How to Make a Duct Tape Canoe

This was a fun project and I suggest it to everyone wanting to have fun. I am in middle school and worked very hard on this project. Please enjoy.

First off, you can make your frame of your canoe however you want. I made my 11 foot canoe out of the following items:

1. 60ft of 3/4 inch PVC pipe

2. 24 - 3/4 inch PVC pipe T-connectors

3. 12 - 3/4 inch PVC pipe 90 degree connectors

4. PVC cutter(can use hand saw)

5. 10 rolls of duct tape in large rolls

6. Lots of dedication and imagination

When making the frame the shape doesn't matter that much you can either stick to a canoe, boat, or box shape, and you should be fine. It shouldn't be much of a problem to make. I made the frame as I went along. Below are the steps that you can follow for making a canoe.

Top Frame

> Cut two pieces of 36" long piping (these are for the mid-section of the frame)

> Cut four pieces of 48" long piping (these are for the curved portions of the frame)

> Cut four pieces of 4" long piping (these are for the stern and bow portions of the frame)

> Cut four pieces of 1.5" long piping (these are for connecting the two T- connectors at the four corners of the mid-section of the frame)

Bottom Frame

> Cut two pieces of 36" long piping (these are for the mid-section of the frame)

> Cut four pieces of 42" long piping (these are for the curved portions of the frame)

> Cut four pieces of 2.5" long piping (these are for the stern and bow portions of the frame)

> Cut four pieces of 1.5" long piping (these are for connecting the two T- connectors at the four corners of the mid-section of the frame)

Struts

> Cut four pieces of 24" long piping (these are for connecting the two frames together at the mid-section)

> Cut two pieces of 27" long piping (these are for connecting the two frames together at the stern and bow)

Assemble Pieces (be sure to press parts together hard)

1) Assemble the top frame as shown

2) Assemble the bottom frame as shown

3) Connect the top and bottom frames together using the 24" and 27" struts.

I am 5ft tall and this canoe is 11 feet long

After making the canoe frame, I took some time to make a paddle. It was made out of leftover PVC and it took about 5 minutes to make. After making it, cover it in duct tape to make it act as a paddle and displace water. Below are the steps that you can follow for making a paddle.

Paddle
> Cut one pieces of 36" long piping

> Cut two pieces of 10" long piping (these are for the sides of the paddle)

> Cut two pieces of 2.5" long piping

> Cut one piece of 6" long piping (this is for the end of the paddle)

> Assemble the components using four of the 90 degree connectors and two of the T connectors.

> Wrap completely in duct tape

This step took the longest and took many hours. The more people you have with this step, the quicker it goes. This step takes the most commitment and it is tiring. You have to make sure to cover the side and bottom part of the frame. Be sure to overlap each piece of tape so that you do not have any openings where water could leak in. A good way to check is to use a water hose and see if there are leaks. It was also nice to have chairs or a table to put the canoe on so that I could put the tape on and keep the frame from bending.

After many hours, this is the finished product!

This was the best step over all. The boat ended up working and was able to hold me and my siblings(One at a time). It was an overall fun and great experience. I would not change a thing.

Have a good day.