A raft, life raft or power-raft was a small seagoing vessel. It was used for short travel, as a lifeboat when abandoning ship, or for recreation. In the modern age, they were inflatable.
Specifics[]
Federation rafts were made of resilient elastic compounds. One portable Federation model could be folded and fit into a backpack. It inflated with a cartridge of compressed gas and could support up to 180 kilograms. Civilians in the Federation could purchase this raft for 100 credits. The inflation cartridge was 10 credits. (FASA RPG module: Trader Captains and Merchant Princes, 2nd edition)
The aquashuttle Cousteau carried multiple life rafts. One had a small, hydrogen-fueled propulsion drive which drew matter from the sea, allowing it limitless range. Watertight compartments stored medikits, microtapes, tents, food, jackets, tools, and other survival gear. A storage locker in the shuttle's ceiling held an emergency inflatable raft: it unfolded automatically and was propelled by a compact engine, operated with a control stick. (TOS novel: Deep Domain)
Class F shuttlecraft also carried life rafts. (TOS comic: "Creeping Death")
Two-person Federation rubber rafts were powered by electric motors and oars. (FASA RPG module: Star Fleet Intelligence Manual)
Rafting was a common recreational pastime. (ENT episode: "The Catwalk", TOS novel: Enterprise: The First Adventure) It was also sometimes an arduous sporting event. (Last Unicorn RPG module: The Andorians: Among the Clans).
An overview of rafts was provided in the Federation reference The UFP/ITA Guide to Goods and Services and excerpted in an issue of Spacelanes magazine. (FASA RPG module: Spacelanes: The Magazine of Interstellar Trade)
History[]
MACO Sergeant Gage Pembleton of the Columbia recommended building a raft to cross the oceans of the planet where the Caeliar city-ship Mantilis had crashed. (ST - Destiny novel: Lost Souls)
On 17 August 2234, Leonard McCoy's cousin David McCoy drowned while riding a raft along the Chattahoochee River. (TOS novel: The Rift)
In 2267, the USS Enterprise shuttlecraft NCC-1701/3 was disabled by a planetary defense system on Graktan and crashed into a lake. James T. Kirk, Spock and five crewmen inflated a life raft and made it safety to shore. (TOS comic: "Creeping Death")
In 2268, Kirk, Spock, and McCoy traveled by raft along a river to the village of Dohama on the planet Sanctuary. They had to detour around the Seaside Falls on foot. (TOS novel: Sanctuary)
In 2269 on Vestalan, anthropologist Irvin Domberwicky used a power-raft to travel between the Vestalan botanical collections station and a large island populated by native Hualans. (TOS - The New Voyages 2 short story: "Snake Pit!")
In 2278, after the aquashuttle Cousteau was hit by Chorymi fighters and began taking on water, Pavel Chekov used a winch to lower an inflatable life raft to the ocean of Akkalla, allowing the crew to abandon ship and travel to an island. Later, Spock traveled aboard another raft to recover Zzev Kkayn. (TOS novel: Deep Domain)
In 2371 on Helena, an Andorian riding a seaplane on Helena deployed a compressed-air raft, which expanded automatically when thrown into the water. He rowed it to shore with oars. (TNG - Double Helix novel: Quarantine)
In 2372, Harry Kim and Tom Paris escaped from a Micaszian boat aboard a purple life raft, one which was partly made of lightweight metal and partially inflatable. It had been stored cantilevered over the boat's hull. Eventually the raft was surrounded by hungry darra which dragged the raft back to the boat. (VOY novel: Bless the Beasts)
Unusual uses[]
In 1947, Thor Heyerdahl famously traveled 8,000 miles aboard a Kon-Tiki, a primitive raft made out of balsa. (ST - Destiny novel: Lost Souls, historical accounts)
In 2293, after retiring from Starfleet, Kirk took up many dangerous pursuits, including riding a raft down lava flows. (TOS - Crucible novel: The Fire and the Rose)
In 2371 on Helena, Lieutenant Thomas Riker and Ensign Shelzane jury rigged a raft with a sail, mast, and stabilizing wood in order to escape from a house on an island. The sail was crafted from curtains, and rigging from curtain cords. The raft only got about 50 meters from shore when giant lamprey-like creatures smashed it apart. Later, Riker unscrewed table legs to fashion a makeshift raft and travel through a wide pipe. (TNG - Double Helix novel: Quarantine)
Culture[]
Rudolph Ransom's opinion was that if you were starving and getting sunburn on a raft, it was better to swim and fight with sharks. (VOY novelization: Equinox)
A Rickoverian paradox supposed that you were one of two people in a damaged lift raft that could now only support one person. The question was how one might persuade the other to let you remain aboard. (TOS novelization: The Wrath of Khan)
One breakfast dish — two poached eggs on a slice of toast — was named Adam and Eve on a raft. (TOS novel: How Much for Just the Planet?)
Appendices[]
External links[]
- Raft article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.
- Raft article at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.