Seafoam Kayak The Unsinkable Foam Kayak Anyone Can

instructables
Seafoam Kayak, the Unsinkable Foam Kayak Anyone Can Build, 16 Pounds
and Eight Feet of Fun
by rowerwet
can you cut a crusty bagel with a knife, stick a from my first couple mouseboats. The second is built
sandwich together with mayo, grate cheese, cut thin of XPS foam. I wanted to learn how to build with foam
fabric with scissors, stretch wrinkles out of bed on a much smaller, simpler project than a full size
sheets, and roll paint onto a wall? Then you can build camper. Since a mouseboat costs roughly a hundred
this boat! dollars, and a teardrop costs a few thousand, another
I've built seven small kayaks over the years, all have mouseboat was the best answer to learning without
been from the design type called a mouseboat. The wasting a ton of money.
mouseboat is a free plan offered by Gavin Atkin,
variations on the design have been drawn by others, The winter after I built Seafoam, I decided to make a
and are also offered on the Mouseboats yahoo group bigger, more capable kayak out of foam also. The
page. result of that experiment was Sawfish my 12 foot 23
pound kayak, a much more capable boat. I've taken it
my first seven mice were built of plywood and glue, out on the North Atlantic Ocean, on the coast of
either polyurethane construction adhesive, or marine Maine, and ridden in some rather rough surf with no
epoxy and fiberglass tape. The mouse is a great little issues.
boat for a beginer, your whole investment in the
project comes out to roughly $100 US to have a As soon as I finished with Sawfish, I jumped right into
finished boat that will be the envy of those on the the foam teardrop, with the experience I gained from
shore. Just about every time I go out in them, at least the foam boats, I was able to finish enough of
one person wants to know where to get one. Mercury for a great camping trip in the Adirondack
for more information on the mouseboat check out the mountains. This spring I plan on constructing the
Mouseboats facebook page. removable second story, and finishing a bunch of
details on the doors and windows.
I've built a couple teardrop trailers, the first was built
of plywood and used the same process I knew to use
Seafoam Kayak, the Unsinkable Foam Kayak Anyone Can Build, 16 Pounds and Eight Feet of Fun: Page 1
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1
1. triple handle for children 1. finished mouse boat handle, while painting the hull the boat hung from
2. screen door pull, the two boats on this end are older this handle for two days
2
1. 15 pound boat (after paint, here it weighed 13 lbs)

2. 35 pound boat
Step 1: Collecting
I got the plan for the mouseboat from the yahoo group -two gama seal bucket lids (the paint department of
"mouseboats". Some people have a problem getting Home depot stocks them in black around here. I
the files there though as they come as a zip file and found them in white at a lowe's for a little over $7. in
must be opened once downloaded. To make it easier, six colors on Amazon
I converted the best mouse designs, IMO, to JPG
files in an album on my facebook page here - 2" or wider. duct tape, masking tape etc.
mouseboat plans if they are not clear enough ask me,
I might be able to clarify details for you. There are a -a tube or two of PLpremium construction adhesive,
few different plans, the best and fastest boat will be (PLp) the 3x is best and cheaper. you can just buy
the original mouse. gorilla glue instead
I added the original mouseboat plan to the photo - gorilla glue (GG) get the 8 oz bottle minimum
gallery at the top, and another called the fisherman's
mouseboat, as it is wider for more stability. the -1" strips of 1/4" plywood, cheap wooden yard sticks,
designer figured it was wide enough to stand an cast etc. you need a bit over eight feet of them though.
from. for those who weigh over 200 lbs, the fishing (every time you visit the paint department ask for a 5
mouseboat will handle the weight better. It takes two gallon paint bucket stirring stick or two, in a few visits
4x8 sheets of foam instead of one and a half like the you will have enough to make these anti-dent rails)
original mouseboat.
-a few feet of nylon webbing 3/4" to 1" wide, for
to build one boat you will need: making handles (I use the ends of shortened nylon tie
- three sheets of 2'x8' 1" XPS foam, I prefer the down straps, cut them by melting with a heated knife
Owens Corning pink foam from Home Depot as it is to stop fraying) nylon straps
softer and easier to shape. The green foam at Lowe's
is very tough, The blue seems as soft as the pink. -about a foot of PEX plastic plumbing, or PVC tubing,
for making the handles much more comfortable
-two cans of Great Stuff (GS) expanding crack sealer,
(the basic stuff is fine) tools:
-old bed sheets, the thicker they are, the stronger and -gloves! I find disposable vinyl gloves work best for
more resistant to punctures (the more synthetic in the this project as they will not stick your fingers together
fabric the harder to get glue to bond to it, and the with titebond II, instead the glue will just peel off
harder to get paint into the fibers) asking around at unlike latex or nitrile.
hospitals, nursing homes, or hotel laundries may get
you some free, torn or stained sheets. thrift stores -safety glasses
should have plenty, stretchy fabric will be harder to
keep wrinkles out. -dust mask
-coarse thread drywall screws 2" long or more (I can't -werner 250 wallpaper perforation tool
imagine needing more than 20 of them) some people
use bamboo skewers instead -hand drywall saw http://www.harborfreight.com/6-
inch-double-edged-...
-a gallon jug of titebond II (TBII)
-sureform the harbor freight model works best for this,
-1 gallon exterior house paint, check the oops paint and is easier to hold
rack in the paint department every time you visit, they
might have the color you want for a much cheaper -flush cut pliers if you use the bamboo skewers
price.
-screwdriver if you use drywall screws

