“…Ah, a white ship…” Who would refuse a romantic walk on the river or a cruise on a luxury liner? Wind in your hair, fresh river or sea air... Beauty, and nothing more!!! But not everyone can afford such pleasure. How else can you diversify summer weekends if there is a reservoir in the immediate vicinity? The answer is simple: build a raft and float down the river on it. And building a raft does not require any special engineering knowledge and expensive material. It is enough to remember the basic rules and look around. Building materials around can be visibly-invisibly. What are we talking about? Now let's explain.
You can build a raft from plastic bottles
As it becomes clear, building material ordinary plastic bottles serve here. Their number is determined by how many people you expect to build your raft. The fewer people, the fewer bottles. But let's get straight to the instructions. We note right away that this is an option for building the simplest raft; You can always bring your design fantasies to life.
How to build a raft with your own hands from plastic bottles
Advice:
- Firstly, plastic bottles need to be very meticulously and scrupulously examined for holes and holes. Why do this, I think, no need to explain.
- Secondly, tightly screw on the cap of the bottle, which must be filled with air. This increases the buoyancy of the raft.
Instruction:
- Using waterproof tape, we make a block of four bottles. This amount of plastic containers is optimal, because if damaged, the unit can be easily replaced.
- Wrap them with tape as tightly as possible to each other so that the raft does not fall apart. The number of blocks is again determined by the carrying capacity of the raft.
- Further, the blocks are connected in sections, which are formed along the width of the structure.
- The sections are already connected to each other into the raft itself.
- Next, we make the deck of the raft. There is no way without it, passengers with their things will be placed on it. We make the basis of two wooden planks, the length of which should be equal to the length of the raft.
- We fasten the boards from above, across the first two. The distance between them is 40-50 cm. We attach part of the raft bottles to them with the help of a rope and waterproof tape. To make it even more comfortable on the deck, cover the bottom of the raft with plywood, and put a tarp on top. This will help keep things from getting wet.
You can build a raft for children. A homemade raft that can be launched in streams or a rubber pool is very easy to make from a piece of cardboard and two plastic bottles.
How to make a raft from barrels with your own hands
Another option that is not very laborious is a raft of barrels. We are talking, of course, not about iron or metal tanks, but about light plastic barrels with a volume of 200-250 liters. The barrels here will serve as an air cushion for the raft, from above it will still need to be fixed wooden frame. Where to get them? If you know auto chemical dealers, I think they will be happy to get rid of useless containers.
Barrel raft
So let's get started.
- First of all, the seams and openings of the barrels should be treated with sealant so that air does not escape from them.
- While the sealant dries, we assemble the frame from the boards. Usually it is rectangular in shape, with two additional longitudinal boards closer to the edges. The distance between the edges and these boards should be equal to the diameter of the barrels.
- Our barrels will be attached to these peculiar “corridors”.
- Next, install the flooring on the frame.
- Then we begin to fit the barrels. It is best to fasten them with a rope, tightly tying them to the deck along the entire length of the raft.
- That, in fact, is all, the raft is ready.
How to make a do-it-yourself raft from car cameras
The technique for making a raft from autocams is identical to the previous version with barrels, with the exception of only a couple of nuances. The length of the deck or deck should be half a meter longer than length obtained from the pallet chambers. This is necessary so that if an obstacle arises on the way during rafting, it does not ram the camera, but stumbles upon the boards. In addition, this will allow you to additionally install a canopy or sail on the deck.
A raft of chambers
How to build a raft with your own hands from wood
A wooden raft is the most popular type of watercraft from this series. For construction, dry coniferous wood is usually used. The collection of material does not particularly contain tricks. Cut down trees, stack logs nearby.
- Place the logs close to each other on the shore.
- Next, place sticks or poles across the length of the expected width of the raft.
- Then tie the logs and cross sticks together with strong ropes.
- For this purpose, you can also use vines or other climbing plants.
To make it easy to steer the raft, it is better to make an additional oar or rudder, or use a long pole.
Which tree is best for a raft
As mentioned earlier, for the construction of a raft, it is better to use conifers, such as cedar, spruce, pine, larch. The tree must be dry and, when checked, be immersed in water no more than 5-6 cm.
V extreme conditions often faced with the need cross the water barrier(lake, sea), raft down the river, get out of a desert island. To solve all these problems, you will need a floating craft. The simplest and best solution is build a raft or catamaran from scrap materials(trees, driftwood, branches, lianas).
In this article we will talk about the manufacture of rafts for a relatively long movement across the expanses of water. So, you are faced with the need to build a simple watercraft. First of all, you need to choose the main raft material. This in 9 cases out of 10 will be wood, large tree trunks.
