Water Bottle Kayak with Outrigger

 Ok, ok, this is a first instructable that I'm going to be publishing here and I hope that it isn't my last. This is going to be something like a journal / part instructable, so please bear with me.

And now, I'm proud to present to you all.........

HUNK O' JUNK!!!!

UPDATE January  9, 2010; Guam Time: I just found that this instructable just got FEATURED!! I'm soo happy :D

UPDATE June 26, 2010: Today, I finally received my Popular Science June issue and when I was just looking though the How 2.0 Section, guess what I found? I found my kayak!! :D I didn't even knew that it was going to be in this issue [ but I did have an idea of when it would come out ] this makes me so happy that I published this in Instructables. This update may seem a little late, but this makes me so HAPPY!!! :D

Step 1 November 9, 2009 - Monday

There I was, helping out with my old middle school's volleyball team, when, all out of a sudden, my Spanish teacher, Senor O' Connor comes out of nowhere and he spots me. "Oh, no, what did I do to make him come here?" In the past, I would ask him for anything and everything from a pen to a motherboard. Then he asked me " Hey Chris, I know that you like to make/build things. Would you like to enter the recyclable boat race? I already sent your mom all the information." After he left, my mind was running with all these ideas and I kept getting hit with the volleyballs for idling...

After I got to my mom's room (with is just about 100 ft from the gym), I asked her to check her e-mail. When we finally found Senior O' Connor's e-mail. Basically, it said that the race is on November 15, 2009 and it was going to be at the Marianas Yacht Club at 11:00 pm to 1:00 pm. It was Monday afternoon which gives me less than a week to plan and build a kayak. I was sooooo pumped from that I started to come up with ideas. I have been on Instructables for awhile now and I know of several rafts. Now was the planning stage of the legendary "HUNK O' JUNK!!!!" 

Comments

[meddler]

Neat idea. I was thinking of doing something similar, just not an out rigger, as I am unfamiliar with that type of craft. I was thinking more of a pontoon type craft. I need a light weight craft I can get into my truck to take fishing. I can't deal with a regular boat due to a back injury.

[munineye]

Agreed! I have carpal tunnel and it's impossible to find a lightweight, sea-worthy craft unless it's inflatable. Then you have to pump it up all the time, and worry about holes...
Way better to have a recyclable alternative!

[MrL33TPenguin]

 Thanks. If you are thinking of build a water bottle pontoon, just to let you know that even though that this was only ~200 bottles (lost count), this was kinda heavy to pick up and move around. Even though that I could pick it up, it seems heavier that it looks. Well, good luck :D

[jsamson]

so much information of what your doing and all that

[FNLARSEN]

i have like 700 pairs of those shorts, i am in the military and i am going to just have my buddys drink a bunch of water and take thier bottles.

[MrL33TPenguin]

Wow, that's. . many shorts. I had several more of them, just that my dogs kinda got to them and now their no more. :3

[hichar]

haha...its so funny...but awesome.....nice...

[MrL33TPenguin]

I thank you :D

[spenfisher12]

would it a bad idea to mod this and fish from it

[MrL33TPenguin]

Right now, I'm going to be re-building my kayak so that it would be a twin-hull catamaran like vessel. And no, it wouldn't a bad idea to fish from it, I know some of my friends would like that. :D

[elephant1292]

Congratulations on being featured in popsi!

[MrL33TPenguin]

Thanks! :D

[weg42]

I like it, weird, fun,usefull and helpfull if i ever get stuck on a thai beach, good work fella!
easy way to make a raft if you get stuck in the rain forrest,
find a poncho or tarp, pile about 2' of sticks and leaves on it, cross brace with two long poles, pile on some more brush, another tarp on top (or fold one in half) tie it all togeather and off you float!

[digitalenigma]

i like this contraption, with vast amounts of plastics polluting the worlds oceans its make it seem all most impossible to be "stuck" on a dessert island!

[MrL33TPenguin]

Haha, 'dessert' island :D

[3merica8sk8]

You might as well add a seat so your feet arnt in the water since youve got that far with it

[petsnail]

Lol. The "outrigger" is called an ama. an outrigger is a hawaiian canoe.

[MrL33TPenguin]

 Ooh, thanks :D

[timschaller]

Very nice. Thanks for posting!
It makes me wish I didn't live in a desert, so I could try it out myself.

[=SMART=]

Awesome !, Great project !

[bkirchner81]

very nice-  but maybe a little less about your daily activities and a little more about the design and construction of the boat.   This is a great concept, worthy of more exposure.

With more pictures and details I would be inclined to recommend this to places like  http://www.survivalblog.com/

cheers

[drbill]

Good to see this first Ible. Nice pics. Weird boat!

[drbill]

I've got to say it looks like a lot of good ideas went into your boat and look at all the views ! Over 10,000 ! I'm lucky if I get 50 with what I do. Wow! Hay try the idea I sent you as a P.M. you'll go a lot faster and maybe you can sleek down the hull for speed ! Plus what you end up with is a boat that will last you many years......... With a sail too.

                       73's
                       WH7WP
                       drbill

P.S. Get your Ham Radio license!

