Brojects - DIY Truck Cap Boat
Never again will brothers Andrew and Kevin find themselves at the perfect remote fishing spot without a boat to sail on. This weekend, they’re creating the ultimate all-in-one-camper-plus-boat solution by converting the truck cap on the back of their pickup into a boat. The boys better hope, though, that their wacky “bro-at” idea holds water, or else they’ll be swimming with the fishes, instead of catching them.
Step 1
Our plan is to flip a truck cap upside down and convert it into the ultimate fishing boat. We’ll need to test whether or not the cap floats. It it does, we’ll seal all the leaks and start by adding seating and fishing rod holders. Next we’ll add a sun cover, a barbeque for cooking fish, a motor and a fish finder, so we can search the lake for fish. At the end of the day, we’ll take the truck cap out of the water and put it back on the truck where it will double as a camper for our extended fishing trips.
Step 2
Materials
To make the The Ultimate Fishing Boat, you’ll need the following materials, most of which are available at Smithers Lumberyard.
• A truck cap for a half-ton truck (new or used)
• Sealant/caulking
• Lumber to make the boat seating and camper pull-out shelf
• Trolling motor
• Patio umbrella
You’ll need some shade when you’re out on the water all day plus it doubles as a sail!
• Fish finder (optional)
• Coolers
For keeping your “bait” cold and frosty!
Step 3
The key to a successful fishing expedition is being in the right place at the right time. In our case, most of the good fish were in the next lake over, which was not accessible by boat and difficult to access even by road. To get to the lake, we either had to drive with a boat in the back of the pick-up or come up with a creative solution. Our first thought was to load the cottage’s old wooden boat onto the pick-up. But as you can see that didn’t turn out so well. Some crazy plans and a bit of lateral thinking later, we came up with the idea of an all-in-one-camper-plus-boat solution. The added advantage of this build is that we could drive to the lake the night before, camp overnight and be ready when the fish were biting first thing in the morning. As with all our projects, planning is the first step. This project became extra fun when we decided to look for a stash of World War II beer that had been off-loaded in the lake by the airforce… or so the story goes.
Step 4
First step was to find a used truck cap that was in good condition. We hit the Internet to find a seller and went on a road trip to pick it up. On first glance, it looked to be in pretty good condition. But the ultimate test would be back home on the lake, where we’d quickly find out whether or not it could actually hold water! After giving the truck cap a good power-wash, we took it out on the lake for a spin, carefully watching for any leaks that needed patching.
Step 5
The next step was to turn the back of our truck into a camper. The camper would have a sleeping platform and room for all the essential gear, especially the cooler! After several attempts, we decided to make a big drawer under the sleeping platform. We added folding legs to the drawer so that it could double as a table when pulled out.
Step 6
Once we finished the drawer/table, it was time to put the finishing touches on the the truck cap/boat. We attached an electric motor, caulked the inside of the truck cap, and using some wood, added a couple of corner seats that can double as storage shelves when the cap is flipped over and placed on the truck. To add protection from the sun, we built a centre bench unit using 2-by-4’s across the hull and drilled a hole through the centre that was large enough to hold a sun umbrella. Lastly, using some electrical tape, we gave our boat a name!
Step 7
Finally, it was time to test out our newest Brovention. We loaded up the back of the truck, threw on our refurbished truck cap and headed off to the lake. A portable BBQ allowed us to cook the fish we caught on the spot. Unfortunately, we didn’t find the submerged World War II beer. We’ll leave that for another day.
Photo Gallery