There are two options to get suitable logs: fell live trees or use driftwood: old logs thrown ashore on a river or ocean. If, nevertheless, there is no driftwood or not enough, trees have to be cut down.
You need to choose trees with soft wood. They are usually easier to machine and have increased buoyancy, which is important for a raft (balsa, bamboo will do).
If there is no ax or saw available, the trees are too strong or thick to cut them with a knife, then you can resort to tricks. Build a fire at the base of the tree and soon you will be able to fill it up. And remember, you need to fell trees located close to the river bank so that heavy logs do not have to be dragged from the depths of the forest.
By the way. Cutting a tree with a knife is possible, but requires a certain technique. To start bring down trees knife, you need to understand why this very knife is worse than an ax ... and eliminate this difference. What a knife and ax have in common is the presence of a cutting edge, and the difference is in weight. So, it is enough to combine a heavy stone and a cutting edge of a knife. It's simple, we put the knife to the tree trunk, at an angle and strike with a stone or a large strong branch on the butt of the knife. Yes, it's hard, but it works.
When there is enough material, logs, then they begin to connect the raft into a single structure. Logs should be tightly laid on the shore. On the edges of the raft, above and below, perpendicular to the logs, lay poles, strong sticks across the entire width of the raft.
Now, you need to tie the logs together and with the poles. Strong ropes are suitable for tying; possibly fibers from a piece of ship's rope; creepers from the local jungle; a strong vine of grapes or other climbing plants. If the raft turned out to be too heavy and you cannot deliver it to the water, use the semblance of rollers. On the way, between the raft and the water, put some logs and the raft will roll easily over them.
To control the raft, you should make an oar, a rudder, a sail or use a long pole.
If you have a large piece of cloth, tarpaulin, or parachute canopy, you can try to make a raft of a different design. Weave a round frame with a diameter of about 1.5 m from lianas or willow vines and cover it with a cloth.
Rafts for rafting on rivers are different, I will tell you about my experience. Something could have been done better, but in general we succeeded good option, which in two weeks of water travel proved to be an excellent means of transportation.
I’ll make a reservation right away that we are talking about rafting on a calm flat river, without. Its average width was 150 meters, the speed of the current was 3 km/h. Shipping - only private boats. In a word, ideal conditions for a calm rafting without unnecessary problems.
And if you want to better understand the essence of the matter, read my story below.
Advantages of a raft on cameras
So, we thought and decided that the raft would be on car cameras. Firstly, it glides through the water much easier than a log one.
Secondly, it’s easier to find everything you need to make it in the city (I can’t imagine where we would take a few dozen logs for free and store them before the start of the trip).
Thirdly, a log raft is almost entirely in the water, and at some point you may be flooded, especially if a wave rises. And here you are at a height of 20 cm above the water. It's much more comfortable.
Fourthly, the camera raft is much lighter, and it can be dragged by hand through a small shoal that may be encountered on the way. By the way, we had to do it once. A log raft in such a place would have to end its route.
Calculation of load capacity
Before starting to make a raft, we created its model with the calculation of the carrying capacity. You can see it in the first picture. This was done by my partner, so it's hard for me to add something to the picture shown. Then we simply had no idea how to make a raft and whether it could withstand 6 people, so we had to get confused with such a design.
Although at the last moment three people fell away and we, the three remaining, were very spacious there.
Stages of building a raft
So, to make a raft, we took 8 cameras from trucks (6 from KAMAZ and 2 from MAZ, this is not on purpose, it just happened), laid them out in two rows and tied them with a nylon rope at all points of contact (Fig. 2). No other rope is suitable as she will have to stay in the water for a long time. She shouldn't stretch out.
Then, load-bearing bars were placed on top and they were also tightly tied to each chamber (Fig. 3). Well, if they were square, it's just more convenient. But we didn’t have such, we used rectangular ones.
Boards were nailed on top of the bars, resulting in an excellent deck (Fig. 4). The boards were prepared in advance, taken from the nearest sawmill from the waste (although they are painfully good for waste), and processed uneven edges on circular saw so that there are no gaps in the deck.
Please note that two internal timber protrude half a meter on each side (Fig. 5). This is necessary to make "bumpers" with which the raft will rest against possible obstacles. Otherwise, he would rest against the cameras and this could damage them.
In addition, the front bumper was also one of the points of support for the mast cables, and the rear bumper was a support for the steering wheel.
The final view of the raft immediately after construction is shown in Fig. 6.
