About Rafts

The raft has always been one of the man's best and oldest vessels for carrying him across water bodies. Though it lacks the modern boats in terms of speed and power but it is perhaps the most basic among all water vessels that man has ever used. The reason that makes a raft still the most happening and commonly used is the simplicity in its making with only day-to-day used materials and just the knowledge of how to make it.

What you Need

Constructing a raft is a good do-it-yourself project that will get you quickly on water. To build a raft you need to have the tools and materials like decking, some screws and bolts, a ratchet, some marine foam, pressure treated lumber, paper and pencils, a circular saw, a drill with full bit set, a hammer and a knife. Before building a raft one needs to be determined about the size and the weight of the raft. It can either be a heavy and large one, durable in traversing more water or a small one to easily transport raft from one water body to the other. It totally depends on your choice, as such the building procedure remains unchanged.

Construction of The Raft

The construction of a raft begins with the cutting of some 2 x 10" boards into half and attaching them to full length same sized boards with a blocking of 2 x 4". These boards are then screwed with marine or galvanized iron screws held together with the use of countersinks. Now the sideboards are attached to the 2 x 4" blockings at the middle of the raft and the third positions. Fasten together the sidewalls with some screws and blockings. Check out the floor joists in the raft and cut them to 7' in length. Now attach the 2 x 10" board sections along the centre points all across the box or raft and the floor joists can be fastened as per requirement. Use marine foam to fill the spaces between the floor joists as it has the best float and thus adds to the buoyancy of the raft. A knife or a hot wire is an excellent tool for cutting and shaping with foam products.

Lastly, after the construction of the essential parts of the raft, there comes the decking. The deck's construction depends mainly on one's preference in weight, durability and practicality like the rafts.

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How to Build a Raft