How to make a streamlined bow for a barrel pontoon boat

This is the way I did the bow (divider) of my barrel pontoon boat. It cuts much better through water than most other barrel designs i found.
Another advantage is that it is water tight. So it acts as a float unlike most other solutions i have seen which will fill up with water.
To heat up the barrel or drum i used a heat gun. A hair dryer might not get hot enough. It should reach more than 100 degrees Celsius (212 Fahrenheit).
Parts used:
- The bent steel is from a standard 5cm x 5cm (2" x 2") angle steel
- To close the gap i used some poly foam (A stripe from a cheap camping matrass should do as well)
- The filler foam between the bottles is Polyurethane Foam (Not really necessary though)

[@ExploringCabinsandMines]

Nice cordless saw!

[@WETTKITTY]

Been looking for ideas for my single seater pontoon. Thank you! Only real men do all this barefoot. Big balls my guy.

[@bgradediy5267]

FYI: I learned later on that you can melt it together with a big hot iron. Instead of using the black foam. Never tried yet. But might be a better option. Haven't even realized i was barefoot till now. :)

[@0xKruzr]

@@bgradediy5267 was going to ask whether we knew what the melting point of this stuff was, since that gets you some real watertightness. thanks!

[@edsteve]

@@0xKruzr These drums are made from HDPE. Which can't be glued and very difficult to "melt" together. You need a big hot iron between the sides. Heating it up with a gas torch won't do the job. I tried.

[@0xKruzr]

@@edsteve thanks for the reply - by "big hot iron" do you mean a specific piece of industrial equipment?

[@edsteve]

@@0xKruzr They use these things for HDPE pipes: kzbin.info/www/bejne/q52Tn6iYatJrorM I guess two irons (for cloths) can do it somehow? I am just thinking out loud here :)

[@spikevalor]

you got another subscriber bro. This was an amazing video and as you were going through the design its 1/1 idea of something that ive been brewing on paper but havnt tried. Thank you for sharing! if i had the means i would donate but i work with recycled materials and do everything without charge.

[@vaiciceku]

Thank you for sharing, it was inspirational

[@haydensuperville1967]

Nice music Dude....Build On my Brother!!

[@MrRerod]

Pretty cool.. Wish welding the barrels completely together was easy..

[@mariacara820]

I am going to use Aluminum 2x2x 1/8 thick angle bars.

[@kendexter]

Genius

[@tegarkuncoroadhi5764]

Simple 👍

[@mariacara820]

EXCELLENT !

[@user-pi8vt7ut3n]

Такие пластиковые бочки очень дорого стоят- катамаран получится очень дорогой!!!

[@asilsilaen8996]

Up

[@mikegrant8490]

Before you put the steel on the joined sides of the bow part, did you fully heat seal all of the plastic seam? The inside PU foam is for adding flotation, approximately what percent of the volume does the foam and the bottles take up and does the foam take a semipermanent bond to the inside or can we expect that it will eventually work free? Nice informative video.

[@bgradediy5267]

Heat sealing would be the best option (instead of my foam sandwich solution) but I did not do any heat sealing. If you want to heat seal HDPE (High density polyurethane) you need a big hot iron and heat up both sides simultaneously which i don't have. Blow torch doesn't work. But the foam seems to be waterproof till now. I put the bottles inside just incase water will enter the drum. The PU foam is mainly there to keep the bottles together. So in case the drum fills with water. The bottles won't float on top. If something works free or how long all that will last needs to be found out. The boat is in the water since a few weeks without issues. But let's see what the future brings :)

[@mikegrant8490]

@@bgradediy5267 Thanks for the reply. I see your points. I've seen other videos where people are using repurposed electric ovens, heat guns, etc. to achieve heat sealing. Keep posting your results and progress. The PU foam seems to do what you expect with far less hassle. The tipping point of using heat seems to be a fine line between sealing and destruction of the material, indicating that it's more of a "laboratory controlled conditions" sort of thing. Thanks again and good luck! ⭕

[@sarcasmo57]

I want to make a similar shape using steel drums. Do you have any advice?

[@riddle58]

Do you have finished boat pic?

[@bgradediy5267]

Was outside the country for a while. But going back soon and start building within the next month or so. With another quick video if i am not too lazy :)

[@austenlejeune2599]

What was the dark liquid

[@bgradediy5267]

This is PU Foam. Normally sold in sprays used in construction sights. But you can also just buy the ingrediencies and mix it yourself. 1Kg cost here in Indonesia around 7 USD. Like this one: www.tokopedia.com/berkahutamashop-1/polyurethane-foam-a-b-pu-cair-rigid-500-gram