My first PVC structure

These are 6-7' across and about 2.5-3' tall. I can put one together in about 7-10 minutes in the boat, and sink it in about the same time. I use 6 2-3' vertical sections in the corners and middle of long sides; and I use 8 4-6' long diagonal pieces. It takes around 20 zip ties to hold it together. A 100pk costs about $6.00 or certainly less if you know the right people. I sank it with baseball sized granite chunks and some driveway gravel (not pictured). The rock and gravel seemed to seal in pretty well between the pvc--even when I tipped it on its side. Next time I'll probably find some brick or block.

I'm excited to see how these perform in 6-10' water.

Let me know what you think I could do to make it better next time. Thanks!

my biggest concern would be how much will the hooks hang up in the crate? it might not hang up much at all, but that would be my concern. other than that it looks like it would work great!

Thank you, bigfish.

The failed to mention earlier that the crate is plastic.

I guess there's only one way to find out about the snags:)

With that crate full of gravel, those might turn out to be great bluegill and redear beds. Hmmm. I think I might use your design to do just that. Thanks for the pictures Crataegus!

Hey sixfin
If you're interested in building redear beds I've heard that kiddie pools about 6' or 8' diameter filled with gravel work good. And crataegus, I don't think you'll have any problem hanging in the crate. You'll probably be fishing over top of it anyway. If not, it would still be hard to bury a hook in the plastic where it wouldn't just shake lose.

Looks OK but as was said above, you may get hung a lot. Second zip ties don't last very long. Next time try stainless steel screws or copper wire they will last for a long time.

TacoBender,

do the zip ties decompose?

Yes they will get week with time.

Crataegus - I am new here and just learning myself so pardon a dumb question.

But I thought that PVC piping sank on its own. If that is the case, why the need to add weight to the crate to sink it????

Thanks.

It will sink if you don't cap it but keeping it on the bottom and where you dropped it is a different story. The weight is primarily for keeping the structure from moving.

The Hound

I would suggest stainless steel safety wire instead of the zip ties. It's fairly cheap for a spool and it will last forever. Nice looking structure tho.