Floats for a raft?

[(Rob)]

Hi there,

I'm currently in the planning process for a sculptural piece which i need to make a raft. The problem is that finding something suitable to use as floats for it is proving rather difficult. I seem to have made it even more impossible by setting myself the target of using all re-cycled/ re-claimed materials. Anyone got any ideas? 

[admin]

Hi Rob with the brackets

Saw the show at Vitreous. Well done to Jake for supporting young artists and well done to the artists for creating a buzz between you...were most of you participants on the BA course?

I've been making a raft for the Transition show at the Newlyn...theyre great

I've used a load of drinking bottles from the bottle bank at Tescos. Ive got three or four hundred that I intend to put back there when I'm done...I wont necessarily show it...

Have you seen the Simon Starling work that sounds similar? Robert Smithson did a floating island type thing and theres a guy I think in America who has made a massive floating island thats worth checking out (not an art project as such). I can find the details if youre interested.

Putting a work like this out in the river or Falmouth bay would be cool. Are you thinking along those lines? What does Tamarisk look like? If this ends up being as mega as it could be I'd be keen to follow it on the forum and on the main website too possibly.

Last thing when your blog is up and going properly please do put a link to it from the forum...

[Megs]

Hi raft builders

You could check out Kayle Brandon and Heath Bunting, The Avon Canoe Pilot, a little book they wrote about their adventures up and down the Avon. One part of the whole thing was 'Big Float', piloting out into the Severn Estuary in what looks like a recycling box.
The book is also online:

http://duo.irational.org/avon_canoe_pilot/#introduction

This was part of the Port City exhibition at Arnolfini in 2007.

[(Rob)]

The Robert Smithson thing is fantastic isnt it, this link explains a lot about it plus it has a good video,

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/16/arts/design/16floa.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

The Simon Starling thing you mention, is that the 'shed boat shed' project he did (think that is its name). Also if you have the link to that floating island I would be interested to read up on it.

My project is only in the planning stages, but yes I am toying with the idea of pushing it out to sea and producing a video piece from that. How exactly are you using your bottles as floats, singularly attached or grouped? I was aiming for something larger such as beer barrells for mine to hold the weight.

Also about NEW (ad) VENTURE, im going back over the weekend to photograph the whole thing. Would you be interested in me uploading them on the forum somewhere?

[admin]

The Simon Starling one is called 'Island for weeds' 2003

His work is very good...I recommend it to forum members

At the moment several hundred of the bottles are just gaffer-taped up - but this isnt a good solution long-term if theyre going to be used in the water. Putting them in a bag or net of some kind is probably better...it did occur to me that cling film might work...

Yes please to photos: theyre always nice. Jake usually photographs individual pieces for his website - which you can do too - but maybe you can also take some installation shots and groups of 2, 3, and 4 works together - as well as some interesting closeups eg of the shark...

If you get enough good ones I should be able to do a photofeature of some kind on the main site...

[(Rob)]

Update on the sculpture,

The floats issue has been temporarily rectified by some Trago Mills black plastic bins! Im in the process of attaching the lids in such a way that makes them watertight now.

Although im still on the look out for something more 'recycled' as the aim of this project was not to buy any of the core materials.

[Dom]

.....polystyrene ...most shops are very happy to get rid of it and it's very bouant and easy to work with - as for glueing stuff you'll need some silocan rubber (sycoflex is the best marine grade one - but it's quite expensive even in trago's)

[Daniel Miles]

hey there floaters!
 I made a raft last summer as a stage for a three piece band to play on , the issue is not really the amount of bouyency aids but surface area, a bit like snow shoes the larger the flat area of sealed surface the greater the weight it will support.
 it is actually possible to make the raft with no bouyency aids at all though if you are to have large amounts of people on board it is an added safety issue , the way I got around that was to use recycled insulation foam 100mm thick (often you can find whole skips full around some large building projects)
it may also be a wise consideration to add flexibility to the structure for example by making it in sections and then linking them together as the forces of open sea will rip any rigid platform to pieces unless it is extreemely well made and then would be the added problem of getting it in the water.
I hope this helps
cheers d...

[admin]

Hey Dan nice to have you back on line

That raft is like a giant lily pad...nice

Hows things at the Quay Gallery?

[Daniel Miles]

the Quay gallery will be reborn for Easter .
well that's the plan anyway.
are you going to any of these talks in st just?
i'll post em up later if you like
cheers d...