-paint roller handle, tray and rollers I prefer a three or
four inch roller, I buy the full length rollers and cut
them to fit the shorter roller handle.
-a small paint brush
-tape measure, yard stick, etc.
-10 foot long 3/4" pvc pipe
-carpenters pencil, sharpie marker, ink pen
-chalk line for easy straight lines
-mixing board for folding great stuff, this one is the

best as you can bend it to remove cured glue
-plastic spreader
-caulking gun for the PLpremium

-scissors
-razor knife
-bricks, paint cans, stacks of books etc. something

heavy enough to hold the PVC pipe bend in place
1. werner 250 wallpaper tool, scoring the foam, more than one pass does an even better job
Step 2: A Pile of Parts
start by copying the lines on the paper plan onto the measure out and trace the bulkheads (make sure you
foam, this step is important, a wrong line here could clearly mark the center line of each bulkhead from top
cause a lopsided boat later on, this is where you to bottom) so that you have all four as shown in the
really must "measure twice, cut once". plans. since the mouse plan is drawn for a sheet of
I use a 10 foot length of 3/4" PVC pipe to mark my 1/4" plywood and we are working with 1" foam, you
curved lines. I use bricks to hold the pipe in place will need to cut an inch off each end of the bulkheads,
then trace the shape. bow, and stern. Otherwise your bottom panels won't
be wide enough.
Once the panels have been marked out, only cut out
the side panels (you did label them as you drew If you do goof and make a panel the wrong shape, the
them, right?) you will notice the instructions say to easy fix is to glue the cut back together with GG, then
only cut out one side panel, take this panel, flip it over cut to the correct shape. Always save your waste
to the other side and trace it on the other sheet of sections until the hull is 3D. Once the boat is coated,
foam to get the second side. make sure you put the sheathed and painted no one should be able to see
marked up side against the marked up side for all the goofed section.
sanding and tracing operations. Draw the two bulkheads and cut them as shown in
the drawing in the gallery. save the rest of the sheet
clamp the side panels together, I used drywall for decks.
screws, then use the sureform to even out the lumps
and bumps until both panel edges are even.
Step 3: Going 3D
this is the exciting step, in a very short time the boat Now draw the ends in and screw them into the bow
takes its shape. and stern bulkheads, you will find this easier to do if
you profile the ends of the bulkheads to match the
take your two side panels, unclamp them, put them curve of the sidewalls. I used duct tape to hold every
on the ground or sawhorses if you don't want sore thing together at the corners.
knees. Make sure the bow end of each is facing the
same direction, and the marked up sides face in Once again the 1" foam causes another problem,
toward each other. when we shortened the bulkheads we didn't recut
them to the new end dimensions (notice the gap
take your bulkheads and line them up with the under the sureform), it will help if you mark where the
bulkhead station lines you made on the sidewalls, two panels meet at the bottom edge, then draw a new
align the top edges so they are all even (they will line line from there to the point of the V on the center line,
up on the bottom as you are building upside down) then cut the bulkhead to the new dimension.
use two long drywall screws to anchor each
bulkhead. Once again you are dealing with 1" foam I used the sureform to taper the bottom edge of the
so put your bulkheads forward of the mark at the foam sidewalls to match the angle the bottom will
forward bulkhead, and aft of the mark at the aft meet them, you can wait to do this until you have the
bulkhead. bottom ready to go on.
Step 4: Now It All Gets Messy
(wear clothes you don't care about ruining for this marshmallow fluff, to mayonase like, and even
step, and wear gloves, I'm a mechanic for a living, so mustard. the last two stages are the ones to work
if I walk around with black patches on my hands with, depending on how large of a gap you need to
nobody is surprised, other lines of work this could be fill.
a problem, once the glue cures onto your skin, it won't
come off easily) you can clean the metal board with kerosene, or other
solvents, or once cured, flex the board and chip the
Great Stuff (GS) is an expanding foam sealer sold at glue off.
home centers as a quick and easy way to stop air
leaks into your home. It is not water proof, it will soak On the one inch foam edge, a 1/2 inch bead of
up tons of water and hold it, but since I'm not using it mustard like GS was more than enough to fill the gap
to fill a void it will work for what I want, filling gaps up and ooze out. Once the joint is in place I used coarse
to one inch (advertised on the can) and gluing the thread drywall screws to pin everything together, on
foam panels together. We don't want the expanding joints seeing tension on the screw, I used duct tape to
properties though, so we need to knock the foam make sure the screws didn't pull out.
down.
Once all the joints were together I went back and
Start by spraying the foam onto the metal mixing scraped out any oozed out glue with the bondo
board, take a plastic bondo spreader and "fold" the spreader, this saves sanding later.
foam back on itself. Each time you fold it, some of the
air will come out, the foam will change from fluffy, to
1. great stuff, used as the glue for the main hull

