Making durable, highly-visible, customized marking buoys is easily and inexpensively done. A review of available buoys on the market range in price from $8.00 through $35, with some topping $60 (those with automatic line stoppers). The final cost for making your own buoys is about $2.00 per buoy, with most of the cost being the lead weight. When you undertake this project, consider making about 8 to 10 of them because the paint, foam and string expenditures will yield the best economic bang for your buck. Your fishing buddies will thank you.

The materials needed: 1) Clear plastic beverage container(s) for floats, 2) fluorescent paint(s) of your choosing, 3) expandable foam such as Great Stuff, 4) sealer such as silicone, 5) braided line, and 6) lead weight.

STEP ONE
Choose your float(s) carefully. Specifically choose: a clear thick-walled beverage container of the minimum size required for good visibility on the waters you will be encountering with defined ridges molded into the container which acts to accept and hold the line while allowing texture for gripping. For small shallow water marking buoys, the small Gatorade/Powerade containers and/or ridged water containers work well.

A quick review at the local grocery store identified about 10 different styles of containers that are of buoy-making quality. A two-liter water container with ridges works well for holding about 80 feet of line. Consider making a very small deployable buoy. I use it when I want to discreetly mark a location in calm waters.

Rinse the containers with hot soapy water initially followed by three water rinses. A quick final rinse with rubbing alcohol helps remove the water, while removing any residues on the interior and gives a clean area for painting. Allow containers to dry thoroughly (important).

STEP TWO
The buoys are gently sprayed on the inside of the container. This is performed so that the paint won’t rub off, chip or fade as when applied on the exterior. Two or three light sprayings to get a well-bonded even coat works well. If you get some excess paint that pools on the bottom of the container, gently roll the container about to evenly spread the paint. Because the neck of the container allows minimum airflow, curing of the paint is a very slow process; you can enhance this by putting them outside in the sunlight or gently allowing airflow from a small fan to blow across the open mouths. At any rate, make sure the paint has been evenly spread and is cured before you go the next step. Consider using multiple colors for color-coding the depth ranges on your buoys.

STEP THREE
Add the expanding foam. There’s about a 6-fold expansion on this, so you need only about 2 inches of this foam while wet to expand and tightly fill the container. Upon expansion, the container should be gently overfilled to allow trimming of the excess material with a knife. The foam is added to allow internal rigidity to the container so that the buoy doesn’t expand and contract in hot air and cold water. Without this foam the plastic gets stress fractures and cracks from rapidly heating and cooling and fails prematurely. Use disposable gloves when applying this foam. I add foam to numerous containers at one time because this material works best from a fresh can because the nozzle plugs easily.

STEP FOUR
Silicone the top on so there is no chance for leaks by placing a small amount of silicone on the threads and tighten.

STEP FIVE
My selection for buoy line has gone from three-strand masonry line; which is available in high visibility colors, for viewing in the water column, to a braided line. The braided line handles twisting better without knotting and looping. The line should be of sufficient diameter and size as to handle well. Too small of a line diameter may cut hands; while too large of a diameter unnecessarily over-bulks the buoy. My knot of choice on tying the line to the buoy and to the weight is the bowline; the uniknot works well also.

The amount of line needed should accommodate the depth of water being fished. Remember to account for both the tides and the sea conditions. Tossing a buoy at low tide in 30 feet of water that is just barely reaching the surface, will be submerged and possibly unretrievably at high tide in three-foot seas. So include an extra five feet of line on the buoys; i.e. the 30’ buoy has 35’ of line. Take into account about 16 inches of extra line for the tying of your knots and trimming of strings. I like to flame the ends of my strings after tying to stop unraveling. I typically carry four buoys: two for the estimated depth of water I will be fishing; one that has 20 feet of line more than my deepest depth I plan on encountering; and one in my emergency deployment box.

STEP SIX
There are a series of choices for weights for the buoys; my preference is trolling weights, because they are swivel-mounted and compact in shape. Swivels assist in keeping the line untwisted. Dive weights and sounding weights both work well, also. Dive weights typically run about $1.40 per pound. The trolling weights are $3.75 for a 16 oz. weight. I use one-pound weights for near in-shore buoys and two-pound weights for mid water and rougher conditions; with a four-pound weight for rough conditions and deeper water. Experiment and see what works best for you. A good buoy to weight ratio allows sufficient weight to gently submerge the buoy; this will assure that the buoy stays in place from chopping, rolling waves.

The completed buoy is clearly labeled with the depth on it with an indelible pen. The line is neatly wrapped around it and stored with a wide rubber band about it; which makes it quickly and easily ready for deployment. Oh, and make sure you remind your crew mates to take the rubber band off before deploying the buoy; yes that is experience talking.

I recovered this buoy about four months later; about four miles from where it had been tossed over; evidently after the rubber band broke, it deployed and that is where it stayed. When I recovered the buoy, the line was coated with algae and seaweed; the knots had held tight, and the topside paint had faded slightly and the plastic was brittle but uncracked. It was still no worse for the wear and passed the acid test for durability. I wonder how many people stopped to fish this well marked area of barren sand.