Make summer more fun with this DIY Pool Raft! This raft is sturdy and stable enough for kids to easily pull up on and you can make it in a few simple steps!
Pool days are a Sunday tradition around our home in the summer. There is no better way than to prepare for the week ahead than to soak up some sun and family time. Since the grandkids have come along we have purchased a ton of different rafts and toys for them. But the rafts have all come up a little short, when rowdy kids try to pull up on them they give too much. This DIY Pool Raft is the perfect solution. A few swim noodles and a camping raft provide a super comfortable raft to lounge on that is also staple and flexible enough for kiddos to enjoy too!
What materials do you need to make a DIY Pool Raft?
This raft is incredibly easy to assemble. Aside from some basic tools like a drill, screws and glue you only really need a few things. These include:
- Super Swim Noodles: these are pool noodles that are thicker then traditional swim noodles.
- Closed Foam Camping Pad: a lightweight sleeping pad used for camping made of dense closed cell foam.
How do you make a DIY Pool Raft?
Below you will find a step by step guide that walks you through the process. The raft is comprised of the the bed, which is the camping pad and the super swim noodles which function as floats.
Though the details and photos walk you through the project below there are really just a few steps. This includes cutting slits in the swim noodles and sliding it along the longest sides of the camping pad. This creates the side floats. Clean the area with a damp cloth and glue the two pieces together.
Next, cut a swim noodle the length of the bottom portion of the pad, clean and glue together. Lastly, use the extra swim noodle you discarded from the bottom portion and arrange it to create a pillow for the top portion of the raft. Fold the top of the camping pad over and clue. Use two scrap pieces of wood to secure the pillow portion as it dries.
DIY Pool Raft
Equipment
- Gorilla glue
- Knife
- Bowl of water
- Cloth
- 1 pair of Latex gloves
- 2 pieces of scrap wood
- 2 screws
- Drill
Materials
- 3 Super Swim Noodles
- 1 Closed Cell Camping Pad
Instructions
- Take two of the Super Swim Noodles and slit them down the length.
- Slide a noodle down the each side of the camping pad. Leave about 1 ½ of the camping mat exposed to later secure the noodle.
- Following the instructions on the Gorilla glue, run a moistened cloth between the noodle and pad.
- Apply a thin bead of Gorilla glue following the same path taken with the cloth.
- Cut the third noodle to match the width of the camping pad.
- Slit the shorter of the two pieces down the length these pieces will be used in the pillow.
- Slide this piece along the end of camping pad, Repeat steps 3 and 4
- Cut the remaining noodle to match the width of the camping mat. Slit the shorter part of the leftover noodle down the middle.
- Place the longer noodle piece and shorter halved pieces on the camping mat not boarded by noodles. Test fit these pieces to form a pillow.
- Moisten the camping pad with a wet cloth and apply a thin bead of Gorilla glue in the area where the top of the camping mat meets the noodles affixed to the sides of the mat.
- Lastly, use two scrap pieces of wood to secure the pillow portion tightly while it dries. For this I placed a piece of wood below the raft and directly above the raft to create a "clamp" secure with screws. Allow the raft to dry 24 hours.
- Enjoy!