2. bondo spreader, for "folding" the foam
Step 5: No Glass Bottomed Boat
as you can see from the first picture in this step, once the bottom panel now.
the GS was cured, the screws and tape were
removed, and I could balance the frame of the boat I used the duct tape to hold the panels tight together,
on one pinky. then used screws to hold the edges of the bottom
tight against the frame.
Of all the mice I've built, the restl have had a flat
bottom, If you end up building one, don't make a flat I then used a drywall saw to trim the edges of the
bottomed mouse! they are slow. bottom panels that were left uncut when I cut out the
side panels. leaving a small ledge of extra foam for
This was my first V bottomed mouse, and I wanted as final trimming. This is the time to check the shape of
tight of a seam for the center of the V as possible. the bevel where the sides and bottom meet..
This took a bunch of shaping with the sureform, but I
ended up with a seam that was tight. Make sure the Once I was happy with the bevels and the overall fit
frame of the boat is straight, I marked the centerline of the bottom I removed one half of the bottom and
of each frame before cutting them out. With the boat glued it on with more GS, using tape and screws to
hull assembled and lying upside down it was easy to hold it all in place. Then I removed the other half and
see if the centerlines all lined up. Making the bottom glued it on. duct tape along the V seam would have
panels line up with these center lines helped with keep the GS from foaming so badly on the inside, on
making the center seam straight. the outside extra foaming is fine as it can all be
sanded off easily.
shape the bulkheads, bow, stern, and sides to meet
Step 6: Taking Off the Rough Edges
After the GS cured, I removed the drywall screws, GS, when I was removing the excess, it tended to
and used the sureform to remove all the extra foam come out in one chunk, taking some foam with it.
GS that oozed out of the joints. (I call it the beard) Folded GS cures to a easier to work consistancy.
Both glues expand as they cure, keep any joints
As an experiment I used gorilla glue (GG) to fill the clamped, weighted, taped, and pinned to keep them
holes left behind by the screws. this caused from pushing things apart.
problems, GG cures to a tougher consistancy than
Step 7: Rebar
I like to think of this as the rebar stage. If you watch stress from the feet of the paddler as they get in and
concrete structures being poured, you will notice a out. The teardrop site "experts" suggested using
grid of metal bars being put in place inside the forms, "chipboard", large sheets of lightweight cardboard,
concrete has little strenght in tension, and massive like you have on the back of a pad of paper. I couldn't
amounts in compression. The metal rebar in the find this in any stores near me.
concrete gives it strength in tension. I finally used cardboard from the back of pads of
paper (we use many forms at work, I just saved the
As I said before, foam is strong in compression, but backs from the forms). As you know cardboard is not
weak in tension . Pull on a foam joint and the top waterproof, but with the addition of the "MIX" 1/3
layer of the foam will just tear away. Roughing the mineral spirits mixed with 2/3 oil based polyurethane
foam up with the werner 250 adds more depth to the floor sealer, the cardboard becomes waterproof. you
glue bond, but even this is really more to resist can make a carboard bucket that will hold water and
peeling, it does very little to give the foam more not fall apart if you treat it with the "MIX". I perforated
strength in tension. the cardboard panels with the werner 250, glued them
to the floor with TBII. Once the TBII cured I treated
Now we add the rebar, in this case, a fabric skin. The the cardboard with the MIX, making it waterproof.
skin will take the tension, especailly at the GS joints Some scuffing of the cardboard surface to give the
which are the weakest link in the hull. I actually broke TBII some tooth, and a layer of fabric covers it all. As
one joint just moving the boat around, some GG long as you don't jump on the floor on the land, it will
brushed into the joint sealed it all back together. be strong enough.
I reinforced the inside seams of the boat with 4 inch The ends of the boat will become air boxes, mostly
wide "tapes" of fabric, glued on with TitebondII (TBII). used to keep the boat on the surface of the water is it
Since inside the ends won't be exposed to the sun, is swamped. This is over kill in a boat made of foam,
they were left with bare foam other than the tapes. the empty hull itself has enough bouyancy to keep the
boat up. I ended up making the end boxes into
The cockpit will see the main stress of the hull, it storage compartments with large hatches.
needs to support the paddler, and will see the most
Step 8: Rails