The sail was our whim, we just wanted to try it. But all two weeks of the journey the wind blew towards us, and on the third day we had to remove the sail along with the mast, because. they slowed down a lot.
The mast is secured with three steel cable braces, and the sail itself is pre-sewn from sugar bags. A perversion, of course, but we didn’t have other opportunities to make such a canvas then.
There must be a “greenhouse” on the raft - a box that is quickly closed with a film wound on pickets. If it is not there, then in the first rain in the middle of the river you will soak all things and your clothes.
Subsequently, we made special supports along the edges of the deck, which made it possible to open the film in the form gable roof, under which it is comfortable to sit (Fig. 7).
Still not without a place for a fire. It needs to be well thought out so that food can be cooked without going ashore, and warmed up, and the raft could not be burned. For this purpose, we used a temporary stove (Fig. 8), which, after the end of the trip, we simply left on the shore.
After sailing, we realized that it was extremely tiring to row with oars without support for the back. Therefore, on the second day, “benches” with comfortable inclined backs appeared from the left and right edges of the deck (Fig. 9).
A few tricks
The steering oar, which has already been mentioned, was rarely used. But it is very convenient when you need to make the raft move strictly bow forward, or when you need to quickly turn it to the right side.
On the steering paddle stand you can see the spare camera. It is also required, because. if you pierce one of the chambers, then the raft will begin to roll to one side, it will become inconvenient to control it. True, the fate of our reserve was inglorious: on the last day of the journey, the sun came out (before it was cloudy), it overheated and burst.
Another important thing when sailing on a raft is a gangway. If you are forced to moor on a swampy or simply dirty shore, then it will greatly help you get down from your ship to a clean piece of land. We had a thick four-meter board for these purposes.
That, perhaps, is all. On this raft we covered 210 km in two weeks in bad weather. Didn't disappoint.
I think there are few people who choose such a peculiar one, but if you suddenly decide to build a raft and go “down the great river” on it, I hope my experience will help you in some way.
Have you read the story? Now you can play. Bet you won't win!
"in the master class presented by the author, it will be shown how to make a raft from boards and 200 liter barrels on your own. This vessel can be used for fishing, for example, take a couple of spinning rods with you, sail away from the coast and go fishing, or just for relaxation and entertainment .
You can also raft downstream, thus traveling and admiring the natural beauties. But first decide on the route, so as not to swim too far and not get lost! Use the map!
And so, let's take a closer look at how the author created his raft and what did he need for this?
materials
1. barrel 200 l
2. board 25 mm
3. board 35mm
4. rope
5. nails
6. screws
7. silicone sealant
Tools
1. hacksaw
2. hammer
3. drill
4. screwdriver
5. tape measure
6. sealant gun
The process of building a raft from barrels and boards with your own hands.
And so, as already mentioned above, the used 200 liter barrels. Which, if desired, can be obtained completely free of charge, for example, from auto dealers involved in auto chemicals and lubricants.
You can also buy inexpensively, at any enterprise working with similar chemistry.
It is possible to use metal tanks, but they will be a little heavier.
Barrels must first be prepared, namely, it is good to close the filler holes and caulk them, for example silicone sealant as the author did.
Next, a frame of the raft itself is created from a 35 mm board, having previously calculated the number of barrels that are unlikely to fit. First, a rectangle is knocked together and divided into cells to accommodate the tanks.
To strengthen the base of the structure, transverse reinforcement is made from the same board, with additional corner fasteners, using metal corner. The barrel is also tried on.
The surface of the raft is sewn up with a 25 mm board, forming a kind of "deck"
ATTENTION! Important point! Boards should be nailed at a distance from each other - this is necessary so that the board does not get wet and swell from moisture, air will also circulate in the cracks and the board will dry out faster.
And so such a foundation turned out during construction.
The author turned out such a wonderful raft, only it is desirable to build it in the vicinity of a reservoir, so that later there will be no problems with transporting the finished vessel to the place of launching. Of course if you have
To answer a question how to make a log raft you will need to prepare dry pine or spruce wood. If you tap on it with an ax, it will emit a loud sound. For this case, dry elements with old wood are completely unsuitable. So the tree will quickly dampen, and the raft itself will go to the bottom. To calculate the specific gravity, it is necessary to remove a small piece from the end of the tree with a saw - about 10 cm. Then place it flat in the water. If this piece deepens by 5-6 cm, then this wood is optimal for building a raft.
In order to find out how to make a raft we use logs whose maximum diameter is 25-30 cm, and the smallest is 10 cm.
In order for the upcoming log raft to have excellent durability, thin lines are concentrated in the middle zone, and thick lines are concentrated on the sides. If the logs for the raft are crooked, then they are placed in crooked places down.
