ADA, Mich. — Andrew Karafa dreams of designing boats professionally one day. In the last year, he saw a trash problem he could use to his advantage and get a head start.
"It's 1,154 12-ounce water bottles, two gallon jugs and 33 two-liters," says Karafa. "I call it the S.S. Boattle."
The junior at Forest Hills Eastern started the project last year, when he was inspired by a photo.
"I saw a picture in a third-world country, there were these fishermen who built a boat out of two-liters," says Karafa. "And I thought that was the coolest thing ever."
COVID closed down FHE's water fountains, so the school bought the students water bottles instead.
"And they were being thrown away, just tossed out," explains Karafa. "I thought it would be a good opportunity to do something about it."
He collected the bottles from classmates and sold t-shirts to fundraise for other materials, like fishing line to keep the bottles stable and netting to hold them together after other methods failed.
"The only liquid nails that work to glue this plastic together dissolves in water," he says.
He even 3-D printed joints for PVC pipes that don't exist in stores.
And the boat isn't just for show either. It recently took its maiden voyage and can hold three people while still floating.
"It's a little bit tippy because the center of gravity is so high, that's something I didn't expect," says Karafa.
But he's already getting those kinks worked out.
As for the boat itself, his goals for it all go back to that picture he saw a year ago.
"To put a plan together so that third-world countries could actually use a design similar to this and actually use it so it's not just a gimmick or a publicity stunt," he says.
Karafa dreams of being a naval architect after high school, and hopes this project will help him get into a prestigious college.
Related video:
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13 ON YOUR SIDE app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter. Subscribe to our YouTube channel.