since the sides of the cockpit are just 1" foam, I knew sides of the boat up perfectly. I used left over scraps
it wouldn't stand up to much force. tied to the roof of of plywood from another project, you could also use 5
the car the load put on the rails by carrier bars and gallon bucket stir sticks, or cheap wooden yard or
straps would dent the foam badly, a paddler leaning meter sticks. My local Home Depot gives the stir
on the rail could split the side of the boat. To fight this sticks free at the paint counter.
I added plywood rails to the top of each side of the
cockpit. GLued on with GG, the rails stiffened the
Step 9: Decks
One of the great design features of the mouseboat is bottom of the deck, and a foam deck supporting
the sealed air boxes, these give a great safety block. The handles are strong enough to hang the
margin, even full of water the boat will not sink. Since boat from, and keep the boat secure on the car roof at
this boat is made of foam, it is already unsinkable. highway speeds. boat handles instructable
The decks give the hull the strength it needs, and
give a secure place for storage. I added gama seal deck hatches. The gama seal lid is
a water and air tight, screw off lid found made by the
you will see I tried a different deck and hatch design gama seal company. They are designed to snap onto
to start with. My first idea was decks of 1" foam with the top of a standard 5 gallon bucket, making it air
simple hatches cut in them. the hatches had beveled and water tight with an easy to remove lid.
edges to hold them up, and a fabric hinge.
By cutting away the outer lip of the snap on ring,
The first day we tried it, my dad put his elbow through removing the O ring, and then trimming the edge flush
a hatch, cracking it in half. Since he wanted the boat, with the bottom of the groove, I made the bucket lids
he also wanted a tougher deck. into deck hatches.
I tried plywood decks, but they proved to be heavy. I Use the ring to mark the foam, cut the foam to a
went back to foam decks, I added triangular blocks of circle, then trim it to ensure a fairly snug fit.
foam, glued to the sides with the wide end of the
triangle up to support the deck, then glued the decks DO NOT GLUE THE RING IN NOW!!! I did and now
on with GS. I added my simple boat handles to each will have to figure out how to get the fabric edge tight
end. I melted a series of holes in each end of the to the ring.
strap, then sandwiched the inner ends between the
Step 10: Wrapping the Mummy
In reality we are almost making a skin on frame boat, the fabric to stick without lifting. Since the sides are
the foam is the frame, but the real strength is the all curved due to the shape of the hull, when you glue
fabric, without it you have a very fragile box that could the edge down to the next panel it will tend to have
come apart at any moment. wrinkles. I found the best way to take care of this, but
you won't need to deal with that until we get to the
I used bedsheet cotton as the skin, thinner than glue stage.
cotton drop cloth that I used in the poor man's
fiberglass instructable. cut all of your fabric panels for the outside of the hull,
I used the thinner fabric to save weight. then lay them aside, in order, from the bottom panels
to the top panels. Once the glue is in the roller and
I cut each fabric panel a couple inches wider than pan, you want to do the covering in one shot, I chose
each foam panel, this overlap will give each joint to do the top of the decks first, then the sides, bow
more strength. when I was smoothing the hull out, I and stern, and finally cover the bottom panels last.
rounded each corner over, this makes it easier to get
Step 11: All Hands on Deck!
Now it is time to glue the fabric skin on. This step is As I showed before, I cut gores into the edges of
where your preplanning will make or break you. Make some panels, then I got lazy and just left the overlaps
sure you have all of the fabric cut to shape, and make uncut. when glueing them down, wrinkles would form,
sure it is laid out in a way that you remember what I would cut the top of the wrinkle with the razor, then
goes where. glue both edges down flat. this is much easier and
faster, and you don't end up with extra cuts where
I started with the decks first, the sides, bow and stern, you don't need them.
then the bottom. The cockpit was left for last.
I rolled a bit more glue onto the fabric where it would
Before gluing, make sure all foam surfaces are be under a joint, you want these overlaps to be fully
perforated. glued, they are the real strength of the boat.
Otherwise no extra glue is needed.
First roll on a thin coat of glue, you can tell you have
enough glue, when every pore in the foam caused by Once the fabric is glued onto each deck, and the glue
perforations, has a dot of glue in it. then work the has cured, use a razor knife to cut the fabric on the
fabric into the glue with gloved hands, remove any edge of the deck hatch holes. Using PLpremium
