Tape Boat

by Yzumis in Outside > Boats

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Tape Boat

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I made this tape boat because when I was a child I lived near the beach but we never had a boat. So I always wanted to have one! I made this boat for one adult or two childs maximum. All the materials are recycled except the tape.

So let's check the materials:

  • 3 m x 6 cm x 3 cm piece of wood
  • 1'5 m x two canes
  • 126 cm x 60 cm x 5 cm plastic foam
  • 300 meters of blue tape
  • 10 meters of white tape (for front part details)

Cutting the Materials

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In this first step we will cut the wood in two pieces, each one of 1'5 meters.

Also we will cut the plastic foam in two pieces. This will result in two sheets of 68 cm x 60 cm x 5 cm

Making Two Holes in the Plastic Foam

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On each side, of the plastic foam we will make a hole about 7 cm near the edge (in the 68 cm part of the plastic foam). This holes need to be of the same size of the wood (6 cm x 3 cm) and with an inclination 45 degrees.

In order to make the holes I made 4 little holes with a piece of metal and I joined them into a big hole using a knife.

It's important that the holes are very precise (it's better to make them a little smaller) in order to avoid any water flow.

Join the Woods and the Plastic Foam

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Using the holes we made in the previous step, we will join the two pieces of plastic foam with the pieces of wood.

Making the Base of the Boat

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In order to make the base of the boat we need to join the two pieces of wood with tape.

Making the Sides of the Boat

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To make the sides of the boat we will join the two sheets of plastic foam using blue tape.

Making the Boat Water Proof

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To make the boat water proof we need to put tape from the side to the base of the boat. And between the tape and the sheet of plastic foam (Use a lot of tape in this part if you don't want submarine :) ).

Improving Side Resistance

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In order to improve the resistance of the sides we will fix a cane in both sides with tape to the plastic foam sheets. After that, it is needed to also tape the side of the boat to these canes. This will improve the resistance of the whole structure.

Improving the Appearance

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After all the process, some parts of the boat were not pretty at all. So I decided to improve them!

First of all, I cut both sides of the plastic foam sheet at cane's height.

After that, I covered all the plastic foam with tape. I decided to use blue tape on one side and white tape on the other.

Finally, I covered the canes with blue tape.

This resulted in a boat with a better overall appearence!

Let's Sail!

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With the boat completed I put it in a swimming pool and I started sailing! From here to the big blue ocean! :)