Island Escape Entry #2: André-François Bourbeau
Another Island Escape Design Contest Entry
Introduction
At the outdoor research laboratory of the University of Québec, my colleagues and I developed the SERA decision-making model for wilderness survival. SERA is an acronym for the four “jobs” that a person in a survival situation must attend to, which are:
With this in mind, let’s scrutinize my Raft-a-maran solution to Small Craft Advisor’s Island Escape Contest and provide comments based on the available inventory of materials.
Signal
Here are some of the actions that should be undertaken to help with signaling for potential rescue and to create items to bring aboard:
Polish a piece of metal into a signaling mirror.
Make a whistle from a tin can.
Hang a colored cloth from the top of the mast.
Make a drum or a gong from one of the containers or a piece of metal.
If a metal sheet or container is available, bring enough kindling and green boughs to create smoke by day and some dry cane grass to create light at night.
Leave a note on the beach on a human-like mannequin hanging inside a huge tripod prior to leaving (definitely attracts attention)!
“Help! Ayuda! Au secours! February 20th 2024, headed south on survival raft.”
Energy
To ration and renew energy, defined by water, food and sleep:
The Raft-a-maran can be built quickly, it is crucial to leave the island while energy levels are high, as one quickly loses weight and capacity on a fruit and coconut diet.
The Raft-a-maran can be paddled 20 miles a day, suggesting the journey may take up to 10 days, necessitating 10 gallons of water. This entails filling 20 plastic bottles, 6 buoyant containers, cans, the rubber duck, the rubber Garfield, fishing floats, rubber boot, shoes, the tire, plus lightbulb and glass bottles (stowed inside the tire to prevent breakage). It is important to bring sufficient coconuts to compensate for the missing water.
Coconuts and mangoes can be eaten at any stage of development, making them the main food sources. Guava must be ripe to be edible.
The 6 foot and 24 X 24 inch cabin allows for crawling in to sleep and is relatively comfortable since the bottom is lined with foam (there are 12 pieces of 12 X 12 by 4 inches thick in 4 cubic feet).
If animals are obviously abundant, quickly setting up snares and/or deadfalls might yield dry meat for the trip, but only invest time in this if success rate is deemed high.
Risks
To identify risks, it is useful to think of pessimistic scenarios and devise solutions:
In a storm with potential headwinds, the tire seat doubles as a sea drogue by using the sheet tied to the crossbar.
The tiny cabin provides a safe haven in a storm because it is just tight enough to prevent being flailed about. There is just enough board feet of driftwood to build the sides and top of this cabin (36 feet) plus one end (4 feet). A cloth door covers the entrance.
In case of a prolonged stay at sea, obtaining fish is crucial for sustenance and as a liquid source between rain spells. Thus, before leaving, consider using scrap metal to fashion a spear and fishing hooks and lures. Also, bring weights to hang part of the netting from the crossbar during sleeping lulls.
Bring an extra 12 foot pole or two (tied to raft) in case it is dropped and lost.
Make a lifejacket with two buoyant containers tied as suspenders.
Secure yourself to the raft.
Bring a bundle of dry cane grass to quickly create light in case of a collision course with a cargo ship. Use the whistle and gong to make noise.
We will not discuss here the option of staying put on the island, but waiting for rescue might be the best and risk-free option!
Assets
Here are some of the ways to cherish assets:
Wrap lighters individually in cloth to make them larger and distribute them in pockets and tied to the raft.
Attach the Leatherman tool to the belt.
Secure eyeglasses.
Use half the netting to make a large bag to contain water and gear and prevent loss.
Keep extra clothing and shoes dry by placing them inside one of the buoyant containers tied inside the cabin.
Create a shade hat from clothing or from palm leaves to prevent sunburn.
Secure absolutely everything to the crossbars with rope.
Treat sunburn with Aloe-Vera juice.
Building and launching the Raft-a-maran
Spend a half-day building an axe from scrap metal and hafting it to a handle, while burning the pallet to obtain nails for cabin construction and some hardwood wedges. If none of the available metal is appropriate, it is also possible to flint knap a thick bottle bottom into a serviceable hatchet. Finally, tying the Leatherman, with the saw open, to a yard-long handle makes a surprisingly good tool, and the baton technique on the blade can also be used advantageously.
Spend one and a half days gathering materials; use bamboo poles for raft body and mast, and hardwood saplings (teak or koa) for crossbars and wedges. Use fire to cut pieces to length without wasting energy.
Spend a half-day building the Raft-a-maran in ankle deep water on the shore edge. There is sufficient rope to build the Raft-a-maran, barely. Extra rope or line can be made from clothing or jute or aloe vera fibers by using the inverted double wrap technique, by cutting spirals out of shoe leather, or by digging up tree roots.
Building the raft upside down on the shoreline permits flipping it into the water, solving the launching problem, since the weight of such a raft is too great for dragging.
Spend a half-day building the cabin and setting up the mast once the raft is right side up.
Departure on the morning of day 4, weather permitting!
Design considerations
The half-round and pointed shape permitted by the upside-down build allows the raft to cut through the water while keeping the top flat.
The narrow width and pointed shape permit efficient paddling.
Any canoe poler will confirm that paddling kayak-style with a 12-foot pole while standing is just as fast, if not faster, than paddling with a standard paddle.
The deep rounded shape of the raft keeps the top logs mostly out of the water.
The sprit sail can be instantly scandalized.
The mast is held up solidly with a tripod, possible because of the wide crossbar.
The size of the sail is sufficient to drive the approximately 60 square foot hull.
The 9-foot width makes the raft very stable and unlikely to capsize.
The long narrow shape and hard chines prevent leeway while sailing on a broad reach so leeboards aren’t absolutely necessary.
The amas will rise a bit while sailing due to mast position, lifting the crossbars higher and out of the water.
The same long pole can be used to steer the raft as is; no need to waste energy trying to add a flat surface.
The enclosed cabin addresses sleeping and safety concerns, and the foam floor elevates the body out of the water in light wind conditions.
Tie rope “handles” on both sides of rear crossbar to hold on in waves.
To watch the build of a balsam fir (Abies balsamea) version of the Raft-a-maran:
•SCA•