Posted by Eric Abraham on September 14, 2004 at 13:45:17 from 64.178.230.219 user EricAbraham.
In Reply to: Kon Tiki talk, was Re: Swallow and Dreadnought posted by Jonathan Labaree on September 13, 2004 at 17:58:04:
It seems to me that the folks who originally made balsa wood rafts would use some kind of "waterproofing" to avoid that situation (wouldn't the Swallow have been varnished for just that purpose?), especially if it was a normal activity to make balsa wood rafts, which I think would soak up water like a sponge. Maybe they just pulled their rafts up on shore to dry out; which, of course, the crew of the Kon Tiki could not do. I read Kon Tiki when it came out and really wanted to do something similar!
When I was eight years old, I spent the summer with my cousins on a farm in Southern Missouri (my first experience away from the Big City). We made a "diving board" which was weighted down with water soaked logs, which we threw back in the water to soak each time we left. Those logs were always quite heavy, enough to counter our eight and twelve year old weights. (Seems like we were also diving into about three foot deep water -- Oh, well, the things we did and survived!)