Topic
Have been given a 16ft boat and would like to turn it in to a watergarden.What do l need to do to the fiber glass in the inside and will it be harmful to fish/plants?Any ideas will be much appreciated.
Anyone tried water gardening in an old boat
What a great idea!!Plants you might like are water lily, some canna''s,water lettuce some shade for the fish you''re all set.
Anyone tried water gardening in an old boat
Prep the boat:
Remove all sharp objects & any corners first then remove everything in the rear of the boat. Give the interior walls a good swabbing with a tar based sealeant. This will add to the ''depth perception effect'' & aid in long term life of water not deterioating the fiberglass..
I'd try to situate it in a non obstructive area with maybe some shade & partially bury it so the nose of the boat appears to be jumping out of the yard. The angle u bury it should leave some of the rear of the boat above ground.
Add a good sheet liner like is used in water gardens & be sure to buy something of good quality. You will probably be ahead of the game by painting all the surfaces of the boat contacting the soil with a tar sealer before planting the boat too. Roofing shingles between the dirt & boat surface add even more long term protection too.
Anyone tried water gardening in an old boat
That sounds like a great idea!
As long as the gel coat on the inside is intact it should hold up reasonably well. I do not know if fiberglass gives off anything that will harm plants or fish.
The only things I can think of is to clean it really well to get rid of any chemical residue (ie, fuel or battery acid) before u fill it, make sure there is not any marine paint which may have a pesticide component (like bottom or hull paint), & to strip out all of the old wiring (copper may harm plants) & any foam floatation.
Anyone tried water gardening in an old boat
What a neat idea!
Seeing that it is an old boat, it should not be leaching chemicals like a newer product will. You still could buy a pond liner from (lowes, Home Depot, etc.) This will prevent leaking from any unseen holes. A liner will also eliminate any chemical leaching. As long as the interior is smooth, u could probably get away with using a thinner(cheaper) liner.
The weight of the water will be pushing out on the boat hull. The boat was designed for just the opposite, so make sure that u have the boat partially buried to add extra support(or something like that).
As far as stocking the pond/garden I would start with cheap pond plants(water hyacinth less than $1 on ebay if bought in bulk) & feeder gold fish from the pet store($0.50 or less). If they do well, I would say that u r all set.