On rarely visited, hard-to-reach bodies of water, where transporting a boat is difficult or impractical, a raft can be built to move on water. In terms of safety, it is even better than a boat, and the fishing opportunities are the same. When building a raft, it is important to know not only the structure, but also to choose the right material.
The ideal material for a raft is coniferous dead wood. And this opinion is justified: after all, a tree that has dried up in its roots (the so-called roast) is no worse than cork in its characteristics. If you can find four such trunks near the reservoir, about two meters long and 16 centimeters in diameter, then you can build an excellent raft from them.
Raft construction technology
The technology for making a raft is quite simple: you need to connect all the trunks together. But thick ridges are always located at the edges, thin ones in the middle. Thus, stability is given to the raft. The logs are not located close to each other, but at a certain distance. This makes the raft even more stable and makes it possible to work with a pole, standing in one place.
The trunks are connected to each other in two ways: they tie or go astray. Of course, knocked down with staples or nails with the help of boards, the raft is more solid and reliable. But, under the influence of water, nails and staples rust, and logs in places where they are punctured – rot faster. Such a raft will not last long.
For the bundle, you can use a material that is easy to find right on the spot. For example, birch twigs, up to 1.5 meters long and up to 15 millimeters thick. But it will be better if the raft is tied with the same, but spruce twigs. In any case, they must be twisted at the root in order to avoid breaking off during knitting and to make them softer. You can use thick, soft wire if you bring it along.
The outer ridges should be 50 centimeters longer than the middle ones. The twigs are intertwined with each other with tops, and this plexus is inserted into the split of the oncoming twig. It turns out a ring, something like a clamp of a suitable size. A strong spruce stick with a thickness of 60 millimeters is laid across the ridges, it is called a povorina. From the same stick, but slightly thinner in section, a wedge is made about half a meter long. This wedge is pushed under the clamp, scrolls, pulling it. After the clamp has pulled off the logs, the wedge is turned over through the bend and driven in between the logs. In the same way, the second pair of logs are tied, and then the second ends of all the trunks.
The raft is almost ready. It remains to put several transverse dies so that you can evenly place the load on it without getting it wet; cut down a long, sturdy pole to control the raft and you can go sailing.
In general, ideally, the logs of the raft are best stitched with wooden crossbars. But since this requires more thorough preparation, it makes sense to make such a raft on reservoirs that will be visited often.
Raft care
Compared to a boat, the raft has some disadvantages: sluggishness, low speed and short service life. Although, a properly built raft, with proper care, can be used for up to ten years. Caring for your raft consists of drying it after each launch. If this is not done, then even a very good raft will lose its properties every year. In some cases, after a year or two, the raft may be unusable.
In order to dry the raft, you need to lift it ashore as far as possible. It is easier and more convenient to do this with the help of two beds laid on a sloping bank. For this purpose, poles are suitable, from 6 meters long, which need to be stuck with their tops into the soft (sandy, muddy) bottom of the reservoir at an angle of 10-15 degrees. Komli poles need to be fixed on the shore. Along these, improvised slipways, a wet and slippery raft can be pulled even by one person, without much physical training.