Few challenges bring so many people together as building a raft. It is real pioneering, but with one detail that changes everything: in the end, it has to float and carry people. That forces the Unit to think as a team. One mistake in a lashing or in the weight, and everyone falls into the water laughing (or is embarrassed in front of the whole camporee).
In this guide you will learn to choose the right material, draw up a plan that makes sense, apply the lashings that hold the structure together and, most importantly, test the buoyancy before anyone climbs aboard. Water safety is not the last step: it walks alongside the entire project.
And there is one thread running through all of it. The first great vessel in Bible history was built to a plan, with exact dimensions and a specific material. Noah's ark reminds us that floating well begins with a good design, not with luck.
Choosing the material: bamboo, logs or barrels
The question that opens every project is simple: what will your raft float on? The answer defines the rest. A body floats when, on average, it is less dense than water — that is, when it displaces enough water to hold itself up. That is why light, hollow material is your best friend.
Bamboo is the classic champion. It is light, has internal air chambers that help it float and is easy to lash. Choose dry culms with no cracks or holes (a crack fills with water and sinks). Logs from light trees, such as certain soft woods already fallen, also work — avoid dense, waterlogged wood, which floats poorly. Never cut a living tree: use dead, donated or reused material.
Sealed plastic barrels are the safest and most predictable option for the Club. A 50-liter barrel, well capped and empty, holds close to 46 to 48 kg before it goes under, because it displaces about 50 kg of water. With six barrels you have a generous flotation reserve. The golden rule: the caps must be screwed all the way down and turned toward the inside of the structure, protected from knocks.
The plan and the sizing: draw before you lash
No one builds a good raft by improvising. Before touching the rope, the Unit draws the plan on paper: shape, how many pieces, where the floats go and how many people will climb aboard. This avoids wasted material and arguments in the middle of the work.
The most stable shape for beginners is the simple rectangle: two or three base logs crossed by cross-pieces, with the floats distributed underneath. A base of about 2 meters by 1.5 meters usually holds two to three Pathfinders in calm water. The wider the base, the harder it is to tip over — width gives stability, length gives speed.
Sizing is back-of-the-envelope math, not rocket engineering. Add up the weight of the people who will climb on, add a safety margin and make sure the total flotation exceeds that number with room to spare. If three people of 50 kg are going to climb aboard, you need well over 150 kg of available flotation — never work at the limit. Noah's ark, by the way, had exact measurements given beforehand: length, width and height defined before the first board. The plan comes first.
The lashings that hold it all: square and shear
The raft is literally made of knots. Two lashings do the heavy lifting, and it is worth reviewing the basics on the knots and lashings page before the camporee.
The square lashing joins two pieces that cross at a right angle — it is the most used in pioneering and the one that keeps the cross-pieces from sliding on the base. It starts and ends with a clove hitch, and each turn is pulled with full force. A loose square lashing is a sign of immature technique and, on a raft, it is a real danger: coming apart in the middle of the lake, there is no fixing it.
The shear (or parallel) lashing joins two pieces side by side, aligned, turning two logs or bamboos into a single piece that is longer and stronger. It is the one you use to reinforce the base and secure the floats flush against the structure. Golden tip: finish each lashing and make the frapping turns (the tightening turns between the pieces) really tight — it is the frapping that gives firmness. Test by pulling hard before you trust anyone's body to that rope.
Read alsoHow to build a camp gatewayBuoyancy test and weight distribution
Here is the step that separates the prudent Club from the soaked one: you never climb aboard without testing. Once the structure is finished, take it to the edge, in water that reaches at most an adult's waist, and place it in the water empty. It should float high, with a good part of its body above the waterline. If it already goes in sinking while empty, it will not hold people — go back and add floats.
Then test with weight, little by little. One Pathfinder gets on slowly, crouched, testing the balance, always in shallow water and wearing a life jacket. Then a second. Watch the waterline: if the raft sinks close to the limit with few people, it is at its limit — take one person off. Always work with margin.
Weight distribution is the other secret. Weight concentrated in one corner tips the raft; weight spread out and low keeps it steady. Ask everyone to stay centered and crouched, not standing on the edges. The load goes down, the center of gravity goes down, stability goes up. On a raft, no one stands up showing off their balance: that is an invitation to a group dunking.
Propulsion: how to make the raft move
A raft that floats but does not move is just a wet deck. You have two simple ways to move it, and both fit the camporee challenge.
The pole is the easiest and safest in shallow water: a long, firm pole that you set on the bottom and push, sliding the raft forward. It works very well in shallow lakes and reservoirs with a firm bottom, exactly the places where the Club should be. Just be careful the pole does not stick in the mud and throw off the person pushing.
The paddle works when the water is a little deeper, but still within the safety limits. A rustic one can be made by lashing a wide board to the end of a stick. The point no one can forget: propulsion demands coordination. If two people paddle to different sides, the raft spins in place. That is precisely the value of the challenge — the Unit only reaches the other side if they match their rhythm. It is teamwork translated into movement.
Water safety: the rule that comes before everything
No raft, however beautiful, is worth risking a life. Water safety is not a step of the project — it is the frame within which the whole project happens, and the topic deserves the full read on water safety. Start here and never make an exception.
Non-negotiable rules: everyone who goes into the water or onto the raft wears a life jacket, no argument, whether they can swim or not. The activity only happens in shallow, calm water — a lake, reservoir or shallow pool, never a river with a current, never deep water, never the sea. There must always be a responsible adult in the water or on the immediate bank, counting heads the whole time, with a rescue plan agreed on before starting.
In any drowning emergency, get the person out of the water, call for help and call your local emergency number (in Brazil, SAMU 192). Having people in the Club who have taken a CPR course makes a huge difference in those minutes. This guide is awareness and activity planning — it does not replace a water-rescue course or the supervision of a lifeguard. When the doubt is between the fun and the safety, safety always wins.
Noah and the ark: the first great floating project
There is something beautiful in connecting this challenge to the Bible. The first great vessel in Scripture was not born of improvisation: it was born of a detailed plan, given by God to Noah before the first piece of wood was cut.
The text is specific even in the measurements. God says: "Make thee an ark of gopher wood" and goes on to define length, width, height, compartments and a door on the side (Genesis 6:14-16, KJV). Right material, right dimensions, a considered structure — exactly the logic you use on your raft. Floating well begins with obeying a good design.
For the Pathfinder, the ark also speaks of trust. Noah built by faith, following instructions that would only make sense later. Your raft is a smaller exercise of the same virtue: you trust the plan, you trust the lashings you practiced and you trust the team beside you. We Adventists believe that God cares for the details of our life as He cared for the details of that ark — and we share that with respect, without imposing it on anyone. If you are a visitor at the Club, you are welcome all the same, paddling right alongside.