Rafts

thumb|Traditional raft, from the 1884 edition of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn A raft is any flat structure for support or transportation over water. It is usually of basic design, characterized by the absence of a hull. Rafts are usually kept afloat by using any combination of buoyant materials such as wood, sealed barrels, or inflated air chambers (such as pontoons), and are typically not propelled by an engine. Rafts are an ancient mode of transport; naturally occurring rafts such as entwined vegetation and pieces of wood have been used to traverse water since the dawn of humanity.

boat used primarily as an emergency means of leaving a larger boat or ship in case of emergency scene

research expedition by Thor Heyerdahl

floating mass of pumice in the ocean

thumb|A kattumaram from Chennai, [[Tamil Nadu]] thumb|A kattumaram from Kerala Kattumaram () is a traditional Tamil watercraft used in the Coast of Southern India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. They are characterized by being made from three to seven tree trunks tied together with fiber lashings and/or treenails. The lashings are not permanent and the individual tree trunks are commonly separated to dry under the sun when kattumaram are beached. Most kattumaram are rafts because they are not watertight and rely on the buoyancy of the individual logs. However, some types of kattumaram known as tep