I thought you old fogies might get a kick out of this. We float the Frio every year and this year there looks to be less water than ever. We are staying in a house with a pool so I decided to build a floating beer pong table to occupy our time.

Any suggestions are welcome.

Here are my plans so far. I'm using mostly scrap lumber, so I had to piece together 2 4' sections of plywood. Its glued and screwed and I plan on trimming the edge w/1x2 for ascetics and rigidity. I also plan on polying the entire thing when done. I can't think of another way to keep out the water. I also plan to build a grid or hollow out spots for the cups on each end too. The last touch will be to sandwich some Aggie paraphernalia between the layers of poly.

Here's my progress so far.

We lined the edge with pipe insulation/those floating noodle things (slit one side and slid it over edge & then filled the hollow cavity with foam spray). It helped keep it afloat and balanced and also gave it a ledge to keep the missed shots close.

I personally would not float it. I would figure out where you are going to play and design it to sit on the bottom of the pool and the top to sit right above the water level. If you have it float then every person splashing around will rock the table and that will just piss you off.

However if you are dead set on floating it, I would find a large piece of foam and attach it to the bottom of the ply wood. Or fit some "noodles" to the bottom. Or the tanning floaties. I would not have it sit to high above the water level or it will get top heavy and flip.

To mitigate the effects of waves, float the table in a tub of water. Then, float that tub of water, creating a water buffer.

I think you need to use more screws. I'd be afraid it would fall apart!

Me and a couple of my buds rigged one up a few years ago that was designed to float in the cove of the local lake one of them lived on. we went to home depot and bought a 10x5 (approximately) sheet of foam as it was cheaper than an all wood design and very buoyant. we turned the cups upside down, used a sharpie to mark the correct placement, then used a skil saw to cut out the holes (giving approximately 3/4" between the cut and the marked circle so the cups could be stuck into the holes. then came the issue of preventing the table from drifting. you can punch some holes in all four corners and using twine/string/whatever, washers, and four cinderblocks, rig up an adjustable anchor system to keep the floating table from drifting.

Needs more screws!

Add a keel to keep it stable

I'd make two smaller surfaces that are just bigger than your set of cups. Attach them with a rope like your regular washer setup.

All.difficulties associated with this set up simply require more skill.

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We lined the edge with pipe insulation/those floating noodle things (slit one side and slid it over edge & then filled the hollow cavity with foam spray). It helped keep it afloat and balanced and also gave it a ledge to keep the missed shots close.

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I had planned on putting the noodle things under the table but I'll have to look at this. Seems like the lower the center of gravity the better.

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I think you need to use more screws. I'd be afraid it would fall apart!

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Needs more screws!

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I wanted to make sure it was as close to a "real" 8' piece as possible. Maybe its overkill, but glue and screws are cheap! And now, hopefully, it will survive numerous trips and uses.

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Add a keel to keep it stable

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Brilliant!



I am thinking about painting it instead of or in addition to polyurethaning it. Will poly work over paint? Or should I just get a good outdoor paint and do several coats?

Y'all are making this far more difficult than it needs to be...

DOOOOD!!!

But then I wouldn't have a project to occupy my time over the next week or so.

Why dont you ever call me for this crap? I have tons of scrap wood out in the barn I think a few sheets of 8' plywood. Also we can use rope and sand bags to stabilize it in the water. though I do like the keel idea.

So, here is the progress so far.

Here is our first effort at cutting circles. We tried a jigsaw and then a dremmel w/a rotary attachment but neither worked well. So, I went and bought a 3" hole saw and it did a ton better.







We painted the cup holders and went back over the rails.



And here's the tabletop painted white.



The next step is to start polying the pieces and then we'll put it together. I plan to use 1/2" foam to make it float. nobody have any idea if that will keep it above water.

why don't you calculate the buoyancy of the assembly, instead of just guessing?

it will float when

buoyant force = weight of assembly

And,

buoyant force = weight of water displaced

weight = density * volume

volume = area * depth

^
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Don't make this too complicated. The dude just wants to put it in the pool so they don't have to stop playing to take a leak.

because calculating the buoyancy of a noodle is too much work.

Seriously? That is the most ****-ass sabre saw work I have ever seen.

I was going to suggest the same thing Elmo Lincoln did. Much easier than what you have going here...

Don't look at me, bcday07 was working the jigsaw! Like I said, it didn't work too well. The circles were just too tight for it. The hole saw worked like a dream though.

It probably is more trouble than its worth, but I like having projects to occupy my time. No kids so I don't have chit going on after work anyway.

Did I stumble onto the gyneral board? I thought this was the OB?

Can't be though... people here are criticizing the OP for building something rather than just running to the store and buying it! That ain't like the OB...

Allow me to apologize for my ****ty jigsaw work. My saw is old I had a hard time getting it to make that tight a turn. LG's dremel tool didnt work much better even with its rig that was designed to cut a circle.

Ok, so here's the nearly finished product. We put it all together, put the foam on the underside, and floated it. Guess what, it floated like a dream!

The foam board fit pretty tight but we put a few screws with PVC squares to hold it for sure.

we need pics of it in action. preferably being used by attractive, college aged women.

We might be able to arrange that. Maybe.

Yeah cause the little kids in the pool weren't asking "What's that daddy?"

We could use lemonade though I suppose. At least then you won't be banished from the neighborhood pool.

I was thinking we'd get some pics on the river trip, not the neighborhood kiddies.

of course it will float, anything will float in 1 ft of water...

might get a little tipsy in a river. maybe add outriggers?

Oh right, sorry for the confusion. The place we're renting has a pool and that's where we intend to use it.

We won't be using it going down the river.

No bevel

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might get a little tipsy in a river. maybe add outriggers?

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Fortunately there's no water in the Frio, so you wouldn't have to worry about it sinking.

It's finally done!!!

Here are the last pics. Put the center court stripe and the empty cup holders in. We used PVC for the empty holders. That was a stroke of genius if I do say so myself. Now, to get the girls to agree to pose with it so I can show it to you goobers in action. THAT will be the biggest challenge of all.

Oh, and I already tried a bounce shot. The center board doesn't get in the way at all!