The Chart of Awesomeness Just Got More Awesome!

Let's talk money.  As the title suggests, the chart of awesomeness has now met & surpassed it's goal!

I now have $326 to purchase materials to build the raft.   I've been working on this project for four months now, and the completion of the raft is getting ever closer on the horizon.  It would not be possible without YOU!  You've donated money, supplies, and even just your time by reading my blog and commenting on my Facebook page.  Thanks for so much support!  

I'm hoping to do a float test in May and embark on the maiden voyage late May/early June, if all goes as planned!  I'll keep everyone up to date with plenty of pictures and information as I progress.  

For now, feast your eyes on this barrel raft project.  It's always great to stay inspired and learn from others. 

Sailing along...

Hello again, it's been a while...how's the kids?  Wait, wrong conversation...

Boater Safety...

Well, if you've been stalking me you've probably seen my Facebook post about boater's safety class.  I passed!  I took a two night course last week with my Dad, we fully recommend it if you're planning to be out on the water.  I should receive my nifty little card in the mail any day now.

We learned lots of information that could help us build our raft.  For instance, we have to have an all around viewable white light,  and a throw cushion (safety device, you throw out to overboard victims or at people you don't like).   We learned about give-ways (right of ways, except on the lake) and that there is no speed limit on the lake.  I'll be taking full advantage of that by traveling at a whopping speed of 2 miles an hour...seriously, that's the average speed of paddling a raft...

My instructor, David Ritzheimer & I

Funding...

As the chart of awesome shows, we have raised over $200 for the raft fund and are getting ever closer to reaching our goal of $300 to build the raft.  Please make your donations now by clicking the little gold Paypal button at the top of this blog or call the toll free at the bottom of your screen. (not really)

Design...

It's been quite a while since we have done anything in this category or at least not on the blog.  Today, I threw around some ideas about adding a roof/cover to the raft.  This is important for several reasons, shade and protection from rain being at the top of the list.  The design I've decided to go with is very simple....four pvc pipe poles, one mounted in each corner of the raft.  The front two poles will be taller than the back so that rain will run right down the tarp and off the back of the raft.  This design will provide shade while providing maximum visibility.  

Day 15: I don't know what the title is...

Sorry, I have not blogged since last Friday.  But, I'm hoping you'll excuse me when I tell you why.

The Flag...
I was working on the flag for the past three days and I'm feeling a little dizzy because of the paint fumes.  A picture of the finished product will be coming soon but for now enjoy these pictures of the unfinished product.

sewing the pocket for the flag pole...

pinned up seam and tested 2 inch pvc pipe 

awesome sewing skills...

unfinished flag as of today...

Tomorrow I will finish the background color, and add the name to the top of the flag.  I'm still thinking that maybe we don't want to add the name?? What do you guys think?   Please comment on my Facebook page or right here on my blog.

Snow...
In other non-raft related news...it snowed yesterday...

We made snow cream...it was excellent.

Here is the recipe in case you get snow or yeah, pretty much if it snows. enjoy.

Funding...

The raft fund has grown from $0 when we started to $95!!  We've had $80 in donations and I've made $15 so far doing chores.  The money that I earn myself for the raft, my parents will match so...we can add another $15 to the fund.  This will bring the total to $110!!  That is a third of our total cost!  Woo Hoo!

New Logo...again...

Sorry I didn't post yesterday, but my Mom & I were working hard designing our "thank you" card.  (It's Classified information, I could show you but I'd have to kill you.) We've already had two donations, you know who you are! Thank you!  You will receive your gifts when the raft is completed!  

Let's move on to some not so classified information.  Our new logo!  Deja vu....... 

Ok, Ok, I know that we already have a logo but I'm hoping when you see how classy this new logo looks you'll forgive me!  Me & the crew talked it over and we decided that the logo needed to focus more on the barrel and the idea of re-using old things to make them new. So, here it is! 

Today I'm researching rocket stoves, and I found out that they are pretty efficient.  And, I'm hoping that you'll help me decide between a rocket stove and a campfire pit on the raft.  Comments please!

That's all for today!  See you next time...

Day 8: Funding Frenzy

Funding...

So, We're on the subject of funding.  As I said, the raft is going to cost us about $300 to build (look back to this post for more details).  We have received a few generous donations so far, an air horn and a first aid kit. 

Donations

So the big question is, how am I going to pay for this raft?  There are lots of ways to fund it but here is what I've decided to do.  First, I'm going accept donations on my blog.  My readers and fans of this project can click on the paypal button and donate any amount to help build the raft. 

Thank You!

As a thank you for your donations, I have a few thank you gifts in mind.

