PVC Kayak Frame

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Most popular comments
for PVC Kayak Frame

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Alan McDonald - 6 years ago

Thanks everyone for letting me know that I can bend the PVC by filling with sand etc.

col stace - 5 years ago

Alan McDonald or use a heat gun, won't burn the pipe

POLICE MATRIX - 6 years ago

for the next project try this https://www.screwfix.com/p/floplast-sc250-solvent-cement-250ml/14295

HiWetcam - 6 years ago

Try an aeroplane next.

POLICE MATRIX - 6 years ago

not a plumber i guess?

col stace - 5 years ago

POLICE MATRIX ya think ?

Smokeydabee Charles Coleman - 6 years ago

They meant with a heat gun.

Ivars Odins - 6 years ago

Don't know why but I would use a but load of fittings and not bend the pipes and zip tie the bugger.

phuck ewe - 6 years ago

You need...........Ta Da!...... BackyardBowyer !
He'll show you how to work that stuff!

Andy Sjostrom - 6 years ago

Just wondering did you know you could go to home depot or Lowe's and get things like T's and 45's to get the angles you needed with out melting the PVC and kept the strength of the PVC. putting heat to PVC doesn't make it stronger it makes it brittle. any one that knows anything about PVC knows that much.

Alan McDonald - 6 years ago

Andy Sjostrom. I did know about the connectors and angles. In my.opinion the best kayaks are made by Brian Schultz https://youtu.be/My3sBCDXacw. This boat was nothing compared to these real kayaks. Even though this was just a way to keep busy and make a quick cheap kayak that would only be used a couple times, and the tarp skin would last only a few months, and the pvc would become brittle really soon, I wanted to make a shape that would perform well as a sea kayak and not be an ugly bathtub like every other pvc kayak I have seen on YouTube. As you saw in the video the angles needed to be very specific to get my shape and using set angles would not get the shape I wanted.

chris o - 6 years ago

Try using a torch next time the candle makes it black a torch with heat it up so that you can do it nice and evenly and you can do it as slow or as fast as you need. But do be careful because the torch burns hotter than the candle.

10. comment for PVC Kayak Frame

shumatych - 6 years ago

Пипец мужик наколхозил, скрепить стяжками конгениально ) , а о строительном фене он похоже и не слышал. Однако каркас внешне выглядит неплохо

Steve Roberti - 6 years ago

why did you glue couplings in the middle of the pvc pipe?

Alan McDonald - 6 years ago

As this was supposed to be just a quick thrown together thing so I just made the joints where it was easiest and how I knew how. This is not an expedition boat.

Moss M - 6 years ago

If you fill the pvc with sand before heating and bending it will keep a circular shape when bent

Mazda rx7 - 7 years ago

Zip tying the crossbraces/etc together. You do know they sell "T" , 45 deg, 90 deg etc., fittings. Much stronger than zip ties

Alan McDonald - 6 years ago

I know. But I wanted to avoid the relatively sharp edges they would expose to the skin and they would also not curve as nicely for the gunnel and chines. I also did not want to be limited to the few specific angles that are offered as that would greatly effect the shape of the kayak.

Marc El Thien El - 7 years ago

backyard bower can Show You how to smelt pvc pipes

Daniel macdonald - 7 years ago

use a heat gun !!!

Blas Pelegrin - 7 years ago

Hi Alan.
Hi everyone.
What are the diameters of the pipes?

Alan McDonald - 7 years ago

I think they were 1" and 1.5"

gtalckmin - 7 years ago

Hi, have you ever thought about using threads instead of gluing the parts?

dean germeten - 7 years ago

Check out Backyard Bowyer's artful use of heat-guns for flattening and tapering PVC pipe. Also a construction technique you may consider, rib pipe can be heated and flattened, run through slotted grooves cut in longitudinal stringers. Heating the ribs once they're in will cause them to swell back to pipe dimensions, holding them firmly in, so you won't need ties on most joints. You can semi-flatten stringers as well, making them stronger in one direction, for gunnals, etc..

AMBROSE A Bellair - 7 years ago

Why didn't you use pipe fitting's such as elbows, y's, t's and cross t's. From what I have seen you could have probably done all of it by drawing it out in detail ahead of time and buying the appropriate fitting's. Larger section's to a smaller section's could have been done with a reduced fitting 2'' to 1''.
Next time, don't be afraid to go to a hardware and get some help from there plumbing people. A detailed draw and some basic knowledge of fitting's, could have saved you a lot of time and effort, tie's will eventual fail, but a good clued joint, maybe never. Nice first effort, don't want to take away from the ingenuity or effort, but us guy's have a problem with asking for help or direction's, P&L :).

James Dodds - 6 years ago

I was wondering the same. Some good 45s and T's would have made this frame much more sturdy, durable, and water tight.

20. comment for PVC Kayak Frame

SpiritBear12 - 7 years ago

Heat guns work better for even heating of the PVC. And zip ties tend to degrade easy. They get brittle and snap. T connectors would have been stronger.

