/diy/ - Do It Yourself

[Anonymous No.480070]

Hello, I am going to build a raft using barrels (200 L) and I have a few concerns.
Steel vs. plastic barrels?
How much weight can a single barrel take?
Should a chassis be made of metal (+ wooden floor) or wood?
What's the best way to connect barrels to a chassis?

[Anonymous No.480088]

>How much weight can a single barrel take?

Figure the volume of the barrel. In liters, that's the weight it can bear in kilograms, less the weight of the barrel itself. Naturally, you don't want that to be 90% submerged, so just half it and there's your displacement goal.

>steel vs plastic

Shouldn't make a difference except plastic will degrade in sunlight. Steel will rust, especially in salt water. But you don't do this because you want a boat that lasts fifty years do you?

>chassis

Wood. Easier, lighter, positive buoyancy, easier to work, absorbs impacts better in this application. Cheaper.

>barrel connection
You're not connecting them, merely holding them down while your deck gets held up. So just pin them loosely in place with your deck structure and then lash them in tighter with rope.

[Anonymous No.480090]

200L barrel displaces 200L of water when submerged.

1kg = 1L of pure water (approx)
1kg of saltwater?

[Anonymous No.480103]

>>480090
1 liter of seawater will weigh (on average) 1.027 kg.
so for your purpose, it's acceptable to assume 1L=1kg

>>480088
>lash them in tighter with rope.
this, lash the fuck out of them, like ridiculous overkill.
Barrel rafts don't like staying together when the water flexes your chassis back and forth, this is #1 raft killer.

I ran a youth camp out by lake dunstian for a couple seasons, one of the activities we ran was raft building, so many fails,
so so many.

[Anonymous No.480222]

OP here.
What's wrong with having 2 rows of steel barrels and have barrels in each row welded and finally everything welded to a metal construction.

[Anonymous No.480249]

Don't use steel barrels as they will rust over time.

Second don't weld too the barrels. That will introduce a weakness that will eventually be corroded away over time and you will sink.

[Anonymous No.480252]

Use plastic I think and I think you can combat the sunlight over time problem by covering it with a tarp or something (idk, makes sense though).

I made a raft using a pallet, ripped off a few off the bottom wooden planks and it naturally held the barrel in place. Can put rope around it, so if you pull it out of the water.

Have fun OP wish I still had the access to tools and building material I used to have

[Anonymous No.480270]

>>480070
if you use polyethylene barrels then they must be protected from sunlight as well as possible, as the UV light will cause them to become brittle and crack over the time of 2-3 years.

Steel barrels will rust rather quickly in any kind of water, unless they are nearly-brand-new barrels that aren't scratched up.

For fresh water, the best choice would be to use beer kegs, since they are aluminum. They would cost more than plastic or steel though.

For salt water the polyethylene barrels are best, because salt water will quickly corrode both steel and aluminum. You just gotta shield the barrels from sunlight....

[Anonymous No.480269]

ladders are usefull for providing support to the main structure, as even the metal ones are fairly light yet sturdy

[Anonymous No.480710]

Fill the barrels with closed cell foam. Preferably a liquid A-B foam mixture but even filling it styrofoam scraps in will help. This way even if they get punctured you will still float.

And tie the barrels on like your life depends on it, because it does. Allot of people die thinking they can swim to shore GET LIFE VESTS.

[Anonymous No.481488]

>>480270
Corrode aluminum? Nigga you high?

[Anonymous No.481509]

Have you never even scrapheap challenged?

[Anonymous No.481525]

>>480070
BTW unless you register your watercraft you're going to get in trouble with the law.

[Anonymous No.481531]

>>481488

you don't know much about boats do you? pro tip: they're not sitting in distilled water.

[Anonymous No.481563]

use metal barrels.

weld them end to end, and coat them with neverwet or some other thick waterproofing goop.

[Anonymous No.481564]

>>480070
you could also look at places that sell commercial kits for doing this.
Not that you would buy the kit, but just to see how they do it...
one example-
http://rollingbarge.com/floating-dock-kits/

do keep in mind,,, these things have a lot of water drag on them.
When these things are used as boats, you need a HUGE engine on them, and even then they just crawl along at full power.

[Anonymous No.481576]

>>480249
>>480222
this
when using steel drums dont weld em, in just slight wind, theres serious stresses on the chassis and welded connections will rip up and leak pretty quick.
id just use ratchet straps, that way you can re tighten them when needed and disassemble when needed.

[Anonymous No.481579]

>>480270
>beer kegs, since they are aluminum.
wat?
where do they have aluminum beerkegs? working in a brewery i have yet to see anything but stainless steel.

[Anonymous No.481608]

>>481531
...6/10. You had me rustled for a moment.

[Anonymous No.481897]

>>480070
Plastic: foam filled if you can afford it
Google buoyancy calculator
Your choice but I would use .125 Aluminum floor and wooden frame.
Nylon Straps

[Mule No.481905]

>kids bed shaped like a car
>inflatable balls
>duct tape, rope, etc
>dress up like mario bros
>wear your life jacket
>pic related

[Anonymous No.482269]

>>481531
>>480270

Salt water does not corrode aluminum.

[joker !KNs1o0VDv6 No.482451]

Why not order some pontoons,and....build a house boat!