[MrL33TPenguin]

Haha, thanks :D I'll try and build that one boat that you sent me. This time, I'll try and take pictures of the whole project this time. Oh, about the Ham Radio status, we don't have a Radio Shack anymore, so I'll ask you about it more.

[drbill]

No need Radio Shack. They don't sell Ham Radios anymore.

Try contact  ARRL (Amateur Radio Relay League)
1-888-277-5289   or
www.arrl.org/clubsearch    or
www.arrl.org     or
[e-mail]     or
+ 1-860-594-0355 international phone    or
1-860-594-0300 For volunteer examiner, License Information    or

ARRL
225 Main Street
Newington, Ct. 06111-1494
USA

If you have any problems finding what you need let me know.
Radio equipment sources are no problem. Sometimes free from local club members in your area.
                                        73's
                                        WH7WP
                                        drbill 

[lamlak]

Nice looking boat & idea. You say this was at the Marianas Yacht Club. Is that like Guam? I was stationed there in the early 50's. One of the high lights of my life. Lamlak

[MrL33TPenguin]

Thanks. And yes, this was at the Marianas Yacht Club at Apra Harbor. This was also my first time visiting the Club soo I kinda got lost on the way :l
Just asking so that I can answer your question, what do you mean by "Is that like Guam?" The Marianas Yacht Club that I know of is currently on Guam, but I don't know if there are others. Well, thanks :D

[lamlak]

I was just trying to be funny. I have many fond memory's of Guam. I was station at the Navy Radio station at Finegayan. I see by Google Maps that many changes have taken place since I was there.   

[MrL33TPenguin]

 Ooh.... haha :D 
Was the Radio Station the one on the hill, near the steps and the War Dog cemetery? Well, I think that Guam has changed a lot since the 50's and now we're going to changing even more, with the upcoming Marines Build Up. :l

[thefutureisnow]

Cool instructable! I gotta try this one out for myself.

[walkingrock]

Love the idea. I sure would like more pictures or instructions about the actual process of stacking the bottles and confining them inside the chicken wire.

[the rural independent]

Awesome creativity and what a great use of otherwise useless junk.

Keep those thoughts of independence alive!!


www.theruralindependent.com

[lil_brown_bat]

This is a most excellent use of discarded materials!  Five stars for creativity and execution!

I have to throw in a bit of a safety talk -- apologies if this is all obvious to the original poster, but it might not be some readers, so here goes.  As a kayaker, I have to say that I'd leave out the ourigger.  "I could overturn"?  You will overturn (or flip, as we refer to it) -- it is not something that can be prevented altogether, the very best kayakers still flip.  That's the nature of kayaking, so the safe and sensible thing is to first plan for what you will do when you flip, and second develop techniques to minimize the number of times that you do flip.  Your boat should be designed to minimize entrapment hazards -- anything that you could get caught on, including any loose ropes (rope on a kayak is ALWAYS an entrapment hazard and to be drastically minimized and controlled where it can't be avoided altogether).  When you flip, you should be able to exit without difficulty and self-rescue -- that means righting the boat, getting back in and emptying enough water so that the kayak is seaworthy, all without assistance.  If you can't self-rescue, you should never take that boat any farther than an easy swim from shore.  I can cite an unfortunately large number of cases of people who died because they paddled a boat out of their depth, flipped it, couldn't self-rescue and couldn't swim to shore (and, generally, were paddling alone...another sketchy decision).  So, test your self-rescue in shallow water and safe conditions, with someone available to help if need be, before you venture out from shore. 

As for techniques to minimize flipping, that's known as bracing in the kayaking world.  These are techniques that use the flat of the paddle on the water as a momentary point of balance that allows you to regain stability, and you really need someone to show you how it's done (there are probably good youtube vids though).  Trust me, you get pretty wet practicing bracing, until you've got a good enough brace that you won't flip MOST of the time ;-)  In short, kayaking is great fun, but it's really not for people who hate getting wet or looking undignified :-)

[charles61]

Or the invention of the butter wire cuter...a teenager's dream but a nightmare on the waves : please, don' forget your safebelt !
Keep you save !
Regards,
Charles

[Steeler]

Man if you were ever marooned on an island in Thailand this would be your escape.Well done

[marinermcv]

 1337 and schweenie, check out the PlasTiki In San Fransisco:

http://www.theplastiki.com/lo-fi/

[marinermcv]

 Neat Idea Reminds me of the boat JUNK that sailed to Hawaii
Link:
http://junkraft.blogspot.com/

 Maybe the only to get of Kingman Reef in the South Pacific
Link:
http://coyoteshark.blogspot.com/2009/07/kingman-reef-plastic-island-my-visit.html

 

[MrL33TPenguin]

 Thanks for the link to JunkRaft. I really hope to make a large raft like that to one day sail on, but I just think that I'm going to be sailing to the next island just to get my sailing skills refined. 

[Koosie]

Very nice kayak!  Now I want to make one!

[schweenietodd]

Next project:

Build up to Thor Heyerdahl Ra / Ra II ocean-faring scale...PET-Tiki!

Kon-Tiki

Semoga beruntung!