Nothing complements a thrilling day at the track like the serenity of floating down a quiet lake and casting a line into the water in hopes of hooking some fresh caught dinner. But owning a fishing boat comes with ongoing expenses and storage challenges that makes it impractical for the occasional fisherman or woman.

After having to sell his aluminum fishing boat, Reddit user, lifeisgood_dude, began to miss his fishing trips and set off to find a compromise. His two main constraints were budget and space so he needed something collapsible for easy storage. Knowing he probably wouldn’t find anything “off the shelf” he looked forward to turning this into a project.

He bought a 12-foot inflatable boat and blew it up in his house with the pump that came with it. In order to create a more stable floor, he made a template out of cardboard which he then transferred to 15/32″ plywood. Rather than cut one giant piece of wood for the floor he decided on 2 halves for easier storage. After smoothing the edges and surface with a sander, he lined the wooden floor boards with indoor/outdoor carpet. I suggest using a sealer on the wood first to protect it from water damage and eventually rotting out. The carpeting allowed the 2 wooden floor boards to fit snug against the bottom without moving around.

No fishing trip is complete without some onboard entertainment and storage, so he built a wooden box to serve both purposes. A basic stereo system off Amazon ran about $50 and he was able to hide the wiring inside along with lifejackets, a battery, and other supplies.

With seats and a motor, the final outcome was a practical fishing boat he could enjoy on weekends and then break it down for the trip home. Even with 2 people on the boat, he reports it being extremely stable and he even enjoyed doing a few donuts to test it out.

For more photos: lifeisgood_dude | Imgur