Bamboo Boats

Bamboo Boats

We have a stand of Bamboo at a property we have and it is amazing how fast it grows. It is one tough grass and the variety that is there can get stalks that are 4” in diameter and easily 30 feet tall. We have found many uses for it, but it can be hard to work with. It is one tough plant.

I commented to my wife we should build a boat from it and got the “glare”. Only the glare gave me the idea she was not thrilled about it. She said go ahead, if you want to work with that nasty stuff.  I love my wife because she will not just shoot down a project idea. She will point out obvious down sides and let me decide.

In Vietnam they build boats out of bamboo. They frame the boat out with long bamboo poles, and then cover the frame with mats woven from split bamboo. The mats are lashed to the frame of the boat and then the hull is tarred to make the hull waterproof and to glue the mats together. The boats are very light sturdy boats, easily made and cheap to build. 

Thinking about it and the Vietnam boats, I decided that I could do better using the bamboo to make a greenhouse that my wife wanted, and that would be much less work working with that nasty grass.