bumps or wrinkles and stretch and smooth the fabric adhesive, glue the rings into the decks of the boat.
into the glue. Since I put the glue on thin and sticky, screw the lids in, and put weights on them to help
the fabric stuck fast quickly, allowing me to go right them stay seated until the glue is cured.
on to the next panel.
Step 12: Keeping It Straight
since the mouse is a short wide boat, paddling will bending, a skeg sees side loads most of the time,
tend to make it wander from side to side as you go, or even with a fabric skin, the foam would fail from
just spin around in circles. A skeg is the answer, a paddling or hitting rocks or trees.
short fin running from about the deepest part of the
hull back to the stern. This became another point for some wood
reinforcement, I glued a strip of wood along the top of
search through the waste sections of foam until you the skeg, trimming it to fit exactly, and another that
find a section that will run from the deepest part of the runs down the back of the boat and the trailing edge
hull center V back to the stern so that is will be as of the skeg. together they keep the skeg from
deep at the stern as it is in the middle of the boat. I bending. I used more GG to glue them on.
found a piece that was close enough, with a bit of
fitting it worked. However foam is not strong in
Step 13: SPLASH!
After applying fabric to the inside of the cockpit, I then over what ever it was, instead of backing off, or
painted the whole boat with exterior house paint, in tipping the hull to float off. Then I went back to the
my favorite color. shore and checked out the damage.
My parents have a small pond behind their house, we no tears in the fabric, no scratches in the paint, just
were all getting together for the weekend there some long shallow trenches in the foam surface. The
anyway, so I launched Seafoam, and we all enjoyed faomies all know small dents like hail damage, or
the rest of the mice on the pond. grooves from tree branches are easy to remove from
a foamie trailer, just put a thin towel over the damage,
Being a joker, I also brought foam scraps left over and using a steam iron, iron the divots out. TBII and
from building. after the picture of the boat on one foam are both activated by heat, they swell up, and
hand (15 lbs!) I had my daughter take another picture are put into shape by the iron.
of me standing in the lake with the off cuts floating
around me. I told the foamies on TnTTT.com, I'd My dad tried the boat out, of course we raced, I had
named the boat "titanic", was it the name!? some of one of my flat bottomed mice, and could just barely
them believed me and couldn't figure out what went pull ahead of him paddling flat out. He has had a
wrong. couple heart operations, has a few more pounds on
me, and isn't a regular paddler like I am. The V
Meanwhile I launched Seafoam, got a picture in the bottom is just faster!
boat, then took her out for a spin. On the water the
weight isn't noticed, the V bottom is a bit faster That evening I checked back in with the foamies, one
though. After a bit of chasing the kids in their mice, of them had finally questioned if that was really parts
and exploring the stump and rock infested edges of of the boat floating around. I had a good laugh and
the pond, I began to trust the strength of the hull. I shared the pictures of Seafoam afloat.
went looking for stuff to run up on, then forced the hull
Step 14: Now That You Want to Build One
Get the plans, since Gavin Atkin is such a nice guy, This past summer Seafoam has been on many trips,
giving the plans away free, and also giving tons of including a camping trip in the Adirondacks, where
advice on line for free (though not on foamies) do him the only access is by boat. The deck hatches come in
a favor, he published a book and that is the only very handy for this. We each have a bucket or two
money he gets from the whole deal. Buy a copy and with our clothes in them, when it is time to launch we
in it you will find plans for a bunch more boats to fire just unscrew the deck hatch, stuff as much smaller
the imagination and get you started. (you can't build loose gear into the cargo tank as possible, then drop
just one boat!) a bucket in the ring in the deck. We also carried our 5
gallon drinking water jug in a ring the same way. The
I've already gotten pictures of other foam kayaks, Gama seal lids are carried in the cockpit for the trip
including a mouseboat, in the comments on my out and back.
Sawfish foam kayak I'ble, from a builder far away.
As you can see, I still haven't finished putting the
As far as tweaks to make the mouse better, I ended fabric inside the cockpit or on the new decks. I will get
up adding a rib of foam 1" deep and 1" wide the full around to it someday, but I have other projects going
length of the center seam. this has helped the boat on, and this boat does just fine without the skin on the
