building a raft on $75

[djwkd]

im not sure if anybodys also mentioned this but ive heard liquid foam is good http://www.kelvin.com/Merchant2/merc...gory_Code=dont know if that stuff would be alright.proper marine stuff is usually about $75 in itself!

[Toot]

I hope this isn't too risque for this site, but here's an idea for a raft which you could probably acquire for less than $75.

CAUTION: May Not Be Safe For Work!!

[skyl4rk]

Blue 55 gallon drums are $6 each (around here anyway). Build a "catamaran" frame of 2x4 wood that sets on top of 4 drums and has three places to sit and paddle on it. Through-bolt it and use plywood doublers and gussets to make sure it doesn't fall apart. Get some rope to tie the drums into the frame. You might have enough money to make 2x2 oars with plywood paddles.

[l_boyle]

Ha ha ha, I ain't saying nothing

[Mark 42]

Originally Posted by Toot

I hope this isn't too risque for this site, but here's an idea for a raft which you could probably acquire for less than $75.

CAUTION: May Not Be Safe For Work!!

Definietly want a 2-stroke outboard for that.
Funny thing is that if I understood the article he was the
only guy who finished.

[Toot]

Originally Posted by Mark 42

Definietly want a 2-stroke outboard for that.
Funny thing is that if I understood the article he was the
only guy who finished.

Which is why he was disqualified!

[Mark 42]

His bond with his vessel kept him attached.

I guess they declared him "Man Overboard" though.

[djwkd]

Toot,where definately off-topic

[SWG]

I tried making a boat under $100. I use storage containers I got from Target, about $21 each. I then binded two togeather and took it out.

I got it floating for quite a while,,, but then i sank! I talked about this in another thread, but yeah,,, it was pretty embarasing. I know I looked like I was floating in two blue trash-cans... and then sank them.

So,,, word of advice,, when using your drums/barrels/whatever, make sure you SEAL THEM AIR TIGHT! My biggest mistake was sitting inside one, letting water get in if I rocked it to much.

[djwkd]

What SWG hadn't mentioned is that you NEED TO WEAR YOUR PFD/BUOYANCY AID!

[Raftman1979]

Go to Menard's and get three 2" thick sheets of plain white polystyrene insulation. It's the same stuff that strofoam cups are made of. That's enough styrofoam to float 1000 lbs. Trust me, I've done it. Don't use the pink or blue stuff, as it'll put you over that $75 budget. The plain white stuff was under $10 a sheet. Then get a sheet of 3/4" plywood. You can go thinner if your local lumber prices are too high on the 3/4. And if you're only going to use this thing for a few races in one day and not save it, you can probably get away with using that OSB junk. (wood chips and glue). To keep it cheap, simply tie it all together with sisal twine or macrame cord. Does the cost of paddles have to be included?? If so, go to Wal-mart and see if you can get some cheap chinese shovels, or take a piece of 1" electrical conduit and screw some scraps of 1x4 or 1x6 to the ends so you have a double-ended kayak paddle. Sit right on the plywood unless you can get some cheap buckets or are allowed to use lawn chairs you already own.

Unless you can budget for a sheet of cheap paneling on the bottom, keep the raft out of shallow stuff where it's likely to get chunks torn off the styrofoam.

You can use a hot-wire cutter to cut a little bit of a curve in the front of the styrofoam to make it a little stream-lined, but don't go back more than 6 inches if you're gonna have 3 people on it. You will end up with a raft that will draft 2 inches for every 333.33333 pounds of human flesh on board. Two people can have regular oars but the 3rd guy should have a double-ended paddle so he can evenly work both sides, otherwise you have an un-equal amount of power. (this thing won't go in a straight line unless you put the same amount of power on each side. You'll waste energy if you're wiggling back and forth. Put the skinniest person up front and the heaviest in back.

I did this same exact thing when I was younger and we used to illegally go fishing on a bird sanctuary. The DNR would steal our boat if we were caught, so we would scrap something like this together in a few minutes and just ditch it and run if we get caught, and wouldn't have an expensive boat stolen from us by the gestapo. (But of course, after we built the raft, they opened the place up to the public and allowed fishing and boats. Go figure.)

[Manie B]

hey raftman
this thread was started in 2005 and died in 2007

[Raftman1979]

Sure, that contest is long over but it can still be helpful info for cash-strapped teenagers wanting to go have some fun. Boy scout troops still have contests like that too.

[djwkd]

Originally Posted by Captain Mark

Hi, I have entered a group into a local charity raft race, and we must design and build our own raft using only hand tools and $75 worth of materials.
It must hold three adults and hold together long enough to win three race heats.
Any ideas?

Cheers

$75???
Thats way too much!I'm building mine on a budget of about £10GBP. CUrrently i've spent about half of that. Just need to deck it out with some wood that i've got scattered about, and build a litle outrigger with some more wood i have scattered about and some milk bottles.

[Raftman1979]

What the F is "£10GBP"?

Anyway a cheap way to do it is to grab three sheets of 2 inch thick (I don't know how many millimeters that is and I don't care cuz I'm an "arrogant" American, according to my foreign-born president) plain white polystyrene sheets. (Not the expensive pink or blue stuff, just the plain white stuff like what gas station coffee cups are made of). The sheets come in 4ft by 8ft size like plywood. (Again, no idea what that is in metric.) Three sheets of it is enough to displace 998 pounds ("imperial" unit of measuring weight here in "backwards" America, not a currency) which is plenty for 3 adults, unless they're really fat. Then you simply set a sheet of plywood on top to distribute the weight so it doesn't break the styrofoam when you get on it. To keep it cheap, just tie the stuff together with rope. If the contest requires launching from shore or going in shallow water, you'll need a really thin sheet of plywood or something on the bottom to protect the styrofoam. Keep it away from gasoline. ("petrol" or whatever it's called in the rest of the world...) cuz gasoline likes to eat styrofoam and turn it into a napalm-like substance. If the price of the propulsion device is included in that $75, you'll have to make your own oars. I once took two broken flat sod-cutter shovels and sawed the handles off and shoved them inside the ends of a piece of 2 inch steel electrical conduit that I'd pre-drilled some holes in, then ran screws through those holes into the remnants of the shovel handles. It's heavy, but effective. I no longer have that double-ended oar because I ran it over with my pickup truck, ... but that's ok cuz I have a homemade hybrid gas-electric system that uses a trolling motor powered by a deep cycle battery, that's charged with a lawnmower engine turning a car alternator..., but that's gonna put you over $75