Plywood and Plastic Barrel Creek Raft

I have this idea for a 4 by 8 foot raft. its for me and my cousins/friends as a project to launch in the spring. we were just going to base the idea off a dock or lake raft. basically 4 plastic 55 gallon barrels, one in each corner with a wooden frame, metal brackets and rope to hold it together. the problem is finding the plastic 55 gallon barrels. if anyone has any idea of where to get them cheap it would be a great help. we have looked around on ebay but shipping defeats the low price, we live in PA and paying more than
$100 for the barrels isnt too good....

 

Go somewhere that has a bunch of docks made with them and ask around about where they got them. We used to get them for $15 each from a brewery, a lot of big commercial foodstuff operations get their ingredients in them. That's the best as the dregs are harmless, some stuff shipped in them, like inks, chemicals etc. can be toxic. Sam

 

I use leftover 55 gallon polyethylene drums from a big bakery to build biosand water filters because their previous contents are edible so they are safe to use for this purpose. Maybe you can get a good price from a source like this?

 

thanks a lot guys, theres a local brewery in my area im going to try and some bakerys and food establishments in the area. thanks again!

 

Sometimes it pays to think outside the box. You could fill large strong plastic bags with 2 part urethane foam fitted inside the pontoon decking and sides, which you construct from ply sealed with epoxy. As the foam expands, close the box shape with another sheet of ply and sit on it until foaming is finished. Complete construction with glasscloth and epoxy, paint with bright colours and the names of the builders, launch and enjoy. It will probably last for 50 years.

http://www.boatbuildercentral.com/

Pericles