“The Blue Crab” One-Sheet Plywood Boat – Tiny Yellow House

Energy & Sustainability Woodworking

For this episode of “Tiny Yellow House” for Make Magazine, host Derek “Deek” Diedricksen pulls another idea from his book Humble Homes, Simple Shacks. This time, its an easy wooden boat made from little more than one sheet of plywood.

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Check out all the episodes of Tiny Yellow House.

54 thoughts on ““The Blue Crab” One-Sheet Plywood Boat – Tiny Yellow House

  1. Anonymous says:

    awesome!  this is the best show!

  2. Anonymous says:

    awesome!  this is the best show!

  3. Anonymous says:

    awesome!  this is the best show!

  4. Tim Lewallen says:

    Funny and Makey all at the same time!

  5. Tim Lewallen says:

    Funny and Makey all at the same time!

  6. Tim Lewallen says:

    Funny and Makey all at the same time!

  7. Elliott J. Olson says:

    Impressive but I worry about someone of my girth and mass getting in that little thing. I might want a sheet and a half to build it.

  8. Pete Rippe says:

    Hannu’s Boatyard
    http://koti.kapsi.fi/hvartial/

    This website has plans, and theory for 1, 1 1/2, and 2 sheet boats. Even an 18′ canoe from 1 sheet of plywood. I am about to build the Aurray Punt, a small rowboat. from this site

  9. Pete Rippe says:

    Hannu’s Boatyard
    http://koti.kapsi.fi/hvartial/

    This website has plans, and theory for 1, 1 1/2, and 2 sheet boats. Even an 18′ canoe from 1 sheet of plywood. I am about to build the Aurray Punt, a small rowboat. from this site

  10. Pete Rippe says:

    Hannu’s Boatyard
    http://koti.kapsi.fi/hvartial/

    This website has plans, and theory for 1, 1 1/2, and 2 sheet boats. Even an 18′ canoe from 1 sheet of plywood. I am about to build the Aurray Punt, a small rowboat. from this site

  11. Pete Rippe says:

    Hannu’s Boatyard
    http://koti.kapsi.fi/hvartial/

    This website has plans, and theory for 1, 1 1/2, and 2 sheet boats. Even an 18′ canoe from 1 sheet of plywood. I am about to build the Aurray Punt, a small rowboat. from this site

  12. Pete Rippe says:

    Hannu’s Boatyard
    http://koti.kapsi.fi/hvartial/

    This website has plans, and theory for 1, 1 1/2, and 2 sheet boats. Even an 18′ canoe from 1 sheet of plywood. I am about to build the Aurray Punt, a small rowboat. from this site

    1. Anonymous says:

      I built the dug, kayak in january this year. Turned out awesome! 16′ long when it was finished. Very tipsy however, i definitely recommend a keel board. If youre a bigger person, i recommend a boat with a deep draft.

      Get out there and make stuff yall!

  13. Grant Thurman says:

    LOL! Gosh I hope he has a real job. Reminds me of helping friends build a Mechanics Illustrated ‘canoe’ from one sheet of marine plywood in about 1958. After soaking overnight we got it to bend into the shape of a birch bark canoe. Surrounded by Ft Worth TX rivers and lakes, we instead chose Lake Weatherford. The northern end became the destination on that summer day, where 2 of us found we only had about 3 inches of free board. As we paddled into a swampy mess, the disturbed water moccasins kept trying to slither over that 3 inches of freeboard out of sheer admiration for such a work of art. As my buddy paddled faster than I had ever seen, I beat hell out of multiple snakes trying to join our excursion. By the time we escaped, both sides were covered with snake innards and the freeboard was considerably less. We decided to take up SCUBA diving.

  14. Grant Thurman says:

    LOL! Gosh I hope he has a real job. Reminds me of helping friends build a Mechanics Illustrated ‘canoe’ from one sheet of marine plywood in about 1958. After soaking overnight we got it to bend into the shape of a birch bark canoe. Surrounded by Ft Worth TX rivers and lakes, we instead chose Lake Weatherford. The northern end became the destination on that summer day, where 2 of us found we only had about 3 inches of free board. As we paddled into a swampy mess, the disturbed water moccasins kept trying to slither over that 3 inches of freeboard out of sheer admiration for such a work of art. As my buddy paddled faster than I had ever seen, I beat hell out of multiple snakes trying to join our excursion. By the time we escaped, both sides were covered with snake innards and the freeboard was considerably less. We decided to take up SCUBA diving.

  15. Grant Thurman says:

    LOL! Gosh I hope he has a real job. Reminds me of helping friends build a Mechanics Illustrated ‘canoe’ from one sheet of marine plywood in about 1958. After soaking overnight we got it to bend into the shape of a birch bark canoe. Surrounded by Ft Worth TX rivers and lakes, we instead chose Lake Weatherford. The northern end became the destination on that summer day, where 2 of us found we only had about 3 inches of free board. As we paddled into a swampy mess, the disturbed water moccasins kept trying to slither over that 3 inches of freeboard out of sheer admiration for such a work of art. As my buddy paddled faster than I had ever seen, I beat hell out of multiple snakes trying to join our excursion. By the time we escaped, both sides were covered with snake innards and the freeboard was considerably less. We decided to take up SCUBA diving.

