PEDRO — With a pair of storms in the forecast and only the most essential supplies for survival, Kenny Dietrich knows it won’t be easy to spend 24 hours alone on a raft he made from four inner tubes and an old door. He also knows any hardships he might endure will be nothing compared to the challenges faced by the family of any childhood cancer patient during the same time frame.

Dietrich, 41,a supporter of the Ashland-based Friends & Family for Life foundation, has been a hiking and survival enthusiast for the past two decades. Pursuing a recent trend of home-made raft building and outdoor pursuits, Dietrich hopes to use his own raft as a way of raising awareness and encouraging others to do the same on behalf of a charity or cause which is dear to their own hearts.

When he pushes off from the dock at Lake Vesuvius this morning, Dietrich will carry little more than a sleeping bag, water purification unit, life jacket and a backpack paddle for his attempt to spend 24 hours on the water with no assistance.

“It’s a pretty big deal for the average person to spend 24 hours on a raft without any conveniences,” Dietrich said Thursday afternoon. “I’m not even going to have a chair. I won’t even be heating my food.”

Dietrich has been making his own outdoor gear for years and will have two “dry bags” to get through the 24-hour float. He crafted his raft from an old door he found in his garage, combined with four truck-size inner tubes, all tied together with paracord contributed for the project from the owners of Premier Duty Gear.

“I have a tie-back sleeping bag and I will use that as a cover,” he said, explaining he does not want to sleep inside the bag for fear that he might roll off of the raft in his sleep and become entangled in the fabric. Meals will consist of foods such as tuna which don’t require any heating, he said.

His raft design is a one-man version of the homemade “Delaware Raft” often used for similar outings, Dietrich said, noting the $10 inner tubes in his raft were the only components he had to buy for this mission. The old door which will keep him above the water line was an old wooden piece with an inner frame, he said, providing him a temporary living space more than six feet long and about a yard wide.

Weather is a major concern as he prepares to spend the day, night and next morning on the water.

“Storms are expected, so I may have to dock to the bank and seek the overhangs,” Dietrich said, adding his 20 years of exploring at Lake Vesuvius makes him quite familiar with good places to seek shelter in case of bad weather. If he does have to ride out a storm, Dietrich said it will be a fitting tribute to those he hopes to raise awareness for.

“These families and kids go through storms in life. It would only be appropriate if I do, too,” he said.

In addition to his own interests, Dietrich said he hopes the rafting exercise will inspire others to build their own floatation and join him on the lake next year. Before he extends that invitation, however, he wants to test the waters for himself.

“I wanted to test it for myself and see how dangerous it would be for a novice,” he said, citing supporters of efforts including Shave for the Brave and Praying for London among his inspiration for the raft campaign.

 The goal of Friendship & Families for Life is “to help the children surviving cancer or other life threatening illnesses, and their families with survivorship needs. It is our objective to improve their quality of life by establishing friendships, social interactions and mentoring with our volunteers and other children in the same situation to create a system of support. Offering financial aid, services and resources by fundraising and donations, as well as assisting to create social networks and connecting the families with professional volunteers to help maintain the family’s stability and keep them together as a unit.”

For more information or to show support for Dietrich’s homemade raft project, visit ff4life.org on the Internet.

TIM PRESTON can be reached at tpreston@dailyindependent.com.