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Finishing touches are being put to the vessels which will power their way to raising funds for good causes at the Rotary Club of Salmaniya's annual raft race.
The big rowing 'splash-tacular' takes place on May 1 at the Al Bander Hotel and Resort.
The rafts are being primed for the race at a giant shed at a steel works company base in Mina Salman industrial area before being delivered to the venue.
"The teams are looking forward to start practising in their rafts. This is our major annual fund-raiser and the teams are very excited about participating," said Mohammed Amin Al Khaja, president of the Rotary Club and managing director of Al Khaja Group of companies where the rafts were built.
"We are into our ninth year of preparing the rafts for the event. Last year we made all new rafts and we needed to make repairs to nine of them in our shed this year - while the others were already in good condition," said Mr Khaja. Although there are 30 teams participating this year, there are different entry categories and the rafts will be used repeatedly throughout the day by various teams in different races.
The rafts have been put together using old oil drums. Six drums are welded together to make a raft with pipes on the inside for leg support. The brick coloured rafts each weigh 200 kilograms and a single raft takes a day to finish with 40 man hours and three people assigned to the job. The raft is three metres long and 1.6 metres wide and can carry eight people and approximately 900 kilograms of weight.
The Raft Race started in the late 70s and has since then raised BD2 million for various charitable projects. It is a day-long event fuelled with adrenaline and excitement and attracts sporting enthusiasts from all over the island.
