27 Homemade Pontoon Boat Plans You Can DIY Easily

Pontoon boats are expensive to buy, but making one yourself can be simple and affordable, allowing you to save a whole lot of cash at the same time as tackling a highly rewarding project.

For anyone who thinks they might like to have a go, we’ve had a look online to see what other people have been trying – and as a result, here are our favorite 27 DIY pontoon boat plans you might like to recreate at home.

1. 5 Simple Steps to Build Your Own Custom Pontoon Boat – BetterBoat Boating Blog

If you’re wondering why you should build a pontoon boat, this blog has several good reasons that should help convince you to try. And once you’ve made up your mind to give it a go, it also explains the five main steps you need to know for completing your project. Intrigued? Then head over to the blog and check it out!

Check More Details

 

2. Homemade Cooler Fishing Boat with Foldable Pontoons

Here’s a super-fun DIY pontoon fishing boat we just love. It features a simple design and can best be described as an armchair floating on three coolers. However, that’s pretty much all you need for a great fishing trip, so if you’re looking for an enjoyable boat-building project to tackle, this could be the ideal option.

 

3. DIY Pontoon Boat: How to Build a Pontoon Boat? – Boating Buddy

As this post reminds us, pontoon boats can be surprisingly expensive, and even buying a second-hand one is likely to set you back a whole lot of money. However, you can save yourself a lot of cash by building your own, and this plan teaches you how to do just that. There’s plenty of detail, and you’ll find lots of photos too, so you’ll have all the ideas and inspiration to start a boat build of your own.

Check More Details

 

4. Building a Wood Pontoon Boat in 4 Days

According to these YouTubers, you can build an amazing pontoon boat just like theirs in no more than four days. That means you can go from having no boat to being a boat owner in half a week. Want to know how that’s possible? Then check out their video to see how they did it!

 

5. Homemade Pontoon Boat: 8 Steps (with Pictures) – Instructables

The best thing about pontoon boats is they are among the easiest types of boats to build, so according to your level of skill – and your ambition – there’s a whole range of styles you can attempt. That means that even if you just want a functional boat that will allow you to play about on the water, there are plans that will allow even novice DIYers to build one, and if that sounds like you, this is the plan that will teach you everything you need to know.

Check More Details

 

6. Homemade Pontoon Boat in Vietnam – Part 1

This video shows you how a group of DIYers in Vietnam made their own high-quality pontoon boat. The video is a little lacking in detail, but anyone with a reasonable amount of DIY know-how will be able to work it out, so if you think you’re up to the challenge, you can have a go at building something just like theirs at home.

 

7. How to Make Your Own DIY Pontoon Boat – Pontoon Family

We love the pontoon boat in the photo at the top of this post. It’s kitted out with a table, chairs, storage and even a canopy to keep the rain or the sun off your head. Building something like this would be quite an ambitious project, but this post also has a few suggestions and ideas for tackling it – so if you’re interested in trying, this is a blog that’s worth a read.

Check More Details

 

8. How Much Did My Custom Pontoon Boat Cost?

If you’re interested in building a DIY pontoon boat, you’re probably wondering about how much it’s likely to cost you. Of course, that will depend on the type of project you decide to tackle and the level of sophistication of the boat you try to build. However, in this video, this YouTuber tells us about the cost for the pontoon boat rebuild he attempted, which should at least give you an idea of the kind of price range to expect if you try something similar.

 

9. Build Your Own Pontoon Houseboat and Escape to Open Waters – Tinyhousefor.us

In this blog post, you’ll learn all about pontoon houseboats, what they are and how to build them. Houseboats offer you the ultimate level of freedom, allowing you to escape onto the water and then stay there for as long as you like. And if you want to have a go at building one of your own, this blog has the details you need.

Check More Details

 

10. DIY PVC Pipe Pontoon Boat in 1 Day

If you can’t even spare four days to build your pontoon boat like the guys in #4, this might be a better option for you because it teaches you how to build a boat in just a single day. It’s an extremely simple design, but then again, why overcomplicate things? A boat like this is ideal for calm lakes or gentle rivers, and if that’s what you need it for, this could be the perfect solution.

 

 

11. This DIYer Found a Boat He Liked in the PopSci Archives. Then he built it.

This is a post we enjoyed reading. It tells you about Tom, a retiree who wanted a pedal boat to explore the waters around his new Virginia home. And instead of buying one, he looked up some plans for an old 1940s model and built one himself. It was a great success too, and if you want to see how it went, give it a read to find out!

Check More Details

 

12. My $200 Homemade Pontoon Boat

The style and quality of any boat you build will depend on your budget, but if you have around $200 to spend, you can expect to build yourself something more than respectable. For anyone looking to spend that kind of money, this video is well worth a watch since it shows you the kind of thing you’ll be able to build – and shows you how to set about doing it.

 

13. How to DIY a Pontoon Boat – The Pontoon Boat

For anyone considering making a boat of their own, there’s much to consider – and if you don’t have any experience, there’s probably quite a lot that might not even occur to you. If that sounds like your situation, this post is essential reading since it tells you everything you need to know before you start. That way, you can be sure you’re taking on a project that has a good chance of ending in success.

