Advice from Shawn Grady

Hi, I am going to answer these questions to the best of my ability. Sorry if i tell you anything you already know. I am not the best at computoring these days (it gives me a headache and an ADD) hope this is coherent and helpful.

1) Are you aware of any advantages or disadvantages to the barrel
> flotation design vs. the wooden pontoon design?
PRO- barrels can be easier to find than foam, not as messy/toxic.
CON- barrels can sink if punctured or worn down, they have more drag than a good pontoon design.
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2) Can you recommend a weatherproofing/waterproofing scheme for
> structural elements or cabins? this is kind of a design by design thing but make sure you have drainage on any roofs (ie a lowest point and a place for the water to go.) you can pitch a roof even just six inches and it helps a lot. still easy to walk on. a coat or two of paint seals wood pretty well. silicone seals seams or gaps. or a good water proof tarp stretched tightly on a solid frame can work if you want an open deck.
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3) Do you have any advice for maximizing maneuverability? you must be going faster than the water is moving in order to have full maneuverability. no junk raft is ever going to be all that hydrodynamic but a point or a rake (upward slant like on a barge) on the bow will really help cut down resistance. if you are steering with an outboard or a rudder it must extend below the bottom of the raft. the less draft (depth the boat goes under water) the better.

> 4) Do certain designs handle turbulence better than others?
If you are going down the mississippi there will not be any waves or white water. you will have back currents and even whirlpools. i have never seen any big cartoon-like whirlpools, though we did get spun 360 in the Vilma B, a flat bottomed pontoon raft (the design for that should be on the floating neutrinos website). back eddies can mess with your steering but the dangerous things are barges and dams. barges are moving fast and they can not stop quickly. they can suck a small boat right under their hulls and crush it up with their propellers (or something just as bad, see " S.S. Circle of Death") and Dams are waterfalls and the current gets really strong around them. easy fix with these dangers is stay well away. there are a lot of forces at play with a raft. the strongest is often the upward thrust of the flotation (I built a raft once and didn't screw the deck down well enough and all the foam popped out in a storm!) which is equal to the weight of the vessel above the water. the Vilma B and the Miss Rockaway were both catamaran style rafts and we did have to give some consideration to holding the hulls together. make sure you have a lot of pieces (2x4, 2x6, plywood, logs, ...) going all the way across both hulls. or a single hull design is solid. we used catamarans for max space minimum drag.
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5) What kind of motor do you suggest? Gas outboards are quick and easy. 2 cycles are cheaper and easier to work on 4 strokes are more expensive and basically a car engine, stronger, more efficient. we have always had crappy outboards on their last legs. constant fun.

> 6) What structural elements are most vulnerable long-term, and how
> would you plan for the decay/wear of those elements? that depends entirely on your design. we have always built with scrap plywood and just replaced anything that gets broken or rotten. your talking years before plywood is going to rot. the general idea is build it so that you couldn't tear it apart if you tried with all your might and a bunch of power tools.

> 7) What do you think the viability of poling, rowing or sailing the
> raft would be? poling is NOT viable. current is too strong, the river can be very deep. rowing could work if you have a very small raft or a LOT of rowing stations. sailing is not realistic because the river is very winding, the wind will always be at a different angle. also very inconsistent wind. maybe if you had a very small very light sail boat that could sail very efficiently upwind. but really unless the point of your project is to demonstrate an unusual form of propulsion, i say go with a motor.

> 8) What sort of food storage or cooking equipment would you recommend?
Rubbermaid tubs and a propane stove. there are plenty of towns and stores along the river but i like to have back up food for at least a week. also water. 5 gallon jugs.

> 9) What do you wish you had known before leaving that you learned along
> the way? It is not going to be perfect right away. Things are going to break or just not work like you thought they would, you'll redesign and get going again. It's good to prepare but don't be too precious.

> 10) What other advice would you give? Take your time. the only accident ive ever been in was when we were trying to get somewhere by a certain day and not paying attention to the weather and energy of the crew. (we got hit by a barge in heavy fog) There is really a lot to all this and I am very excited that you guys are getting into rafting. being on a boat with a group of people brings up dynamics that don't come up anywhere else. Make agreements now about who is responsible for what. Is there a captain? are there specific values that everyone agrees to uphold? How are decisions made? Who is ultimately responsible for the vessel? (whos name is on the registration?) these things seem like side notes but they can really ruin a good time if each person has a different answer to each of these questions. it is much better to hash it out on land than in mid river.
Anyway, rafting saved my life and it is the freest thing going today. I hope to hear more about your project and please feel free to get hold of me if you have any more questions. I would love to be of help to you in any way possible. Do you have any design in mind?
BEST,
Shawn Grady