  16. Grant Thurman says:

    LOL! Gosh I hope he has a real job. Reminds me of helping friends build a Mechanics Illustrated ‘canoe’ from one sheet of marine plywood in about 1958. After soaking overnight we got it to bend into the shape of a birch bark canoe. Surrounded by Ft Worth TX rivers and lakes, we instead chose Lake Weatherford. The northern end became the destination on that summer day, where 2 of us found we only had about 3 inches of free board. As we paddled into a swampy mess, the disturbed water moccasins kept trying to slither over that 3 inches of freeboard out of sheer admiration for such a work of art. As my buddy paddled faster than I had ever seen, I beat hell out of multiple snakes trying to join our excursion. By the time we escaped, both sides were covered with snake innards and the freeboard was considerably less. We decided to take up SCUBA diving.

  17. J.c. Sommerman says:

    Wondering if anyone else noticed the effort he put into the seat, and then the complete lack of use the seat received.  Dig the idea though.

    1. Dynamo Dan says:

      Yeah the seat is way too high, it would be VERY tippy to try sitting on it.  Wonder if he got wet in the process of discovering that.  The boat’s tippy when sitting all the way down on the floor let alone the seat.

  18. Daniel Herrera says:

    Just launched our version this morning – this was a fun video to watch, easy and inexpensive build to do and gave us many laughs on her maiden voyage…

  19. Lou says:

    Wonderful!

  20. Lou says:

    Wonderful!

  21. Dynamo Dan says:

    Ok Derek this is the next big thing for ya:  Tiny Yellow House Boat.  Use a number of big plastic bushel tubs for flotation.

  22. James B says:

    Can anyone tell me if filmed plywoods in the address below could be applied like in this vid = http://www.balkotrade.com/plywood ??

  23. John says:

    What’s with all the duplicate and triplicate comments? It really makes for an annoying online experience.

  24. pat says:

    made this very tipsy

  25. tasyünü says:

    For the first time after many offers for a free website, I will make the effort to have one and you will be the host thanks to your Birthday greeting. Great sidekicks too.
    Cheeta

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Interview/Bio Sheet: "Blah, Blah, Blah..." ABOUT THE AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR:

  DEREK ALEXANDER DIEDRICKSEN, AGE 32, WAS BORN AND RAISED IN THE SEASIDE TOWN OF MADISON, CT. AFTER GRADUATING FROM DANIEL HAND HIGH SCHOOL, and later BOSTON'S NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY (CLASS of '99- Summa Cum Laude), HE WORKED IN COMMERCIAL RADIO AT THE LEGENDARY CBS STATION 104.1 WBCN AS THE EVENING DJ (The Youngest Full Timer In the Country In A Top Ten Market, at the time). 
 Through WBCN, he worked with and hosted the "I Sold My House.com" Television show numerous times for the WB/Warner Brothers Network, appeared on the Playboy.com Channel as a host/interviewer, and hosted Nik Carter's nationally syndicated radio show (70 cities in the US) "Nothing Sacred". While simultaneously at WBCN and Northeastern, Derek's comic strip "The Warped Zone" ran for just under three years in the NU News, a weekly paper, and his subsequent strip "Slugs, Not Hugs" was featured through the well distributed Boston papers The Weekly Dig, and Soundcheck Magazine (R.I.P.). In radio, he additionally worked for WJIB, NU's WRBB, the legendary, corporate-free WNTN in Newton, MA, (where he had his REAL start in radio), and the pioneering BostonRadio.com. 
 His work (both art and carpentry/tiny house building) has also been featured in Worcester's Pulse Magazine, Tiny House Design Magazine, and on the concert venue flyers of many a band in, and beyond, the Boston area. 

Musically, having toured the US a few times in the past (Rochester NY's "Rail"), both in bands, and managerially (Boston's "Superkollider"), he now plays drums in the Tribute act Age Against The Machine (www.bostonrage.com), which doubles as the original act "Any Given Enemy". They've recorded and been involved with the WWE, ECW, The Cartoon Network's "G.I. Joe", Video Games, Indie Movies, and Boston Bruins NHL broadcasts. In January of 2009, their recording of WWE Wrestler Jack Swagger's arena and television entrance theme "Get On Your Knees" was selected by Columbia Records to be part of the cd "WWE: The Voices. Volume 9". The cd debuted on the worldwide Billboard Top 200 charts as the Number Eleven best-selling cd on the entire planet. It also debuted as the Number One selling Cd soundtrack on the globe, and stayed in the charts for close to a month.

Derek is also an Eagle Scout (MADISON CT's Troop 491), and credit's the Scouts with further strengthening his love of the outdoors, camping, conservation, and carpentry. He comes from a large family of Scouts, as his cousins Neil and Kurt Malek, also attained the Eagle Rank, and his Brother Dustin, the rank of Life.

Derek currently lives in the small Massachusetts town of Stoughton, with his wife, Elizabeth, and his two children, Jonas and Alexandra (and his dog Orzo), ten miles or so outside of downtown Boston. He longs to move, full time, to the woods of Vermont to focus on growing a beard, and losing his teeth.

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