Floating Wooden Lake Platform for an Inflatable Cabin Tent
Step-by-step guide made from RAMPE GLOBAL's YouTube video.
Build a buoyant wooden deck platform supported by clustered plastic jerrycans and bordered by a low wooden guardrail. Top the finished platform with an inflatable cabin tent to create a floating lake shelter.
- Difficulty: beginner
Safety
- Lift and flip the large wooden base frame carefully to avoid back strain or getting pinned underneath the lumber.
- Ensure all flotation containers are completely airtight and securely trapped within the framing before taking the platform onto deep water.
- Use extreme caution when operating a wood-burning stove inside a tent on a wooden platform, ensuring proper ventilation and clearance from tent walls.
Must know before you build
- Install deck planks after flipping the base frame; it's too heavy to turn otherwise.
- Wedge jerrycans tightly with interior joists; loose jugs shift or slip out when launched.
- Verify all jerrycan caps are tightly sealed before locking them into the frame.
- Use deck screws and a cordless drill for stronger joints than framing nails.
- Distribute sealed jerrycans evenly in all four corners for a level floating platform.
- Build the base frame upside down near the shoreline to easily wedge jerrycans.
Tools
- Hammer (claw hammer)
- Manual air pump (hand-operated floor air pump)
Materials
- Plastic jerrycans (closed-top plastic jugs)
- Framing boards (dimensional lumber)
- Nails (framing nails)
- Deck planks (flat wood boards)
- Railing top boards (narrow wood strips)
- Railing posts (short wood boards)
- Inflatable cabin tent (air-beam camping tent)
Step by step
Step 1: Assemble the Outer Base Frame
Arrange four long boards into a square perimeter frame on the ground and nail the corners together.
- Lay out the four perimeter boards. Stand four long framing boards on edge on flat ground and butt their ends together to form a large square perimeter.
- Tip: Assemble the frame on a flat, clear patch of ground close to the water so you do not have to carry the finished structure far.
- Nail the four corners together. Drive framing nails through the overlapping butt joints at each of the four corners to lock the outer square frame together.
- Tip: Hold the intersecting boards tight and flush at the top edge while driving the corner nails.
Step 2: Position the Flotation Jerrycans
Untie the sealed plastic jerrycans and arrange them in four tight corner clusters inside the wooden perimeter frame.
- Untie the bundled plastic jerrycans. Remove the rope binding the plastic jerrycans together so they can be placed individually inside the frame.
- Watch out: Make sure every cap is tightly sealed before placing the jerrycans into the frame.
- Pack six jerrycans into each corner. Lay six jerrycans flat on their sides in a 3-by-2 grid inside each of the four corners of the wooden perimeter frame, with the handles and caps facing inward toward one another.
- Tip: Lay all the jerrycans flat on their broad sides with their caps facing inward so each 6-jug cluster has an even, rectangular footprint.
Step 3: Install Interior Framing and Flip the Base
Nail interior framing boards snugly against the jerrycan clusters to lock them into the corners, then flip the base assembly over.
- Position and nail the two main interior joists. Set two full-length framing boards across the inside of the square frame, press them snugly against the inner edges of the corner jerrycan clusters, and nail their ends through the outer rim boards.
- Tip: Press the interior framing boards tightly against the jerrycan clusters to wedge them securely against the outer walls.
- Common mistake: Leaving a gap between the interior joists and the jerrycans, which lets the jugs work loose in the water.
- Flip the base frame and add cross-blocking. Lift one side of the frame assembly and flip the entire base upside down so the wooden frame rests on top of the trapped jerrycan clusters, with short cross-pieces boxing in the four corner bays and the center span.
- Tip: Flip the base frame before nailing on the deck planks while the structure is still light enough to lift.
- Watch out: Stand clear of the falling edge when dropping the flipped frame onto the ground.
Step 4: Install the Deck Planks
Lay wooden planks side by side across the top of the frame and nail them down to create a solid deck surface.
- Lay the deck planks across the frame. Place flat wooden planks side by side across the top of the base frame, working from one edge to the other until the entire surface and jerrycan bays are covered.
- Tip: Lay out all the deck planks across the frame before nailing so you can verify full coverage from edge to edge.
- Nail the deck planks to the frame. Drive nails through the top face of each deck plank into the underlying perimeter rim and interior framing joists.
- Watch out: Ensure nails are driven flush with the wood surface so bare feet or the inflatable tent floor do not snag on protruding nail heads.
Step 5: Build the Perimeter Guardrail
Nail short vertical posts evenly around the outer edges of the platform and fasten horizontal top rails across them, leaving an entryway opening at the front.
- Nail the vertical guardrail posts around the perimeter. Position short vertical boards upright against the outside face of the base frame—using two perpendicular boards at each corner and spacing intermediate posts evenly along the sides—and nail their lower ends into the base frame.
- Tip: Install two vertical boards perpendicular to each other at every corner to form an L-shaped corner post.
- Position the horizontal top rails. Set long narrow strips flat across the tops of the vertical posts along the back, left, and right sides, and place two shorter strips on the front left and right sections to leave a center entryway gap.
- Tip: Use two short rail pieces on the front edge instead of one full-length board to leave a wide entryway opening in the middle.
- Nail the top rails to the vertical posts. Drive nails downward through the horizontal top rails into the top end of every vertical post around the perimeter.
Step 6: Inflate the Cabin Tent and Launch the Platform
Pump up the inflatable cabin tent on top of the wooden deck, disconnect the air pump, and push the floating platform out into deeper water.
- Inflate the cabin tent on the deck. Position the inflatable cabin tent toward the back of the wooden platform, pump up its air beams with a manual floor pump until rigid, and seal the air valve.
- Tip: Position the tent against the rear guardrail so you have an open porch area at the front of the platform.
- Push the floating cabin out onto the lake. Grab the wooden guardrail and push the platform off the shallow shoreline out into deeper lake water until it floats freely.
- Tip: Rock the platform gently from side to side while pushing to free the bottom from the shallow mud.