Raft building help!

[junkrafter]

I'm building a junk raft, which three people will paddle, for a trip down the White river in Indiana. I've been collecting materials which include: garden mesh fencing, bottles, and plywood. From what I've read this seems to be a good start for a junk raft, but I'm also curious to alternative flotation methods as well as other materials I might use to build the raft. I'm only looking for items which I might get for free, so this has become quite a challenge.

If I were to inflate an everyday pool raft, and cover it with duct tape, would this be sturdy enough for raft flotation? That is, if I got many of them would this help?

I'm not set on any particular form of flotation, and will probably have to use many different forms. Keep in mind, this raft will need to hold 3 people.

[junkrafter]

The trip will be, at most, 200 miles.

[rasorinc]

Empty 1/2 gallon milk bottles. Glue the tops on with waterproof glue. Each bottle will support about 40 pounds.

[junkrafter]

I've actually been collecting every kind of plastic bottle: water bottles, 1/2 and full gallon milk jugs, laundry detergent bottles, 2-liters...you name it.

I didn't think to glue the tops shut the though - that's probably important. :D

I didn't realize a single 1/2 gallon milk jug could support 40 pounds. Is that a typo?

[junkrafter]

Would storage tubs work as a mode of flotation?

http://i.ehow.com/images/GlobalPhoto/Articles/4582825/box_Full.jpg

I'm thinking that if I were to line the right and left portions of theraft with these, and then fill the middle portion with bottles, this would be enough. Any thoughts? I'm just brainstorming.

[rasorinc]

A cubic foot of air floats 62 pounds in fresh water. I estimated a 1/2 gallon jug to be 2/3rds of a cubic foot.
1 dry gallon = 0.15 cubic foot 1/2 dry gallon =0.077 cubic foot. So I was far off.

[amolitor]

1 gallon of water weighs 8 pounds. Half a gallon of water weighs, therefore, 4 pounds.

Guess how much volume a half gallon bottle displaces?

[rasorinc]

0.077 of a cubic foot

[rwatson]

God, you imperial people have it tough. :-)

1 litre of water - 1 kilo, makes displacement theory soooo much easier.

Do you guys see a lot of polystyrene crates used for vegetables packing over there ?

They would be a good item ti use.

[messabout]

Rwatson: Egad ! You are so right about our outlandish imperial system. We are enduring an evil curse to be sure. A half gallon jug will displace about 1.666 kg. of fresh water I reckon. Do the Brits continue to insist that they be weighed in "stone" ?? I am pleased to note that we do consume our US booze from metrically marked containers. But not beer. That is marked in ounces... I wonder if the Brit pint of Guiness is the same volume as our 16 ounce size. :confused: I envy you Aussies who are so damned independant that you adopted a non ancestral system of measurement in favor of a sensible one.

[peter radclyffe]

I'm building a junk raft, which three people will paddle, for a trip down the White river in Indiana. I've been collecting materials which include: garden mesh fencing, bottles, and plywood. From what I've read this seems to be a good start for a junk raft, but I'm also curious to alternative flotation methods as well as other materials I might use to build the raft. I'm only looking for items which I might get for free, so this has become quite a challenge.

If I were to inflate an everyday pool raft, and cover it with duct tape, would this be sturdy enough for raft flotation? That is, if I got many of them would this help?

I'm not set on any particular form of flotation, and will probably have to use many different forms. Keep in mind, this raft will need to hold 3 people.
whenever you see something floating, fasten it to the raft, why stop at 200 miles, you can make it the adventure of a lifetime, time mag can sponsor you and you can keep going till you meet that pacific plastic nirvana swirl, a webcam can be beamed to every school, to show them the plastic nightmare that is our world

[djwkd]

I know its probably too late, but i wouldn't go with the storage boxes.
Someone else used these and err...sank.
He was OK, because of the wonder that is PFD, but...
You could use those plastic boxes and fill ALL of them with foam and plastic bottles, and that would be fine, but not just on their own.

Hope i helped (though i was probably to late to do so), Dom.

[peoplethought]

Is it weird that I just signed up to ask this question and noticed this thread already at the top of the list? If you sealed the lids on the Rubbermaid containers with marine adhesive would that not make them water tight?

Is there a specific kind of plastic that can hold up in ocean water? I have a relative who has a garage full of unused Rubbermaid bins, some trash cans and cat litter boxes - the plastic boxes the litter itself comes in when you buy it. I was thinking I could seal all these containers up, build a wood hull and fill it with the containers.

[djwkd]

Hey peoplethought,

Yeah, it would make them watertight, but be expensive (probably).
HOWEVER, it's good that your making use of stuff that might'nt otherwise be used.

I would imagine that all plastic would be fine in ocean water. If weather were very rough, it would smash up, like anything, but i wouldn't think any reactions would take place.

[peoplethought]

If the boat were 10 x 30, would it be cheaper to make a watertight wood hull? I was going to make a frame to contain all the bins, and for the planking just use cheap wood or some other material.

I think it comes down to figuring out how much sealent I would need to seal all the bins.

[djwkd]

To be honest, i don't think it's ever cheaper to build a boat.
10' by 30'? I would reccomend filling the bins with foam and/or bottles and then sealing them shut somehow, even just with duct tape.

[peoplethought]

The bins wont be in any danger of being punctured. I'll have them all inside the hull. And even if something managed to poke through and break a couple of them I could easily just add new ones. Does duct tape hold in ocean water?

[Submarine Tom]

So, are logs now obsolete for river raft construction?

My, how times have changed...

-Tom

[peoplethought]

If that's a response to me - I'm not building a raft. I just responded in here because they brought up using plastic containers.

[Submarine Tom]

peoplethought,

No, just a comment about the entire thread.

-Tom

[djwkd]

Logs aren't as easy to obtain.
Besides, sometimes it's more fun to build one with bottles. Logs aren't obsolete, there's just many ways of making them.