Raft Construction
(part 1)

Trip Planning & Preparation

Once we'd decided we were really going to build a raft and go on a river adventure, a lot of planning had to happen to turn that dream into reality. Most of the planning occurred during the winter of 1998. I downloaded tide charts off the Internet. I made charts predicting the tides for our area, based mostly on tide predictions for Richmond and Augusta. I read books about navigation and about boating regulations and safety. I made lists of materials and supplies, and collected folders full of my sketches of raft and rudder designs.

Arlen showed little interest in the planning stages for this trip. I tried to involve him, but he never really engaged in the process. Although he never articulated his reasons for opting out of the planning process, I imagined it must be due to some combination of his thinking that I had it under control, that it was more my trip than his, and that he didn't dare hope that we'd really truly take the trip. (After all, I've talked about building a house as long as we've lived here, and that hasn't happened yet.) Looking back (see 1998 Day 2 Journal entry), I think perhaps, too, I still had some things to learn about teamwork.

During the spring of 1998, I found little time for trip planning. I did scour sale flyers for the best deals on the few supplies we needed to buy--mostly large water jugs and large plastic bins that would stow our gear and fit into the spaces designated for them on the raft. For this trip, we also purchased bright lanterns, to make us visible on the water at night, if necessary. (Thankfully, we never needed to travel at night.) We also bought large tarps to shelter the raft during heavy rain, and rain jackets and rain pants for us, too. We were lucky to own already most of the equipment needed for the trip--sleeping bags, a tent, camp stove, cooler, cooking gear, etc. We also already owned a portable chemical toilet.

Raft Construction

I had hoped not to spend much money on materials for building the raft. I had thought I'd be able to salvage wood for the project. Salvaged wood costs time, however--to find it, transport it, and clean it up for reuse. The reality of trying to squeeze this trip into my life--a life already full with two jobs and a graduate program, among other things--ended that plan. I purchased both the wood and screws needed to build the raft; we already owned the flotation.

Designing the raft, and trusting the design enough to invest good time and energy into building it, caused me indescribable anxiety. I found no raft designs with which to compare my ideas, and I knew no one who had built anything like it before. During the late spring and early summer, I woke up thinking about raft designs and fell asleep pondering design dilemmas. I took my drawings to Arlen's baseball games and consulted with Arlen's dad about every last detail. Dale's enthusiasm for the project and his building experience and advice were very helpful.

In the end, I decided on a raft design that met a number of criteria: It was built in sections, so the sections could be transported down to the water in our garden cart, and so the sections could be reconfigured into a long dock (although I still haven't figured out how to anchor a dock securely on our tidal waterfront!). The original deck of the raft consisted of six sections. The sections' adjoining sides were aligned by three-inch pieces of one-inch-diameter hardwood dowels slid loosely into holes; the whole deck was held together by a rope pulled tightly through eye screws around the outer edge of the raft. Across the stern end of the raft were removable bench seats and a rudder assembly. There were upright poles and a ridgepole connected to the middle deck sections; these gave the raft a rigid structure from which to hang the rain tarps and the lanterns. A tent platform, measuring 6' x 8' and standing 18" above the deck, kept our sleeping quarters dry and provided space for storage underneath.

It was important to build the tent platform and all of the deck sections in a way that would maximize strength and minimize weight. I ended up basing all of the structures on handmade trusses made of 2 x 2s and plywood. Every square inch of decking is supported by the deck structure or the Styrofoam flotation underneath. I ended up going with cedar decking, rather than the cheaper pressure-treated wood or plywood. This was a good decision! The pleasantness of working with and living on cedar rather than the alternatives made it well worth it. And now, if we sit on a piece of the raft deck, the smell of cedar transports us instantly back in our minds to our raft adventures.

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