Home Run Derby!

[hilmarhoops08]

Hi guys this is my first post. I had a question about designing a raft for the upcoming home run derby in san francisco for the mlb all star game. me and 3 buddies want to build a raft with a solid platform to catch balls in the bay with. i was thinking about 8' by 6' using 4 wooden pallets and then maybe some plywood on top. but my question is how can i make it float and float affordably, thanks for all your help!

[messabout]

I am told that there is a whole fleet of guys in kayaks who do this for a hobby. If there are kayaks, then the raft will be hopelessly handicapped by slow speed.

The raft will make a satisfactory platform for beer drinking and partying, though I'd want it to be considerably bigger than the one you suggest. You and your three buddies might weigh more than 700 pounds. You will need a potential displacement of two to three times that much, at a minimum. Figure on at least 30 cubic feet of water tight, enclosed, space. An 8 x 6 box weighing perhaps 250 pounds plus 700 pounds of fun loving guys would be immersed about 4 inches. The box would need to be at least 8 inches deep. Such a vessel would demand discipline from the occupants. Discipline is not consistant with partying and it is entirely possible that one or more of you will be swimming or in the worst case, drowning. Propelling the beast will be a chore, even if you cheat by using a motor of some kind.

Best advice: Get some kayaks and you'll have a better shot at getting a few of the the out of park balls.

[hilmarhoops08]

Hmmmmmm, i think kayaks would be a great idea if the ball hits the water but i was planning on a packed bay with boat to boat traffic. i think it would be very difficult for the kayaks to manuever and get balls so does anybody else have any good raft ideas for me?

[SamSam]

http://boatdesign.net/forums/search.php?searchid=990546

[hilmarhoops08]

What about using steel or plastic drums as a buoyancy system and put pallets on top?

[hilmarhoops08]

here is a picture of me and my crew at the home run derby

[hilmarhoops08]

here is our raft before paint, it was solid but heavy and one of the barrels took on a little water

[messabout]

Good job with the raft. It must have been a hoot. I hope you got some balls, no pun intended.