Design
Cardboard Boat
Designed by The Cardboard Boat Book
This is the boat taught in Dave Friant's The Cardboard Boat Book, a step by step manual for an 8 ft kayak style boat made from standard sheets of corrugated cardboard. It uses 1/4 in double wall board rated at 275 lb test, weighs about 25 lb finished and is meant to carry a 250 lb paddler without structural damage. The boat folds up from the sheets and gets its strength from the geometry of its parts rather than from any framing.
Twenty one pieces of cardboard form seven components, which are joined with contact cement and paper drywall tape and then sealed with a water based waterproof coating, so the cost is little more than the glue, tape and paint. The author also publishes extra projects for an electric motor, resized versions and a classroom program guide for science and engineering lessons, and he insists on a properly fitted life jacket aboard.
What building a Cardboard Boat actually takes
Medians from the build logs kept on this site, not the designer’s estimate. Nobody has logged this boat here yet, so they are empty until the first builder does.
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Builds of this boat
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Start the first log of this boatBoats like this one
Same type, closest in length.
| Design | Plans from | LOA | Logs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paddleboard | Glen-L Marine | 8′ 0″ (2.44 m) | 0 |
| Wood Duckling 8 | Chesapeake Light Craft | 8′ 0″ (2.44 m) | 0 |
| Pinocchio | Plyboat | 2.34 m (7′ 8″) | 0 |
| Goldfish | Plyboat | 2.3 m (7′ 7″) | 0 |
| Matunuck Surf Kayak | Chesapeake Light Craft | 8′ 6″ (2.59 m) | 0 |
| Kidyak | Glen-L Marine | 9′ 0″ (2.74 m) | 0 |