• For a donation of $5..... a personal thank you card from the crew of The Lady Of The Lake!

• For a donation of $25..... a personal thank you card from the crew of The Lady Of The Lake & a framed picture of the raft!

• For a donation of $50..... a personal thank you card from the Crew of The Lady Of The Lake, a framed picture of the raft & a LOTL (Lady of the Lake) reusable shopping bag! 

• For a donation of $100..... a personal thank you card from the crew of The Lady Of The Lake, a framed picture of the raft, a LOTL reusable shopping bag & an invitation to the Maiden Voyage!

Hard Working Man

I know I can't just depend on donations so I'm planning to use my own personal income to fund the raft.  Whatever I save for the project my Dad & Mom are going to match.  I'll be saving for the next few month or until we meet our goal.

You know what to do...click the button!

Bottles vs. Barrels...

So as the title of this post implies, today we're going to be talking about the pros and cons of water bottles versus 55 gallon barrels for the flotation of the raft.  

The original idea was to use water bottles to float the raft.  I was inspired by a guy named "Rishi" Sowa. He lives on an floating island that he made from empty plastic bottles in Mexico.

This video gives you more insight into Mr. Sowa's island.  There are lots more YouTube videos if you're interested.

While researching we discovered that 55 gallon barrels would work too and since we had a local source, we decided they were the perfect solution for our raft floatation.  They can hold a lot more weight than water bottles and take a lot less time to collect!  Using bottles and netting could also have been a pollution issue if one of the nets came open while out in the lake.  In a matter of seconds, bottles would have been everywhere and instead of being a solution to the problem, we would have been causing one.  

Why Repurpose?

Here's what the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences has to say. http://kids.niehs.nih.gov/explore/reduce/index.htm

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle — Three great ways YOU can eliminate waste and protect your environment!

Waste, and how we choose to handle it, affects our world's environment—that's YOUR environment. The environment is everything around you including the air, water, land, plants, and man-made things. And since by now you probably know that you need a healthy environment for your own health and happiness, you can understand why effective waste management is so important to YOU and everyone else. The waste we create has to be carefully controlled to be sure that it does not harm your environment and your health.  

What exactly is "waste?"

Waste is anything we throw away or get rid of, that doesn’t get used.

How can you help?

You can help by learning about and practicing the three R's of waste management: Reduce, reuse, and recycle! Practicing all three of these activities every day is not only important for a healthy environment, but it can also be fun too. 

You can "reuse" materials in their original form instead of throwing them away, or pass those materials on to others who could use them too! Remember, one man's trash is another man's treasure!

Day 4: Buoyancy Kicks Our Butt...

Let's see, where to begin, OK....

New logo design:

My Mom is helping me use photoshop to add a few details to our logo.  I think it looks really good, I like the new design.  We changed the background color from red to green, added Excalibur (King Arthur's sword), and added the Pendragon crest.

Also, I've decided to go with a flag.

Barrels:

As the title of this post suggests, we discovered that a barrel that is "fully" submerged in water will hold 400 pounds of weight.  For our raft however, and my sanity in the water, I would like to have my barrels only half submerged.  This brings our total weight for each barrel to about 200 pounds....crap. This means that we can only support about half of what we thought we could if we want the barrels to be half submerged.

But, we don't give up that easy...we decided we may need to add two more barrels to the design.  Diagram to come later...I love photoshop...

side view of raft, barrels half submerged.

although these figures are not completely accurate, you get an idea of how much work we've done.

Design:

So, we spent some time researching how much our raft will weigh and discovered that it will weigh about 1,000 pounds....

Quantity                     Board Size                    Weight                   Total Weight                  Price

70                               2x4x8                            11 lbs                     770 lbs                          $186.90

5                                 2x8x10                          27 lbs                     135 lbs                            $30.95

2                                 2x8x8                            21 lbs                       42 lbs                            $10.18

                                                                                                         

Total weight equals 947 lbs. not including hardware. Add in tax at $15.39 and the Total is $243.42  

I am estimating the raft to cost about $300 when all the hardware and boards are purchased.

We decided to go with untreated boards because of weight.  I am going to put some kind of water resistant sealant or oil on the boards.  Still researching that.

Research:

I decided what type of gear we should have on the raft today.  We will need:

• 1-type I fire extinguisher 
• 1-type II PFD (life jacket) for each person aboard the raft.
• A sound making device, (air horn, bell, whistle) I've decided on an air horn that can be bought at a local sporting goods store.  
• Lights, a flashlight can serve for our vessel lights but we plan to use the small solar lights.
• First Aid Kit, this is something that we are required to have.