1942 Navy Balsa Life Float (raft)

[Rott51]

When do you ever see one these, let alone completely intact. I picked this up two summers ago. A 1942 dated Navy balsa Life float. It is made of a balsa wood ring wrapped in canvas that was painted navy grey. The canvas has really only two small holes and some of the tie off ropes have broken but only a few. The brass plate has the US Navy inspection stamping. The wood foor is solid and the netting which suspends the wood floor is intact and strong. If anyone has one or has a picture of one being used by shipwreck survivors I would really like to see it. I added a couple pictures I found, one showing the rescue from a balsa life float. Thanks for looking. -Ron

[AZ Jeff]

Pretty amazing when you consider how many of these were issued and installed on warships -- yet so few are around. Very cool piece. I had no idea the passengers were suspended like that...

Thanks for posting.

Jeff Q.
AZ

[iron bender]

Just looking at that thing makes me nervous. I wonder if the ropes are shark proof.

[Rott51]

Thanks for your comments guys. I have tried to find a picture of one displayed somewhere but have not been able to. I'm thinking that these were discarded, or the balsa wood used for something else when they became obsolete and life saving equipment was upgraded. There is definetly nothing shark proof about one of these floats. That had to be one of the worst terrors imaginable.

[N6CC]

My grandfather found one of these washed up on a Long Island NY beach during WWII. Probably many of them floating around off the east coast back then. He had a duck hunting cabin off Shinnecock Bay. He floated the raft in towards the beach and then drove a pipe into the bay bottom so the raft just floated on the tide, "moored" around the pipe. I think the ropes and bottom were long gone but we used it for a swimming and diving platform well into the 1960's. I think the barnacles finally tore it up...

Often wondered what ship it was from ....
Tim

[Rott51]

Interesting story Tim. Just FYI to everyone, I will be listing this balsa raft for sale in the near near future if anyone is interested.

[pdqf]

Is the raftstill for sale? pdqf@hotmail.com 515-442-3126