Raft building help please!!?

Question

Im building a raft to float down the canal by my house

I already have 2 large pieces of hardwood nailed and bound together wide enough for me to sit on.now i need something

bouyant for it to float on.any suggestions? NOTE:I dont have any access to any 50 gallon drums or anything like that.

Answer 1

Pool toys. you know those translucent plastic bed-like rafts that sell like crazy around this time? get those. they'd be perfect

Answer 2

Well...

     I have sure been there and done that... I think I was about 8 or 10 years old.

     So... Here is something that might help.

     Remember this... "8 pints = 8 pounds - the world around.  

That is an old sea-going "boat-builders" expression to help them remember liquid weights, floation, and bouyancy...

  What does it mean?  It means, 1 pint of sea water weighs 1 pound, so 8 pints weighs 8 pounds, and since there are 8 pints in a gallon, then one gallon weighs 8 pounds...

So, if that gallon is empty "air tight" that means it is "water tight" ... it will also float 8 pounds.  

So, an air tight one gallon container - milk jug or paint can - (for example) will float 8 pounds.  And since there are 8 gallons in a cubic foot...  A one cubic foot container will float 64 lbs.

     So, if you weigh 112 lbs. and the material you use to make your raft weighs 56 lbs... you will need 168 lbs of floation or 24 water tight gallon containers - just to barely keep your butt dry... Though I would suggest at least twice the floation - as this will keep you a bit higher off the water, and a bit dryer...  So, if you have no access to barrels... then you could use gallon (or preferrably) 5 gallon jugs.

   I live on my boat, and here at the Marina, we had a kid last year, that built himself a really nice raft using one gallon paint cans...  and a discarded ping-pong table.  This year, he has improved his designs considerably...  seems he found two 8 foot pieces of 8 in. diameter pvc pipe with end caps... he place them about 3 feet apart, strapped on four pieces of 2"x4" and atop that, an aluminum deck chair and a styofoam ice chest...

Happy & Safe Boating!

Answer 3

alright, Capt John is on to something here.

Picture this...400 2-liter soda bottles, arranged in two pontoon-like formations, fastened together with hot glue.

In the event of a collision or impact, you'll retain most of your floatation.

PFD for everyone aboard, file a float plan, yada yada yada.  Plenty of drinking water.   Flashlights.  A loud noisemaker (for signalling).