track much better, it runs back and along the top of decks.
the skeg. Such a short boat just needs more to help it
go straight.
Step 15: Gearing Up
As soon as you start planning to build a boat, you done many two hour paddles without my seat going
also need to keep an eye out for the gear to use it numb. every other seat I've tried left me sore and
safely. numb. amazon and ebay are the best source for
them, unless you live near an ocean state job lots
three things are an absolute must: store, they sell them for much less money, without the
-a life jacket, while there are many cheap ones, a life Oniva name.
jacket meant for paddling is worth the money.
the arm holes will be bigger to avoid chafing, it should a large car wash sponge works best to remove water
have pockets for your whistle, and there should be in the boat.
more areas open for ventilation, as paddling is work
that warms you up. Try some on at a walmart or I always carry my phone in the boat for safety. I also
boating store, if the prices or scare you off, or they use the here app for data free GPS positioning and
don't have paddling ones, Amazon and Ebay, even maps. GPS trip recorder is another free app I use to
Craigslist are good options. track where I've been, as well as time, speed, and
distance.
I keep the phone in a phone dry bag that allows me to
-a paddle, you can make your own, here are a few hear music, and take pictures through it. it will float if
different ideas, an inexpensive one, a greenland dropped into the water.
style, or an eskimo style, there are plenty of DIY
paddle plans for free on the web also. get a good paddling hat, bring sun glasses, sun
screen, bug repellent, bandages (great for blisters),
I have a variety, mostly from Amazon.com,because and a waterproof camera on a floating strap.
the price was best, but now I find Walmart has then in
the fishing and boating department for even less never forget a water bottle!
money. For a better selection check out the walmart
website with free shipping to your nearest store. share pictures of your mouseboat on the Mouseboats
I prefer blades that are brightly colored, as they tend facebook page, church of the double bladed paddle
to flash in the sun, increasing your safety on the facebook page, duckworks facebook page, and send
water through better visibility. a picture of the launch to duckworksmagazine.com
I keep all of my paddles in one paddle quiver bag to for the Splash page. Enjoy!
protect them and keep them organized.
-a seat. the Oniva seat is the best I've found, I have
Step 16: Hall of Fame
I may have mentioned that I got the idea of fabric around with his 30 lb thrust motor. He also showed
covered foam from the teardrop building site his own hatch idea, the tops of beer brewing
tnttt.com, from a man who goes by the name GPW. I containers.
built this boat, and many more foam boats, to figure
out the best ways to build my own foam camper. I -Normally I know someone is very interested in
never expected anyone to want to build a foam building because they start asking serious questions
mouseboat, so I didn't share much about it for the first instead of the usual "will it float" type questions that
year I had it. When I finally made and released the lead me to believe they didn't bother to read the
instrucatable I was shocked by the response. I had whole thing before announcing that fact to all of us.
33,000 hits in just a few days, and the numbers just The white Mouseboat was the fourth foam boat I
keep jumping every day. received pictures of, as far as I know, he didn't ask
me anything first, just went ahead and built a great
Thanks to all of you for your interest, and for the votes boat! The board across the back is a long board type
that brought this instructable a 1st place win in the skateboard. I would love to see a picture of him
hand tools contest! cruising on his board towing the mouse on the dolly
he built!
I was even more surprised by the short time it took for
builders to start sending me shots of their foam David Cutts has been working on his foam
mouseboats. mouseboat for a few months, his quality of build and
detailed paint job make my boats look ugly in
-The first one was the yellow and blue one, from a comparison. He told me he was interested in using
builder in Eastern Europe somewhere, he used 3 cm his mouseboat to get close to wildlife for great
foam, with plywood for the decks, and my strap and pictures.
pipe handles. He also sent me a picture of his FOF
(fabric on foam) version of a Nick Schade Ganymede, If you share your pictures in the comments below, I
the kayak design he gives away free for adults. would love to share them to show everyone else. If
you have a name for your boat, I would love to hear it,
-The second one is the yellow one, all the way from and a general idea of what state or country you are in.
Nigeria. I like how he even copied my original hatch I know the glues I used are not easy to find in every
