dinghy ponds - especially for ducks

[sun burn]

I don't know why but some ideas hit me and i think why did it take so long. Although the truth is i probably did think of it before but didn't really give it the full quota of though it warranted.

Anyhow, we've got a dinghy in my duck yard and its got vegies in it at the moment. But really i think, now that i've made a fantastic -if i say so myself- vegie mandala garden, the dinghy would make a brilliant duck pond. I just have to persuade my father to let me transform it.

The thing is making a dinghy as a duck pond takes care of a few things, namely:

1. No leakages, accidental or otherwise.
2. you can drain it easily for periodic cleaning by pulling out the bung.
3. Its a great size and looks good
4. you could attach a pipe to the drain and bury it off to the direction where the waste would be no problem or collect it for say making manure tea.
5. YOu can put it above ground and provide some steps up to the dinghy (it might need some inside as well)
6. you can put it in hte ground and it would still be fantastic and do all the things above wihtout too much trouble or extra work.
7. You can buy/scavange an old dinghy. It might need a bit of patching up if its got holes in it.

Any clues as to how to patch a dinghy? I mean particularly a tinny but i guess it goes for a fibreglass one too. Mine is a tinny and its about 8 foot long i guess.

[annette]

Great recycling idea sunburn. Don't know about fixing the leaks, maybe some rubber lining? I get the symetry of it all!! Something that floats on water is going to be itself supporting something floating on it!! Good Luck!

cheers
Annette

[aroideana]

Have you got a trailer for it ? After emptying and cleaning , mark the leaks .
Silastic would be best , but I think applied from the inside .
Depending on size you could poke fuse wire or similar to mark where the holes are .
If leaks are slow , 'feggidabowdit' depending on your water supply .
Here the rain would keep it overflowing for most of the year .

[sun burn]

No I haven't got a trailer. But its currenlty sitting up on blocks. Is there any other reason for your question about the trailer.

The silastic sounds like an idea. Cheers mike.

[aroideana]

hard to check for leaks when boat is laying on the ground

[eco4560]

Fill it up with water and watch where it comes out?

[aroideana]

Filling it up without good support would wreck it . Imagine how much all that water would weigh !!
A good trailer would support it some . May be best to do it laying on each side .. or even just turn it over and get inside and look for light .

[sun burn]

Well mine at least is supported since its on blocks. Its also full up with soil so its holding that all right. Dad left the hose running in it for a few hours the other night and when i discovered it, the only water pouring out was through the bung hole on the bottom. I know that doesn't mean it wouldn't have leaks though.