Permissible voids between logs - 2-4 centimeters. Otherwise, the floating craft will turn out to be weakly stable and inert to the ascent and make a raft right will not work.
The logs are stacked on the slipway, then they are rolled to the sides, and their tops are indicated.
At a minimum distance of 80 centimeters from the end, grooves are created on the central log (sawed and cut down). The obligatory position of the lower grooves is being on the same level. In depth, they should reach the middle of the log - the most important criterion. V otherwise When driving a wedge, you run the risk of chipping the sawn wood. A special end is used for the sample. It is carved from raw birch. With its middle section, it lies in the already intended log.
In the groove on it, it is freely introduced from above. So make a raft with your own hands it will be much easier. Its lower wide section fills the top of the groove. A wedge is driven in between its inclined side and the grooved wall. Wedge criteria: wooden and dry. The ronjins must fit in the same plane. In order to clearly understand how to make a raft you can see video below:
Using the samples, you can make similar grooves on the remaining logs. They are fastened in turn with wedges to the central log. Before laying the extreme logs, slightly different grooves are created in them, designed for vag. Three special racks are also cut out with a maximum thickness of 10-12 cm, a height of 60-70 cm.
The main rope is then pulled over them. Instead of a rope, you can rely on the version with wire twists or rope ties. Make a raft much easier that way.
On calm rivers, it is better to use the “P” design of a similar sample. Previously, two racks are vertically cut into the working logs. Then a pillow is put on them. It must be wedged and sawed out in it a section for rowing. To avoid chipping these racks, it is better to focus them on 50 cm from the stern and bow.
On violent and difficult rivers, it is recommended to use options that have metal frames. To create them, modules and couplings are used. The length of the modules is allowed different. Coupling type - shaped. In order to make a raft it will take a lot of effort. You have to drill a lot. There is a need for the skills of a turner and a welder.
But make a log raft easy to assemble and disassemble. To pack his frame, you need a pair of kayak covers. You will need a separate container to pack the oars.
Interestingly, such a frame can be converted into two small rafts, even a catamaran. Cameras and work areas can be attached to it. The latter are placed 30 cm below the frame. This lowers the center of gravity.
An interesting option if make a raft, on the structure of which floats are transversely arranged. It's pretty easy to create. He has excellent stability. On it any floorings and grids can be used. You can also attach any inflatable components to it. This type of raft is used for sailing on various rivers.
Its frame is created using a cable with a parameter of 6 mm and modules with a length of 200 cm. The connecting elements of these modules are hinges. This results in a 20 degree deflection. By weight, the frame reaches 80 kg. On significant shafts, cable breaks are likely.
When you are planning a summer vacation on a lake or a river, thinking about leisure time on the shore there or modest boat trips, you can build a shallow-draft raft for 5-6 people. This includes their backpacks. Such a log raft will also be characterized by excellent stability in steep waves.
The main components in order to make a raft with floats:
Rubber tires (or barrels). Number: 6-10, diameter - 100-150 cm;
elements of aluminum parts and tubes;
wood, number - 7 pieces, length 3 - 500 cm, 4 - 170 cm, diameter of all - at least 6 cm;
steel sheets 1 cm wide.
So, how to make a raft such a design? Place the indicated poles of shorter length (170 cm, 4 pieces) parallel to each other. The distance between the first and second, third and fourth pole is 150 cm, between the second and third pole is 200 cm.
Three longer poles (500 cm) lie perpendicular to them. The distance between them is 50-60 cm. These poles are attached to other poles with nails.
Next, you should create the main deck with bridges. Here such bridges are three shields from tree trunks organized in a selection.
The deck is based on two 170 cm poles, on which board cuttings are laid. Their thickness is 2 cm. They are also connected to poles with nails. By the same principle, "captain's" bridges are made.
The supporting elements for the awning here are willow twigs. And the raft itself is assembled from logs only after the installation of these elements. Make a raft so it's not that hard.
Used autocameras must be inflated. They are tied to the base with ropes. Next comes the installation of the main deck. The sides are obtained from hewn poles (4 pieces). The awning is made of polyethylene.
The supporting parts of the steering oars are concentrated diagonally on the bridges. Here the process moves according to the following scheme: a support is placed on the back of the bridge on the left side, and on the bridge in front - on the right.
After that, the three indicated pipes (duralumin) come into play. From them, the supports are bent. For fastening, steel strips are needed.
The combs are made from other poles, whose length is 250 cm. The blades are made from plywood or aluminum sheets. With their parameters you need to determine yourself.
