Boogie-Go Water Craft

by palombo5050

3.0K1614

Intro: Boogie-Go Water Craft

Here is a fun project that didn't take a whole lot of time or money.  You take a boogie board and add a submersible bildge pump or water pump with batteries and make a fun pool water craft.  Check out the video.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzXxsnrgosY

STEP 1: Parts and Tools

Boogie Board
Bildge Pump  I used 1200 GPH      MUST BE A SUBMERSIBLE PUMP
Waterproof Switch (Momentary on, or Switch on)
Batteries (2 6v 5 amp wired in series with switch)
PVC pipe and a couple fittings 1/2 inch sch40.  refer to pic for type.
Large Plastic Ties
Quick Steel
Marine Sealant


Dremmel, Soldering kit, wire cutters, BRAINS

STEP 2:

Take the Pump and Quick steel one end of the steering control piece to the pump.

STEP 3:

Cut the 1/2 inch pvc pipe to the debth of the board.  You want it a tiny bit longer so it will spin once you tighten the control steering pieces together.

STEP 4:

Take the 1/2 inch Coupler to female threaded pipe fitting and Quick steel the other steering control piece to the coupler side.

STEP 5:

It should look like this when completed.

STEP 6:

You can now install onto Boogie board.  You may want to drill a small hole for the wires to run from the pump up through the board to the top of the board for wiring.  I ran mine on the outside part of the hole.  I'm not worried because the board is styrofoam.  It will not wear the coating off the wires.

STEP 7:

Here is what it will look like on the bottom and top view.

STEP 8:

Attaching the batteries to board with large zip ties.  I zipped them pretty tight to hold them firmly.

STEP 9:

I added some extra PVC pipe for board support.  You may not need this.  I used the same type of large zip ties.

STEP 10:

This is the wiring stage of the project.  Please look at the picture with yellow description boxes for visual understanding.

STEP 11:

I added this as an extra step to explain that you need a marine grade silicon sealant to cover and protect all electrical connections.  MAKE SURE YOU COVER ALL EXPOSED ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS PERFECTLY.  DO NOT SKIMP ON SILICON.

15 Comments

thamby1 9 years ago

You should try making it were it has two bilge pumps so it would go a little bit faster. I am working on makeing my own like that so try to keep a look out plz.

palombo5050 9 years ago

I built another one with a bigger pump and larger battery. It worked much better. Check out my waterproof switch using heat shrink.

ehudwill 12 years ago

Fun idea. Thanks for sharing.

wilgubeast 12 years ago

This looks awesome. Pretty much the world's most entertaining bilge pump.

Lorddrake 12 years ago

that looks really cool. Have you tried adjusting the outlet nozzle size to get more thrust?

palombo5050 12 years ago

Yes, and it does help quite a bit.

l8nite 12 years ago

how fast did this move the boogie board ? I'm wondering if I used a larger pump would it work for a small one man watercraft ...

palombo5050 12 years ago

I built another one using a 4700 GPH. It pulls my 260 frame pretty good. Nothing very fast, but it is a lot of fun.

zazenergy 12 years ago

Looks cool! Please include an intro picture and embed a video in your Instructable for it to be eligible for the Make it Move Contest.

Good luck!

palombo5050 12 years ago

Thanks for your comments. I added a picture. I'm trying to embed a video, but it only gives the youtube link. Can you help with this?

admin 12 years ago

On the youtube video, click Share, then click Embed, then click Use Old Embed Code.

Copy and past that code and it should work fine.

palombo5050 12 years ago

You are awsome. Thanks a bunch for the help. I hope this is a winner. Am I qualified for both contests now?