Working Raft

My friends and I camp every year and have been doing so for quite some time. We camp at the same place every summer and are always enjoying the calm water of Lake Michigan that it provides (sheltered by a Nuclear Plant, I know I know ).

I'd like to design some sort of raft out of driftwood. My goal is to make a raft to support two people. I'd like the uses of it just to be to relax 30 - 40 feet off shore. I understand the use of an anchor will have to be involved and I'm not going to include that in the weight (I will swim out a rock and drop the anchor). Basically here are a list of my goals and I'd like to keep it as natural as possible.

- Support up to 400lbs
- Will be using line brought from home, would polypropylene be best? I feel this will be tough to wrap the line tightly around the driftwood.
- What kind of knots would I use to keep the driftwood together? What specific bends and/or hitches?

Like I said it will mainly be to support 2 people, who will attempt to fish quietly and just enjoy the day. I understand that this may be difficult to attain so I've opened ideas to this:

- Styrofoam (for floatation)
- Screws/Drills/2x4 or other wood that isn't driftwood.

I'm thinking maybe two squares of plywood would be good to sit on since driftwood may be uncomfortable. But the goal is simplicity. Let me know what you think and any ideas. Everything is appreciated!

 

bump!!

 

I'll have to make this post quick as i have to go, but make sure that your buoyancy is DOUBLE the amount you need to support.
So make sure the buoyancy is about 800lbs here.

Also, I've heard 3 sheets of the 3" Styrofoam insulation is really good, with a bit of plywood on the top and bottom and just tied together.

Search for 'raft' in the forums.

 

Do you specialize here in dead threads?

 

Sometimes. This thread was only a few months old.
Besides, there's very few threads actually about rafts on here, so the one's that are there might as well be answered, especially if someone else has the same question.

This thread is a perfect example of the above
http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/boat-design/raft-building-help-27779.html