board a center board pivots love it so cool

wonderful

That's really cool. Can you show how to make one out of plastic bottles.

Хе-хе))), молодец! Очень умно сделано, особенно видеосъемка с привязанной лодки. На 7-00

Nice, maybe not perfect but really a great idea. I think with such pontoons you don't need the sword.

how long and tall are the pontoons? how heavy is it, total?

Genial !

What wood did you use and where did you get it?

I think those would make some pretty sweet canoe outriggers

The best

bravo!

The rudder mounting looks like it might require a stronger setup.

can you show how to make a remote control tank

If you would have named this video "Brings back a 24 pack of beer" you'd have 5 million views!

Is this foam great for ocean waters?

that's amazing i want to build one

Bizzaro mano vc é de mais! Hahaha

Creative guy

You know theres strong winds when you see the turbines!

An ispirational economy of materials and time to build. Another method would be PVC, modular, adjustable. Similar cost and skill set to fabricate. Durability and foam Attach a heavy duty tarp/fabric/plastic sheeting with an adhesive that doesn't melt the foam. Then perhaps rattle can some truck bed liner Colors. I am building one in the Spring time, Schedule 80 pvc, 16'x8' Modular, fits in a small truck bed. With a trebuchet on top for the sail mast. 20' mast height. Cheers!

Very cool idea ! I just don't picture that boat lasting over a month ! You need to USED marine grade wood and fiberglassing everything to seal it !

And, a complete sailing rig appears from the ether... TA DA ! You can make some pontoons from anything that floats.

This guy should be called Mr wikiJosh or Mr wikiBuild. 😀

Nice plank cataraman hull

Sooooooo koooool omg you are god

Nice build, but get a good jigsaw or hotknife,. A sawzall is meant for demolition and rough construction, not cutting foam. You could also use a skilsaw if you want a nice straight cut, but I’ve tried to cut these kinds of materials with one and the blade spins too fast. The friction melts stuff like foam and soft plastic. A jigsaw is the way to go.