It was a fishing trip with a very big catch – namely the £9 homemade rowing boat in which the two anglers ventured out on to the open sea . Built with discarded scraps from house conversions including loft insulation board and polystyrene , it was glued together with silicone sealant . Amazingly , the 6ft vessel held together long enough for the men to set up their rods and haul in some fish . But they were scuppered when an oar snapped 200 yards off Jaywick , Essex , and they had to call 999 . The bungling fishermen who had to be rescued from their DIY boat , who have been named as Aaron Jones , right , and Jamie Toms , left . The DIY boat used by a pair of fisherman , who had to be rescued by a lifeboat crew . The men cobbled it together using insulation boards , scrap plywood , laminate flooring , coat hangers and silicone glue . The anglers had already taken the boat out to sea the day before their rescue without any problems . They got the materials to build the boat for free and spent £9 on silicone glue to hold the boat together . A lifeboat crew arrived to find neither man wearing a lifejacket , and one unable to swim . Despite the experience , one of the men yesterday pledged to return to the water with another homemade boat . Jamie Toms , 27 , a self-employed builder , said : ‘ I ’ m already thinking about doing it again but next time I ’ ll get a little engine instead of oars . ‘ The boat itself was solid – it was waterproof . We took it out the day before and we were in it for two or three hours and it floated , no problem . The long and the short of it is that this time one of the oars snapped . They were proper oars but one snapped at the join so we were stranded with only one oar . ‘ I only called 999 as I was worried for my mate as he can ’ t swim . He was panicking and shaking because it was cold , so I was more concerned for his safety than my own . ‘ If it was just me out there I would have tried to swim to shore . What ’ s the worst that could happen ? I would have drowned. ’ The boat was put together by Mr Toms ’ s friend Aaron Jones , who scavenged 4in-thick insulation board , polystyrene and scrap wood . The DIY boat during its construction . The pair used scrap wood that they had found and spent just £9 buying silicone adhesive . As well as using scraps of wood , the pair also made a DIY anchor using a 15 metre rope and a lump of scrap iron . After rescuing the men , who were found without lifejackets the RNLI crew had to bring the boat to the shore . After the rescue , Clacton RNLI returned the fishing equipment to the pair before they destroyed the unseaworthy boat . One of the men , named as Jamie Toms , who had to be rescued . Coathanger wire was used to make the rowlocks , the rings on either side of the boat that provide the pivot for the oars . The only outlay was £9 on the sealant to glue and waterproof the craft . Mr Jones , who is also in his 20s , refused to comment yesterday . But Mr Toms added : ‘ We ’ re just two lads who were bored and wanted to make a boat – why not ? It ’ s better than going out and doing drugs and committing crime . 'Obviously I said thanks to the lifeguards and sorry for being a bit of an idiot and going out with no safety gear . ‘ I was quite calm as I ’ d already been in that situation before so I knew what to do . ‘ In about 2006 me and a few mates bought a rubber dinghy and got p***** up as we wanted to see how far we could get out before needing to be rescued. ’ The pair , from Jaywick , lost their anchor , made from scrap iron , in the rescue . But they did come home with a dogfish , two cod and three crabs . Joff Strutt , of Clacton RNLI , said the lifeboat crew had been stunned by the men ’ s stupidity . The boat was destroyed .
Two men had made the DIY boat at their home using scrap wood and glue . The two men, who are not related, were arrested on suspicion of causing a public nuisance by making an illegal vessel in a residential area. Rescuers were stunned to see a homemade boat being taken out to sea .