hmmmmm. have never used the raft since i've been playing. My bud and I always go for the small boat first since easy to get once into Bronze. usually holds us until we ready for the bigger boat. I'll have to try the raft one of these days. I figured that out in the Ocean it would be a problem. Didn't want to put any spoilers.

The raft is mostly garbage but certainly has a few uses including a floating construction platform, or if you put a few in a row as a floating bridge of sorts. I'd agree it's mostly useful for very short distance and coastal exploration. Darn thing is so. Slow.

My main use for it is when I mess up and have to go get my karve or longboat back, and not much else since it's slow, has no storage, and gets broken easily.

Played with a few friends shortly after EA release. We took a raft ride, made it across the ocean. We made shore in the meadows across the sea. And then we died because it was night time and we had very weak gear/weapons. A fun and memorable adventure.

Originally posted by Ryzilynt:

Played with a few friends shortly after EA release. We took a raft ride, made it across the ocean. We made shore in the meadows across the sea. And then we died because it was night time and we had very weak gear/weapons. A fun and memorable adventure.

Haha, yeah. It's also useful for a "We don't care if we die and lose our raft" exploration voyage.

Originally posted by Ms Peaches:

Rafts are painfully slow to the point of being almost worthless. but they at least provide a movable building platform when in water

Even early game i avoid rafts now unless i need something slow and easily controlled to build into the water lol

Originally posted by HAHAHuH?:

i personally recommend using rafts for only for crossing rivers or scouting the coast, as often the central starting island is on most seeds i've seen a circular archipelago. raising the land to make a bridge prevents this exploration possibility.

The reason being is that later in the game it becomes useful to be able to sail into the middle of these circular set of islands as i've often found myself returning there to find deposits of copper i didn't bother to look for before i left.

I just run along the coast when I need to explore. Rafts are painfully slow to the point of being almost worthless. but they at least provide a movable building platform when in water

You can recover the materials but besides the wood they sink, also rafts take absurd damage out at see so like HAHA said you'd be best off using rafts from short journeys or scouting a coats, the karve is available once you get bronze nails/fine wood/deer hide and resin

i personally recommend using rafts for only for crossing rivers or scouting the coast, as often the central starting island is on most seeds i've seen a circular archipelago. raising the land to make a bridge prevents this exploration possibility.

The reason being is that later in the game it becomes useful to be able to sail into the middle of these circular set of islands as i've often found myself returning there to find deposits of copper i didn't bother to look for before i left.

Yes
You need to destroy them in shallow water so you can pick the stuff up. Stand by mast and ax it .. watch your stamina to avoid drowning.