Would PVC drainage pipes make a good basis for a pontoon boat?

Question

I've been wanting to build my own pontoon boat for ages now, but the cost and time effort of building the hulls has been putting me off all this time.

Now I just stumbled upon the perspective of simply using PVC drainage pipes, filling them with urethane foam, and capping them with some elegant fibreglass tips which I can make myself.

The boat is supposed to be a "trimaran", and will be electrically powered. Transport capacity two to four passengers, and I reckon a length of 5 to 6 metres should give me enough length for a top speed of about 5 knots.

Has anyone tried this before, or have you seen images of boats that were constructed from drainage pipes?

I'd love to see some examples.

Answer 1

I haven't seen one before, but my first thought is that PVC pipe is too heavy.

Answer 2

This year, the Resort at Diamond Lake Oregon installed Plastic Pipe Booms around the Marina to break the waves. They are about 12 inches across, capped on the ends and linked together. Appear to be floating just fine, and breaking the waves to keep them hitting the docks.

Don't know what the pipes weight bearing capacity is. You might want to experiment with small pieces of pipe before you spend a lot of $$.

Answer 3

if you dont want to build hulls.I would find a old  long hobie cat type boat and use those hulls to build on. If you think you need to you beef them up you can ..But you would at least start out with nice hull shape--- what do you think, cap`t John?

Answer 4

Why the foam that just adds more weight> Most pontoons are 24" or larger and have very little weight>

The PVC Drain pipe you would have to have a loader to lift it> So capping the ends and put in water it would probably sink> As the weight to bouncy ratio is wrong>

Answer 5

Capt John has given you a very good answer and some ideas.  

Here are a few sites that have pontoon boats ideas and plans:

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

http://www.pontoonstuff.com/restore/42-r...

http://www.u-fabboats.com/

Good Luck and Boat Safe ! !

Answer 6

Tahini Raving Weirdo... I think you have lived up to your name sake on this one...  

     WOW! ... In one breath, your telling us you wanted to build a pontoon boat for the longest but couldn't afford it... and in another, your telling us you have wind turbines to keep your batteries charged...  that is weird - I will give you that.

It reminds me of the blond that sold her car because she needed the money for gas.

So, let me get this straight...  you have the money for wind turbines, batteries, chargers, inverters, drive unit, propeller controllers, power distribution busses, shore-power battery charger, stuffing box, couplings, V house power system, electric motors... and everything associated with running wind turbines, but now you want to put it all atop a pile of drainage pipe and try to make it float with floation foam, and make it go 5 knots?

Don't get me wrong, I am always the very last to squash anyone's ideas... I like to think all ideas are good ones... its just that some of them (as we all know) don't work.  And this one falls into that catagory... it just doesn't work.

For one thing, I just finished spending $10,000 to add the minimum USCG required amount of flotation foam to two 48 foot pontoons... So, I am sitting here on the upper deck of my vessel wondering why in the world you would even think of adding flotation foam to PVC drainage pipe?  Floation foam does not add "floation" or buoyancy... it only prevents swamping and sinking...

  Have you ever priced "urethane floation foam"? It will cost you more money to fill two 6 inch x 20 foot long pieces of PVC drainage pipe with floation foam, then it will cost you do build respectable pontoon hulls in the first place.

     Let me suggest that...  a much more positive result will come from doing it right the first time...

     For the size you mention, it would take very little money to do this "right" and to have something you could be proud of.

    Not to mention the fact that you want to power this thing with electric - which means you need absolutely the very slickest, smoothest hulls with absolutely the very most minimum amount of drag and resistance... believe me - there is much-much more to it then just maintaining 5 knots... drag and resistance will bring your electric to a hault faster then speed.

   Go to the link below, and look under pontoon and houseboats... they have plans for one called the "Huck Finn" and a "Super Huck, and even a Mark Twain... all of these offer smooth slick hulls that are very easy to build... and furthermore, if you follow their directions, and suggestions... you will have a really nice pontoon that will last longer then your great, great, great, grand kids.  

   Check it out...

http://www.glenl.com/

In addition, I have built several vessels using these hulls... To see how really easy it is, I have progressive build pictures with descriptions on my website... just click on the below link, to to the "SummerWind" page, and at the bottom of it, you will find a link to "building the SummerWind"...

Happy & Safe Boating!

http://boatwrights.org/

PS... remember, you don't have to do all of this in one day, or even one week... or a month... so, you don't have to bear all the expense "up front".  If you are on a budget, just buy and build as you go... as your time and budget permit... think about it - if you had done this in the beginning, you wouldn't be asking this question now - you would be on the lake enjoying the fruits of your labor...

Also... I have built boats most all my life... but only in the last two years have I come to know the "efficiency" of electric power in a boat...

And while I know nothing of amps, and volts and such... I do know boat hulls... You need to realize (especially with electric motors) that the wave or wake a boat creates is created by the boat "pushing" the water out in front of itself... and it is all done from the very most forward point of your bow... All that holds that boat back, and all the "power" needed to bring a boat up to plan, is the effort and energy it takes for the boat to get through its own wake... for non planning boats, you have an enormous amount of water pressure holding you back... for electric power vessels, your hull has to be slick, and sleek, and your bow (or bows) need to be pointed and slender, so they can go through the water without pushing it forward...

     You will never accomplish this using drainage pipe... it would be like trying to put a trolling motor on the Queen Mary... your batteries will be dead before you even know hardly moved.  You also need to keep in mind that it takes 1 cubic foot of air space below the water to float 64 pounds to the water's surface... and that leaves you no freeboad....

Check out the site... do it right... you'll not only be glad you did, you will have something to be proud of...