idea. part of the world, if you found a local product that
worked instead, sharing that info will help the next
-The third light blue one, is from Australia. Remember guy find options.
how I got the FOF idea from GPW, well he got it from
foam RC air plane flying. The builder in Australia
knows GPW from the web, and has flown some of Wow! Five mouseboats built in less than five months!
those foam airplanes! He added a foam and wood All of you are awesome!
bracket to the read deck to allow a trolling motor to be
clamped on. He included a video of his boat, zipping
Hi,
I came across 'mouse boats' on Pinterest, but the link went to 'Rowerwet' and on his plans the
numbers are unreadable. The link to the Yahoo group doesn't work - does it exist any more?
Yes, your foam Mouseboat works well. Mine boat is 34 lbs. I doubled the foam sides in the cockpit,
and the ribs. I used only PL Premium to glue everything.
Bunge cords hold the hatches down. I have yet to try the motor mount
Not quite sure how to add the photos, I'll work on that
Do you think Tyvek can also be used as a covering material?
I have not tested tyvek, the slippery, plasticity feel of the surface lead me to believe it would not
stick to the glue very well
you're a genius
Well, I'm about to start. I couldn't read the fisher mouse plans; so, I plan on doing the Flats Rat
instead. I want to alter it slightly to be 4 ft wide. I'd like some room for fishing gear, bait bucket, etc.
I'm putting a hatch in the front and plan on reinforcing the rear deck somehow so that I can sit on it
to fish. My Home Depot did not have enough of the 1" foam...so, I need to check out Lowe's
tomorrow. If I understand right, the blue foam there is fine to use, correct?
Small human powered boats come in standard widths, under 36" wide is standard for kayaks,
anything wider than that requires a very long paddle.
48" wide is where standard width row boats start. Standard meaning that they don't have out
riggers for the oar locks.
Unless you are only going to use a motor for propulsion, I believe that you will find it awkward to
paddle at 48" wide that is why I recommend stabilizer floats for standing.
I see what you are saying. I was thinking of using a troll motor at times. I guess I will just make it
narrower and add some kind of stabilizer. I am guessing the Flats Rat will be more stable than the
Fishing Mouse due to the flat bottom, right? I understand it will be slower, but, when fishing, I like
to take my time anyway!! My main desire is to have something to stand in at times. We'll see...I'll
keep you posted!!
And the blue foam is the same stuff, just a different manufacturer.
I would make the boat longer for extra stability and gear holding, rather than wider.
My nephews like to sit on the rear decks in their mice, this causes the stern to squat, and the boat
to go slower
Thanks for the info. I think I will try this! I have a kayak that I love fishing out of, but I can't stand
and fish out of my kayak. The stand and fish ones are much more expensive. I weigh around 220
lbs. Do you think the foam fisher will be ok for standing in? I'm not looking to stand and fish
constantly; just on occasion to stretch my legs, since I fish for 4-5 hours at a time on my kayak. If
you don't think the foam fisher will be good to stand in, do you think adding a 1/4" plywood bottom
on the inside of the boat for flooring would be better for me, or should I just build a wood frame out
of ply and just wrap it with the fabric & paint??
Thanks again for the info. This boat is light and sweet!!!
I would recommend the fisherman's mouseboat plan for you, done in foam, I recommend a second
layer of foam glued to the cockpit floor for strength.
Using canvas over the foam inside the cockpit will make it strong enough to stand on without
punctures
Wow, very stable and moves much better in the water than i expected. Thanks for all the advice
and help!!
That's beautiful!! Can you stand in it??
I can stand up in the original, though I find you must be agile to pull it off as an adult because the
boat is so light.
Back in July i ran 10 miles on the Saco River in seafoam. At one beach area a group was admiring
her, so I spun around to show how easily she can spin in place, which is good on a whitewater
river, and then stood up in her as I drifted backwards on the river. They were impressed.
I didn't tell them that actually seafoam is not a great boat for whitewater as the center of the v
bottom kept grounding out in shallow water that my family in their foam kayaks were skating right
through.
I found that the trick was to scoot as far into the front of the cockpit as possible, this reduces how
deeply the boat sits in the water.
I dont know, i havent tried it....yet!!
Either way..it's still a sweet boat!! I really want to build something like this. I love your paint job by
the way!!
Awesome! I love the paint job and finish.

