No one wants to miss out on fun water activities in the summer. But shallow water lakes have little to offer which can leave you feeling dispirited. Homemade floating rafts are something that can lift your spirit back up. One might feel that it is a daunting task to build a functional raft at home, but once you start with the process, you end up realizing that it can be a fun activity and offer you an opportunity to bond with your family better. If you take a look around the internet, you will end up finding some bizarre but smart floating rafts that have been built at home that should be inspiring enough for you to start a DIY floating raft project. The following is a list of 10-must sees floating rafts built by random people at home. Without any further ado, read on to plunge into the details.
- PVC Pipe Floating Raft
Even though you might have always associated PVC pipes to work well with water, building a floating raft out of some PVC pipes is something completely out of the box. This can easily be considered as the most budget-friendly floating raft. All you need is some PVC Pipes, hacksaw, drill, screwdriver, glue, boards and caulking gun with caulk to build yourself this easy floating raft. Adding the seats can be optional if you are going for a more edgy look. The number of pipes that you need to join clearly depends on the weight that will be added on to the boat.
- Tarzan raft-like never before
How many times in life do you get to experience something that seems to be straight out of comic books? Every other day if you ask this to Marc Savignac. Marc Savignac is a father of two kids and is someone who is willing to go lengths to make his kids have the better summer of their life. The DIY Tarzan raft is good enough to prove this. The two-storey floating platform has a trampoline, a slide, a diving board, a cargo net. As Marc hoped, the Tarzan raft is cherished by his kids and they love to spend time on it.
- Raft racing could not be any more fun than this!
This raft is the perfect example of never letting the kid in you fade away. This is as simple as it gets while considering the six primal elements of building a raft that would not sink. All you need is scrap wooden planks, barrels, foam, recycled materials, a little innovation and you will end up with a raft to chill on a Sunday afternoon with your pet dog.
- Hammock Raft
When building a raft, the primary aspect is that you need to understand that it is different from that of a bat. Thus, there is no need for you to check on watertight integrity. The reason behind this is that the raft is usually made out of materials which are naturally buoyant. All you need to make sure is that the raft should be steady enough to manage the weight that will be added to it later on. Hence, make sure you build it with steady materials. The hammock raft right here is an engineering marvel and a perfect example of minimalism.
- Foam Pontoon Raft
The trick to building an easy floating raft is to select your building material precisely. If you choose materials which are naturally buoyant, then it will be a lot easier for you as you do not have to engage yourself in the technicalities of watertight integrity. A foam pontoon is probably the easiest and most simple raft that an individual can build at home with little effort. Since the foam is naturally buoyant and easily available, it is the most commonly used floating raft building material. One can acquire it in large quantities, cut it in different shapes and sizes as per his choice.
- Plywood Pontoon Floating Raft
Construction sites, in dumpsters, at the landfill, and inside shipping containers are some of the common places where plywood scraps can be easily found. Since these are present it a surplus number, it will not be difficult for you to acquire them and build yourself a magnificent plywood pontoon floating raft.
- Bucket Brigade Raft
This particular raft was built by three girls who ended up winning the Becky Thatcher Award. The raft was built by duct taping 5-gallon buckets to a ladder. In order to offer support and better floatation to the structure, the foam was also placed on both sides along with an outrigger and to top it off a rubber duck was added.
- Barrel Raft
The old barrel can be a great option to make it easier for the raft to float over water. They are available in different shapes and sizes. If you are worried about the floatation, these barrels can go a long way without being punctured. Your local car wash, bulk juice distributor, landfill, and other places where bulk fluids are used are some places where you can look for in order to obtain these barrels.
- Storage Bin Raft
When building a raft out of a storage bin, one must look out for certain factors. The raft must be able to offer enough floatation so as to glide over water without any hassle. Other than that, it must be able to support the weight of the crew and any other additions that you have made on the raft to make it more welcoming. This varies for every raft and the above-mentioned factors must be considered. As it will determine the number of storage bins you must add to the raft as well as what must be the size of each bin.
- Triceratops
This floating raft is quite different from the regular homemade floating rafts which have been mentioned on this list and requires much more precision and work into it. However, the end result will be worth it.
