The rafts

The rafts

The rafts were built on the spot:.  They are really catamarans, meaning built from two separate “hulls”.  The Russians called them “catarafts”.  It took us a day-and-a-half to put the four rafts together.  For two of the rafts the frames were made of wood, which meant we had to go out and find some birch trees to chop (the fir trees in the pictures don’t supply the right kind of wood, which needs to be both strong and supple).

  

Laying out the pontoons; Alexei putting together the beams (this was for one of the two rafts that had steel frames).

Misha and Ilya working on the wooden frame for one of the other two rafts.

Sasha and me putting together the frame for our boat.

Unfortunately, it was a very rainy day.  But we did enjoy the banya in the evening (see “Camp life”).

This gives you an idea of what the finished boat looks like.