Fastening the bottles together by using a bolt type fastener
would be risky because it requires piercing the bottle. The constant
flexing would cause a leak regardless of what you seal it with.

The solution is to shift your thinking from the obvious to the
opposite of the obvious. Instead of thinking of the bottles as
flotation, think of them as NOT flotation. What else could they be?
Well they are primarily designed as containers, not floaters, so let's
think of them as containers.

Here is my solution.
Drill a hole through the top cap and bottom of each bottle so you can
fasten them end to end with bolts, nuts, and washers. Don't worry about
them leaking because they will. Each string of bottles is a hull plank
and you will need to play around with how these will be assembled
to suit your needs. I imagine a Kon Tiki type raft but you can shape it
any way you want depending in your desires and ingenuity. The basic
unit is a string of bottles "X" bottles long. The planks should be
lashed together with plastic twine, as natural jute twine would clash
with the aesthetics qualities of the other materials. Assemble, or tie
them into a canoe like shape.
Now, go to your local Planned Parenhood organization and ask them if
they will underwrite your project. Ask them to donate a condom for each
bottle. Possibly solicit area businesses to purchase a condom from
planned Parenthood and donate it to the project reminding them that
charitable donations are tax deductable and it is for a good
cause.(Preferably only new condoms should be used.) Disassemble each
"plank" and fill each bottle with an inflated condom which you blow up
.....uh....inflate inside the bottle and tie, thus creating "individually
protected flotation bladders" within each bottle. Colored condoms could
be used tastefully to add additional aesthetic quality to the hull.
Float your boat proudly while displaying the Planned Parenthood banner
and solicit other area businesses to offer suggested names for the
vessel...."Wet Dream, etc." Monetary proceeds could be distributed to
local family planning services and recycling efforts.
Above all...have fun!

SteveJ



Ruth Ann wrote:
I want to build a boat out of two liter soda bottles.
Why? Why not? I can make the time and the space to do it and it's
something I've wanted to do for a while.
I've looked on the web, but haven't found any sites on doing something
like this or any people who have done anything like this.

So, my question, does anyone know of any web sites that talk about
something like this or people who have an idea of how to go about
something like this?
I'm an engineer, so I've got some ideas on how to start, but would
like to see what others have done and have someone to bounce ideas
off.

Thanks
Ruth Ann

think sausage. stuff the bottles into sausage skins to form the planks.
tie the sausages together at the ends like a reed boat. or lash the
sausages together along their length and to some sort of ribs (eg steam
bent). if you can't find sausage skins make your own out of tough sheet
plastic and double sided carpet tape.

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William R. Watt ) writes:

..if you can't find sausage skins make your own out of tough sheet
plastic and double sided carpet tape.

on second thought, if you're going to use the tape and plastic think
roll-your-own cigarettes. set up a couple of 12 ft boards together in a
"V" cross section, drape the plastic over it, set the bottles end-to-end
in the "V", cut and tape the plastic around the bottles. picky details
left to individual creativity.

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