Check More Details

 

14. DIY Pontoon Boat for the Bass Pond

The boat this father and son team make looks like it’s a whole lot of fun – it’s just perfect for taking out for fishing trips on the bass pond. It’s also relatively easy to build, so if you want to know how they did it, why not give their video a watch?

 

15. How to Build a Recumbent Pontoon Pedal Boat – Mother Earth News

In this post, you’ll find all the information you need for building a pontoon boat of your own, including the all-important details of which flotation devices to use. Pontoon boats are easy to make and lots of fun to own, and this tutorial will teach you how to make one.

Check More Details

 

16. This Aging Pontoon Boat got a Fabulous DIY Upgrade Boatbible.com

Sometimes, if you have an old boat that could just do with a bit of TLC, there’s no need to start building a new one from scratch – because giving a rundown model a makeover can save you a whole lot of time and money. That’s what this post is about because in it, we get to see how these guys gave their old pontoon boat a refurb – check out the results too because they did a spectacular job!

Check More Details

 

17. Homemade Pontoon Boat DIY Project

The opening shots of this video show you how much fun it can be to own a pontoon boat. It’s such a simple design, but it’s just perfect for lazy days messing about on the water. And if you want to know how to build one, you just need to keep watching – because this tutorial has all the details you need.

 

18. How to Construct an Overnight Pontoon Boat – Wikihow.com

If you’re not familiar with WikiHow, it’s a fantastic resource with how-to guides for doing just about anything you can think of – including how to build your own pontoon boat. All the posts on this site are high-quality, and as ever, this tutorial includes clear step-by-step instructions along with plenty of illustrations to help you make a success of your project. We love this site, and this is another guide that hasn’t let us down.

Check More Details

 

19. Build Your Own Pontoon Boat – PontoonBoats

This blog post is another invaluable resource for anyone interested in building a pontoon boat since it takes you through everything you’ll need to think of in plenty of detail. Building a boat can be a big job, but if you have all the necessary information before you start, you can still make a success of it – which makes this post essential reading for anyone considering it.

Check More Details

 

20. Pontoon Boat Build Part 1

Here’s a useful video we enjoyed watching. In it, this YouTuber takes us through the first phase of his one-person pontoon boat build. The first video deals with cutting and shaping the Styrofoam for the pontoons themselves – and if you want to find out how the rest of the project went, just check out the other videos in his series.

 

21. DIY PVC Pipe Pontoon Boat by Budget101.com

For anyone who dreams of having a boat of their own but who doesn’t have the budget, here’s a plan for an affordable DIY version that could be the ideal solution. It’s made of PVC piping, so it might not be the most beautiful boat on the lake – but as long as it floats, who cares?

 

22. Building a Fiberglass Mini-Pontoon Boat

This is a fascinating video to watch because in it, this YouTuber shows us how he turned some old, salvaged pontoons he acquired into a functional mini-pontoon boat. It looks like it was a fun project to attempt, and he can be proud of his achievement. And if you think you’re up to the challenge, you can have a go at doing something similar!

 

23. Can You Build Your Own Pontoon Boat? – Travel Experta

As this blog points out, there are many reasons why pontoon boats are among the top go-to options for amateur boatbuilders – including that they are safe, flexible and easy to make. You don’t need too much skill to build one, just a little determination – and if you think you might want to try, this blog post would be a great place to start.

Check More Details

 

24. How to Build a Pretty DIY/Homemade Pontoon Boat

A lot of the DIY pontoon boats we’ve seen look quite rough and ready, but this one is just pure class! It’s super-simple, but we love the way it nips around on the water, and it has a comfortable-looking table and chairs so you can relax while you travel. It’s quite easy to build too – and this tutorial teaches you how to get started.

 

25. How to Build a Cheap Pontoon Boat – Itstillruns.com

Functional pontoon boats can be made of inexpensive materials like PVC pipes or barrels, and that’s part of the beauty of them. As long as they don’t sink, they’re doing the job they were made for, and this is a plan for an affordable version that looks like it would be a lot of fun to own.

Check More Details

 

26. Homemade Pontoon Boat Part 1

This tutorial is the first instalment in a series of videos documenting how this YouTuber made a pontoon boat. It’s another great video showing how easy this kind of project can be, and for anyone who feels like trying, this video would be a good one to copy.

Check More Details

 

27. Pontoon Makeover: How to Update a Pontoon Boat – Cabinlife.com

This blog post doesn’t deal with building a boat from scratch but rather with upgrading an existing pontoon boat. However, if you’re interested in giving your old boat a new look, this post is recommended reading.

Check More Details

 

Loads of great ways to build a pontoon boat

As you can see, there are so many ways to build a pontoon boat, and you should be able to find something you can attempt, whatever your budget.

We’ve enjoyed finding these plans for you, so we hope you’ve enjoyed reading and watching them too. And above all, we hope we’ve helped you find the inspiration you needed for making a pontoon boat of your own.