Jesse Gentry - 7 years ago

Use a heat gun is better. The black smoke is leathal, I'm a liscened plumber. They are cheap

ANDREW CULLEN - 7 years ago

If you are using pipes with joints why did you not just by T joints for the cross members as they could then have been stuck together

Alan McDonald - 7 years ago

That's a good idea but I did not want to lose the stiffness of the solid pieces and I did not want to be that accurate and have to measure everything out ahead of time. This way was also more closely related to how Greenland style kayaks are made. I had just read an Instructables on making Geenland kayaks.

Alan McDonald - 7 years ago

The skinning video is here! https://youtu.be/P0Yx2I2jQdY.

Wade Patton - 7 years ago

Yes, it's painful to watch-so I skipped over. PVC tends to be heavy and flexy whenever I use it as structural components (not in boats). What does it weigh? Are you going to build more from this material?

Seabrook Texas - 6 years ago

Alan McDonald ñ

Alan McDonald - 7 years ago

I'll be in TX in a few weeks. I'll be finishing it up then. I'm going to skin I with a tarp and put a layer of paint on it. I'll post the weight when I have it. probably 40 pounds or so.

Ray MAKES - 7 years ago

great video and great idea. did you ever skin THIS frame?

Ray MAKES - 7 years ago

+Alan McDonald I did check it out, very nice

Alan McDonald - 7 years ago

Not yet. I'll edit the video when I get to it later this summer. Check out http://waterlightkayaks.com for my other build.

Alan McDonald - 7 years ago

Some of you know I am doing a 100mile kayak race called the California 100, next weekend June 11. It is a fundraiser for Rivers For Change, a group that connects people and rivers.
I have finished building my kayak and now begin the required fundraising part. Check out my site documenting the build http://waterlightkayaks.com and visit here https://www.grouprev.com/California100-alan-mcdonald if you feel like helping me reach my donation goal. Cool.

ifell3 - 7 years ago

Have you got around to skin it yet?

Alan McDonald - 7 years ago

I haven't been back to TX yet. I'll finish later this summer. I just finished making this one. Http://waterlightkayaks.com.

Donnita DeSha Young - 7 years ago

kdkkdld

Dennis Block - 7 years ago

I've been wondering when I'd find someone who's tried using this idea. I'm curious how it turns out once you skin it and am happy to notice you've already considered info from kudzucraft. I really want to see how durable and seaworthy this boat is after some long term use. Good job!

30. comment for PVC Kayak Frame

David - 7 years ago

From a math guy I just have to tell you that at around 19 min in your video you subtract 2.5 from 18, and you come up with 16.5... I know...long day...it happens...hope you either caught it, or that it came out okay anyways! :-)

Eduardo Pacheco - 7 years ago

For it is the cockroach is on the left side of the table at the bottom ...? ho is your pet happens to you will be the PVC pipes ......

Eduardo Pacheco - 7 years ago

Para que es la cucaracha que esta al lado izquierdo de la tabla en la parte inferior ...? es tu mascota ho sera la que te pasa los tubos PVC......

Edilberto Reyes - 8 years ago

just an idea, maybe you can shrink wrap it if you want to see the set up float.

Tim Spriggs - 8 years ago

If airtight , it might just be unsinkable. is this true? is it more bouyant than a regular one?

Mauricio Grimaldi - 8 years ago

You have a very good idea but you need a heat gun are not expensive but you save to buy more stuff, very good project

mikexhotmail - 8 years ago

thank you for sharing :)

Lee Porter - 8 years ago

Good Luck Man !

Alan McDonald - 8 years ago

+Lee Porter Thank you sir. Check out my new project at http://waterlightkayaks.com

judy blume - 8 years ago

use your wife hair dyer it works

Alan McDonald - 8 years ago

+judy blume I tried the hair dryer last week and it worked great.

Rick Bartley - 8 years ago

Thanks for confirmation that making a skin-on frame with PVC is doable. I thought about doing the same to build a lightweight dinghy and may pursue that now. I purchased a $10 heat gun from Harbor Freight which does a quick job of heating PVC on the low setting for any forming. I also learned that for any permanent project to be used outdoors that I'm better off using the UV resistant black zip ties, albeit they're more expensive, as the white nylon can fail after a season here in the South. I've also had some success using corrosion resistant bailing wire, though you have to be careful tuck the cut ends away to prevent punctures. Good luck with your project completion later this year.

Alan McDonald - 8 years ago

+Richard Bartley Thanks Richard. I was totally guessing on the zip ties. I did not know about the different ties. For your dingy you should check out the videos by Jeff Horton of kudzucraft.com as he has good ones on skinning kayaks as well as skin on frame canoes. I am reading both his books now. Also see videos by Brian Shulz on skinning.

Alan McDonald - 8 years ago

Thanks, I'll try the dryer next time. I definately did not like the breathing the soot.