Albury’s Mike Elkington, 37, spent more than 15 hours upgrading his float this year to include provisions for cooking a barbecue and listening to music.

“This year I wanted to make sure we could listen to Triple J’s Hottest 100,” Mr Elkington said.

“I fitted a car stereo and needed a power source to make sure it would last the whole day, so I installed a solar panel and built in a car battery.”

It also features two built-in eskies and a portable grill.

“It’s the most laid back thing ever and it’s got everything you need,” Mr Elkington said.

“It is the Taj Mahal of rafts.”

The engineer by trade used four 60 litre metal drums, wooden pallets, marine grade foam and recycled materials in the construction of the vessel.

It was large enough to comfortably accommodate seven mates on a float from Albury Waterworks to Noreuil Park during a four-hour journey yesterday.

“I worked out the physics to allow for the weight of the raft, up to eight people and two full eskies,” Mr Elkington said.

Other Australia Day “floaters” used rope to connect themselves to the raft throughout the day as they made their way down the Murray River.

“At one stage we had about 30 people attached to the raft,” Mr Elkington said.

Photos

Albury

Howlong

Kiewa/Tangambalanga

Wodonga

Wangaratta