How to Build a Recumbent Pedal Pontoon Boat

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MOTHER EARTH NEWS Staff

When the high summer sun brings on the sultry days of July and August, many people head for water to obtain relief from the heat — and the MOTHER EARTH NEWS research staff members are no exception. The lure of the 11-acre lake at our Eco-Village is a great temptation at this time of year. And as a result, our flotilla of unique pond craft has grown from a sailing and trolling canoe (Go Canoe Sailing!) to include a pedal pontoon boat that can be set up for a leisurely cruise or for prowling remote coves for bass.

In the spirit of “more from less,” Dennis Burkholder and Robyn Bryan have developed a switchable flotation system to which many different frames and/or decks can be rigged. And though we’ve pictured three versions here including one- and two-seat pedal boats and a fishing platform equipped with an electric trolling motor-we believe that these possibilities will merely open the hatch to even more creative ideas from inventive readers!

Consequently, we’re going to show you how Robyn and Dennis built their pontoons and then review the construction of one option: the one-person recumbent pedal frame. With that background, you should be able to adapt these designs to produce the pond vessel of your choice to suit your own needs. Check out our Boat Assembly Diagram, Tools, and Materials List before starting your project.

Flotation Devices

To achieve sufficient buoyancy for two adults, Dennis and Robyn decided to fabricate pontoons with cores made of solid expanded polystyrene foam (also known as bead board), rather than attempt to adapt the PVC sewer pipe and foam-bead floats they used on the outrigger canoe. The skin for each unit consists of quarter-inch plywood sides, a 1 by 12 deck, and aluminum flashing undersides. These materials are waterproofed and made rigid with a layer of fiberglass cloth and resin.

  • Published on Jul 1, 1983
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