Pontoon boats are quite easy to build, but why do you need a pontoon boat, and how do they work? A pontoon boat is basically a flat boat that has pontoons attached to the bottom to help the boat stay buoyant. It is generally safer on the water because of the dual hulls that you can use to keep the boat afloat.
These hulls are normally filled with air and called pontoons. The flat boat is then placed on top of these pontoons that help the boat to stay buoyant. For more information about pontoon boats and how to build your dream boat on the My Boat Plans Website.
You can build a pontoon boat at home in many different ways from a variety of different materials. Take scrap materials that are of no other use to anyone else, for instance. The pontoon can be any size you want it to be. You can go from a one-man raft to as large as a boat for a party. If you want to make a family party deck on the water, you will need enough pontoons to keep a lot of weight afloat.
Planning and Building
When planning on building a pontoon boat at home, you do not want to be bothered with lots of technical details. This will not make much sense, but you only want to get a boat on the water. However, it will be of great interest to find out that, if you add another pontoon under the boat, you may have more carrying capacity.
To build a one-man pontoon boat, it is totally acceptable if you have two pontoons. If it is a sun deck for the family, you would want to add one more center pontoon. This will increase the carrying capacity. For a normal personal pontoon boat, you will only need twin pontoons to keep your boat afloat.
The technical things aside, let us have a look at how to build a pontoon boat for recreational use. This is a basic, homemade pontoon boat that will not pass any safety inspection or need any certification or license. It will only need to keep you afloat and safely on top of the water, so your raft doesn’t sink.
For that, you will need a sturdy platform that is at least a bit waterproof, so you don’t get water from underneath. Make sure the deck is covered if it is made from wood, so you don’t get splinters.
You will need some barrels made from light materials, such as commercial plastic barrels, depending on the size of your raft. Also, you will need enough barrels to basically stretch the length of your raft. And of course, you also need enough to put them underneath both sides of the deck. Follow the instruction in the Instructables link above, but you may use your own dimensions depending on the size of your pontoon boat.
Some information about pontoon boats
For a fun project, you may add pontoons to your canoe or any other boat to give them more floating stability. The pontoon needs attaching to the side of your canoe or dingy for a perfect balance and greater stability. In normal circumstances, pontoon boats will be much more stable in choppy water. It will certainly be more stable than other boats for recreational purposes.
The pontoon boat is much safer in the water and can not flip over as normal v-boats do. This makes them much safer overall. Pontoon boats are much easier to drive on the water than the traditional v-shaped boats, as well.
Also, they lie flat on the water, and that will give you much less drag from the water. If you add another tube to the center of a pontoon boat, it will give you more lift from the water. It will also increase the carrying capacity and will give much better performance to your pontoon boat.
Your pontoon boat is not as easy to handle and as sharply as the skiing boat, but you may still ski for fun behind it. You can ski for fun but not professionally with the pontoon boat. Pontoon boats are very fuel-efficient in comparison to normal boats because of the drag in the water with v-shaped boats. This is especially true at lower speeds.
On the other hand, pontoon boats need more fuel and power to achieve the same speed as normal boats. Pontoon boats need a wider circle to turn, and added features are necessary to give them that lift for a sharper turn.
Pontoon boats are generally used for party decks and sun decks and can even be used as ferries. It is great to get across lakes and rivers for small vehicles.
The perfect use for a homemade, private pontoon boat is to use it for family fun. It is also suitable as a fishing raft and to just relax or get a tan while floating on the water. This is a basic fun boat for the whole family or for friends to go fishing on the lake. Now, back to the question of why do you need a pontoon boat, the answer could be – why not?
Here are a few thoughts and ideas that will help you in the designing and building process of your own pontoon boat. Doing that will give you great satisfaction with having a custom-built boat for much more flexibility on the outcome.
Conclusion
It is never a waste of time or money when you decide to build a pontoon boat all by yourself. You can easily make it exactly the way you want it to be. This will give you a pontoon boat that will express your taste and your specific needs.
You will not be limited to somebody else’s idea of what you want from your pontoon boat. The My Boat Plans Website has some great ideas for a perfect pontoon boat. Once you have decided on what you want, you can build your dream boat.
