Noah's Ark

Well, I started the project last night. On Monday I went with a friend who has a truck to buy over $100 of wood. So last night I got cutting. I have a basic shell of the back end of the boat put together. Still need to add supports and the platform for it. I think I'll try to tackle the front section next, which in my opinion will be the hardest. The front will be slopped in two directions. It will slope up and out from bottom to top, and come in to a point. That back is just square, so it is pretty easy. When I was out shopping I forgot to pick up the screws, so I ran out of the smaller ones.

Not sure when I'll work on it next, but once my wife gets back I think I may take some pictures and post the work in progress. So far it doesn't look very good, but I think paint will fix that. Taking volunteers over the next few weekends to give me a hand.

I also need to assemble a playset we bought for David's birthday. By the way, that is what this is for. The Ark is a bunk bed. The plan is to have a 7ft long middle section, then put a second platform 4ft up off the ground. We are not doing a lower platform so David's mattress will just be on the ground, so if he rolls out it isn't a big deal.

The boat plans. The back is a 4ft wide by 2ft section. It is 4ft up to the start of the platform which is built by 2x6s. The rails will extend an additional 15 inches. I screwed up and forgot to add in the 6 inches from the platform for my rails, so they are really short. I may need to fix this and undo what I did, but hopefully not. The rails were supposed to be 21 inches up. I also plan to put stairs in here. They will be 12" wide and each step will be 9 inches in height and length for a total of 5 steps plus the top platform.

The front of the boat will be 4ft wide at towards the back of the boat, and 2ft long. I plan to put a climbing net over the side. I have also thought of putting a door in the deck at the front of the boat, but it may be crowded over there, so I may just put the captains wheel and nothing else.

The middle of the boat is mainly for the bed. I'll put a sheet of OSB across for the side of the boat and cut a door and windows in it. I'm thinking of doing a drawbridge design for the door, and having a wheel you turn to pull a rope to open/close the door. At the top middle I plan to build a little cabin that will cover half the top bed (4ft wide).

That is the plan. Not sure how to fix my rail situation. I'm just afraid that 15 inches is too easy to climb over. I'll probably just have to add a 6" extension. I'm trying to think of something I could turn it into to cover the mistake. Maybe cut it short, but a new rail on the outside of it and make it a shelf or bench. Hmmm, bench is a good idea. I'll go with that for now.