Raft Building

Raft building is a team challenge where you design and build a simple raft from materials like plastic barrels, wooden poles and rope, then test it on the water. Everyone has a job, from tying knots to carrying barrels, and the big reward is paddling your creation out and seeing if it holds together.

Rafts are one of the simplest kinds of boat, and people have lashed logs and reeds together to cross water since ancient times.

Most activity rafts float on sealed plastic barrels, sometimes called drums, which are full of air and very buoyant.

Wooden poles, or spars, make the frame. They sit across and along the barrels to hold everything in shape and give you somewhere to sit or kneel.

Rope holds it all together using lashings. A square lashing ties two poles together where they cross at a right angle, and a clove hitch is the simple knot you use to start and finish it. Pulling every turn tight is what stops your raft wobbling apart.

Then it's time for the launch. Carry or push the raft into the water, climb aboard carefully and paddle as a team.

Your Activity Leader starts with a safety briefing and makes sure everyone is wearing a buoyancy aid and helmet. Then they'll show you the materials and teach the key knots. Teams plan their design, lash it together and check every knot before the launch. Once afloat, you paddle together, often racing other teams or heading for a marker. Sometimes a raft stays proudly afloat and sometimes it doesn't, which is half the fun.

Yes, it's a wonderful team activity for families. Children get stuck into real problem-solving: how many barrels, where the poles go and how to make it strong. Everyone's ideas count, grown-ups and children work side by side, and knot-tying is a skill that stays with you. Nobody needs to be the strongest or the fastest, just willing to muck in and laugh when things go a bit wobbly.

Wear swimwear or clothes you're happy to get soaking wet. Choose shoes that fasten securely and can go in the water, because lake beds can hide sharp stones and sticks. Bring a towel and a change of dry clothes, plus a dry pair of shoes for afterwards.

You might also like Pioneering, Stand Up Paddleboard and Shelter Building.

See all Camp Kindling activities