How to build a raft for swimming/diving?

[Kelemvor]

I couldn't find anything useful online but I'm wondering if anyone else can or if anyone else has done this.

We have a cabin on a decent sized lake. We want to build a raft that we can anchor out in front of our place to use for sunbathing, jumping off of, etc. Lots of people have similar kinds made with 55 gallon drums as the flotations and some sort of platform and frame on top of that. Then you add some stairs and outdoor carpeting or whatever and go from there.

I'm just looking for some plans or step by step directions so I can get a feel for sizes, materials needed, things to avoid, etc.

Thanks.

 

[RU482]

buy a cheap pontoon and anchor it out there. It would be alot easier to remove from the water at the end of the season, and would be multipurpose.

<- doesn't realize how much or little it costs for a used pontoon

 

[KK]

Just get something like these and put some wood on top and anchor it out in the lake. tow it in when you want to bring it in.

 

[Rubycon]

start here

 

[Bryophyte]

Originally posted by: Kelemvor
I couldn't find anything useful online but I'm wondering if anyone else can or if anyone else has done this.

We have a cabin on a decent sized lake. We want to build a raft that we can anchor out in front of our place to use for sunbathing, jumping off of, etc. Lots of people have similar kinds made with 55 gallon drums as the flotations and some sort of platform and frame on top of that. Then you add some stairs and outdoor carpeting or whatever and go from there.

I'm just looking for some plans or step by step directions so I can get a feel for sizes, materials needed, things to avoid, etc.

Thanks.

We made one exactly like that a couple months ago. We fixed one end of a ramp to the floating dock and the other to the top of our dam using hinges at both ends. We designed a special hinge to allow the dock to rise and fall with the water level changes over the year without pulling the ramp loose from the earth. The floating dock has 8 plastic, 55 gallon drums under it, filled partially with water (maybe 1/4-1/3 full), which makes the dock ride a little lower and be more stable. We tried it out with empty barrels and it bobbed and dipped when you tried to put people on it. Make the drums next to the ramp less full of water to compensate for the weight of the ramp, or the whole platform will ride lower on that side. 8 drums yielded a dock 8'x8'. You'll need to strap down the drums to the platform, or they'll shift around and make the platform unstable (not to mention that they could potentially pop out from under the platform and maybe sink it.) We placed our drums in two rows of four drums, and screwed large eyes on the sides of the dock so that we could cinch two ratcheting tiedown straps around each set of drums. The dock was REALLY heavy. Getting the drums under it was REALLY hard. Of course, it was just me and my spouse, so if you can get a few friends together, you probably won't be as sore as we were afterwards.

 

[Kelemvor]

Bryophyte: I'm not planning on attaching this to our dock, it'd be something you have to swim out to to get on it and then could climb up a ladder or whatever to get up on the surface. I was kind of imaging four of the 55 gallon drums and a frame say 8'x8' (just guessing but don't want it too huge). Put one drum in each corner, have the frame come down 10" or so to cover the tops of the drums, attach everything together somehow, and go from there. But of course it's just in my head for now. And we won't e doing this until next summer so just getting ideas for now.

KK: Those things look cool but at $110 a piece (cheapest ones) that's pretty darn expensive when I can probably find 55 gallon drums for next to nothing.

 

[Bryophyte]

We got the drums for free from a tractor dealer (they had a bunch of them). My spouse did the math and figured that eight barrels would be safer, considering the weight of the platform plus the weight of the people. You can make it from four 2"x10"or12"x8' pressure treated, one 2"x8"or10"x8' pressure treated (for a midrib) and two good, thick sheets of marine grade (or at least outdoor grade) plywood. You'll only need to trim a couple boards to make it all fit together. Very little waste.

 

[BoomerD]

WOOHOO! You don't know how fucking long I've been looking for a valise-stored life raft!

I'm in. Please send my free iPad before I finalize the order.

 

[squirrel dog]

yeah . that's like the wtf moment of the day for me .