Originally Posted by
Sheepdog8404
I would consider talking to Jason Bates. He’s a member on here (username is JasonB) who has many many years of rafting and kayaking experience on rivers. I was considering buying a pontoon or a water master until I spoke with him about it. Where most folks tend to think these “class V rated” crafts are overkill, might prove to be not enough raft after you actually get on the water with them. I’m sure Jason will come across this tread shortly and chime in. Not trying to negate everyone else’s opinions but if I were you, I’d seriously consider hearing his thoughts on the matter before you go and drop a couple grand. Sure did save me some $$!
I tend to think of boats a bit like fly rods; any of them can be great for certain purposes, and not at all ideal for others. If money weren't an issue I could easily justify "needing" quite a few. I think that there are some really good suggestions so far. The big questions to really sort out would be:
Where- what kinds of water and what kinds of access, day trips only, or overnight as well? Etc
Who- solo, one other or? What level of experience do they have, and what sorts of physical issues might they have?
How- how will you store, maintain, transport, rig, and row it? Do you only want it to travel from spot to spot, or do you want something to fish from? These last ones to me are really big (and limiting) issues!
I am a big fan of drift boats for ease of handling and comfort ... but, they do have some big limitations in terms of access, storage, and are much less forgiving in heavier whitewater. We have a 14' raft rigged for fly fishing specifically, and love it! The big issue is that it would take much too much time to rig/de-rig every time so we store/haul it with a trailer. There are lots of places that eliminates, luckily we have kayaks that can be used very well to access many of those.
While many of the smaller rafts might be capable of handling some class 4 water in the right hands, most folks really shouldn't take them down anything nearly that substantial. What may well be a much more important consideration would be just how stable the boat would be for casting purposes. Ideally, I don't think I could ever make those kinds of choices without at least being able to physically check the boats out in a shop (or better yet, on the water!)... kind of like buying a car you've never sat in or driven. Something else to consider, once you have a boat you may be tempted to float a few more rivers than you think.
JB
"Lord help me to be the person my dog thinks I am"
- unknown
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