Washed up on the beach down the street from my house....
On a holiday weekend here in the US, it's good to be reminded that people will go to these lengths to get to our shores. From the northern coast of Cuba, it's only 90 miles to Key west. Brave and desperate people construct these makeshift craft and cast themselves into the sea just for a chance at what we take for granted. They pray the currents and winds will allow them to find a landing in South Florida somewhere. Whether the occupants of this one made it or were victims of an uncaring ocean is unknown to me.
When we have storms (like hurricane Isaac this week), these DIY vessels can be carried farther up the coast. Which is how it ended up in my area. 2''x4''s, some firring strips, pour foam, and tarps. Actually this is a sophisticated Cuban raft. Some of them are glorified inner tubes. Then there's the famous one that was a car to start with at the other end of the scale.
It looks like they built a wood frame, set it on the large tarp, then poured a big collar of PU foam as they wrapped the tarp back around onto the frame and nailed it down with strips. This is the bottom in the pics, it was too heavy (and too big, about 14') to turn over.
