Another suggestion - you should ask D. Kruger for permission to use his human-figure skins in the mod. They are extremely high quality IMO - he is very talented. Here's a shot of them being used with Racerboy's mod. Will it be possible to have different types of figures on the rafts, so that there can be different skins and body models? Maybe a troopship could spawn mainly soldiers. An ordinary merchant could spawn sailors, and a hospital ship could generate nurses & patients.
Also, I will send you the raft skin tomorrow at the latest.