Make your own DIY surfski or kayak submarine for a boat parade



My surfski decorating choice for the 14th Annual River Lights Boat Parade was the "Santa Sub" a 23 foot Christmas lighted submarine look alike to honor the Veterans of Pearl Harbor.

Pictures to help anyone easily make your own boat parade PVC and vinyl kayak submarine. The base is made of 1" PVC and pool noodles. Ribs are light PVC held in position with cross tied cable ties and grooved into the base PVC,  all joints fixed with goop adhesive, the exterior is disposable PVC table clothes and duct tape. The sub is outlined in lights and interior lights as well.  I recently built this submarine for the River Lights Boat Parade in New Port Richey Florida.  I paddled this downstream to the parade start with kids saying, "look Daddy a submarine!"  It won 2nd place so it's definitely very unique.  I suggest that you cut the catch a few feet further forward to get a longer and more correct stroke or close it and use a short paddle inside.  Another option is to close the side and paddle it is inside with a single paddle like an OC-1 outrigger.  I used an Epic v10L surfski so there was plenty of space to paddle inside if I had not cut the openings in the side for my wing paddle.  The exterior is very durable but thin enough to allow my interior light shows to make the entire hull flash with changing colors.  I place navigational red/green light on the bow and on the top a white light.  I outlined the entire length of the hull, top, and tail with red led lighting with a mixed with solid and fading lighting for variety.  I hope this helps give you some ideas in how to build your own submarine, flying saucer, insect or other great creation using just your kayak and a few inexpensive products you can get at a local home improvement store.

Total supplies:7 pool noodles, six 10 foot 1" PVC pipes, 4 rolls of duct tape, 30 thin cable ties, one tube of goop, 9 disposable vinyl table clothes, a few strips of gorilla tape or black duct tape for window accents.  Also needed are two kayak straps like you would hold your kayak on your roof rack to use in pulling both side together creating an adjustable tension for the base.  Do not strap this to your hull.  This will be a free floating structure that will sit on top of your kayak thus the adjustable straps for the bottom so that you can get a custom fit to any size hull.  Getting in and out is easy.  You can slide in & out of the side hole or a partner can lift the sub cover for you to get in and out.










Comments

  1. UnknownFebruary 6, 2014 at 10:33 AM

    That is hands down the best one-person boat float I’ve seen as of today! How long did it take for you to make it? It looks pretty well-made. It’s good that nothing fell out or got dislodged while you were paddling along the parade, but I guess the straps and tapes helped out quite well.

    Thelma

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  2. Steve HunterFebruary 6, 2014 at 12:49 PM

    Thanks I had fun making it for the Dec 7th Pearl Harbor Day christmas parade. I built it in about week. The ribs were slipped into grooves I cut into the PVC pipe with a screw driver flat tip and a hammer. They were held tight with waterproof glue. Choosing good glue or waterproof epoxy and securing the cable tied ribs with glue too made the frame rigid and durable. The vinyl cloth wrapped over stayed on well with white duct tape. I cut holes in the body to let wind in which kept me cool inside and kept it from becoming a sail. The most important thing is to get enough pool noodles on the bottom. I prefer the really fat ones.

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