I hope you enjoy many hours in your boat and that it gets you many great pictures.
Thank you! Ill post another picture when i get the blind finished.
Done...putting it in the water tomorrow!!!
Looks great! Can't wait to see it on the water, congratulations!
Thanks for the help!!! I'll post pictures of it in the water tomorrow. If it floats!!
Where can I find a link to a a printable copy of the Fisherman ' Mouseboafh
Actually it is already there, try viewing the instructable on a computer, it is downloadable on mine.
If not i could Email it to you
If you are using a tablet or phone, tap the link in the text, switch to the desktop version of Facebook
(menu option way down the list in facebook mobile ) then you can download the picture from
Facebook.
On a computer click the link and then download the plan.
I'll try to add the plan to this Instructable
Almost finished!!!
Can't wait to see it in the water!
Well...got the handles in (cut a hole in top decks) and started laying out and gluing down the
canvas. Ive learned something about myself during this last process. I cant cut a straight line if my
life depended on it.
I have to use a straight edge myself, but that is part of the beauty of foam, it is easier to sand into
shape and patch than wood.
I did good on the foam. Its the dang canvas!!! Its ugly!!
The paint hides a lot of it also
you can sand the edges once they are painted, or use body filler, like car shops do to fair the
seams
You might want to try using a product by the Glidden paint brand called Gripper. It is an
exterior/interior primer sealer. It can be used as a glue for xps foam board to itself or to wood. Just
did a few test samples and I am amazed. Check out a youtube video from 2012 by scaryladyvideos
titled styro wars: styrofoam glue tests.
It is usually more expensive, and doesn't have the heat moldable properties of TBII.
I did test it in my prep work before my first foam kayak, seafoam
Done with the cover...now on to the paint!!!
Looks great, I'm always amazed at how much work it is to finish a boat, compared to the total build
time.
Another idea would be to add a second layer of foam to the bow and stern with the handle strap
ends sandwiched between. A longer boat should be better.
Is there a big reason you don't want hatches? I find them very useful for gear I want to keep dry, or
not worry about loosing.
For lunches and drinks it keeps them out of the sun.
This boat will have a blind on top for photography. I wont be able to get to the hatches.
Ah, I get it! I would suggest cutting small doors into the cockpit bulkheads, allowing you to get into
them for attaching handlrs, and increasing the useable space in the cockpit. Otherwise I would
expect photographic equipment and paddling gear would make the space crowded.
The other idea I had tonight was to cut holes in the decks similar to the way I made my first set of
foam hatches, then glue them shut after you are done.
At least one of my mice is twisted, unless you look close you can't see it, and the boat goes
straight anyway.
I got the twist out. Added the covers and reinforced the bottom...again. Question...do I add the
handles before or after I cover the boat?
I would do them before the fabric, that way you can get the foam and glue smoothed out before
wrapping.
I used blocks of foam glued to the bottom of the deck to sandwich the ends of the straps.
I already have the decks on. Can I glue the foam blocks to the top of the decks?
depends on how you want it to look, if you added the deck hatches, you could work through the
holes, making small slots with a steak knife for the straps.
just remember that the real strength of the hull is the fabric wrapper, the straps need to be
anchored in the foam inside the wrapper.
Crap....i wasnt going to put hatches in.
One step closer
Lookin' good!
Finished my Mouse, i realy like it. Im interested in some Modifications you can do to the Boat
Looks great! do you have a name for your boat, and can you give me a general location, like your
state or country. the designer, Gavin Atkin, likes to know just for the fun of it.
I shared your pictures on the Mouseboats facebook page also
I really haven't done much to my boat besides paddle it. The beauty of foam is that you can create
anything you can imagine with it.
I would recommend looking for DIY fishing kayak mods on forums or the Facebook page "kayak
diy and tutorials".
I did give a list of ideas I found on Instructables.com in my sawfish instructable.

Seafoam Kayak The Unsinkable Foam Kayak Anyone Can

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instructables

1. 15 pound boat (after paint, here it weighed 13 lbs)

-screwdriver if you use drywall screws

-a small paint brush

-tape measure, yard stick, etc.

-10 foot long 3/4" pvc pipe

-carpenters pencil, sharpie marker, ink pen

-chalk line for easy straight lines

-mixing board for folding great stuff, this one is the

-caulking gun for the PLpremium

-bricks, paint cans, stacks of books etc. something

1. great stuff, used as the glue for the main hull

-a seat. the Oniva seat is the best I've found, I have

Do you think Tyvek can also be used as a covering material?

I dont know, i havent tried it....yet!!

Awesome! I love the paint job and finish.

Looks great! Can't wait to see it on the water, congratulations!

The paint hides a lot of it also

Crap....i wasnt going to put hatches in.

One step closer

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