raft experiences

[PV_Premier]

Thanks for all the continued feedback. Both of us are 'river novices' when it comes to rowing and navigating, but have been around rivers wading/fishing almost our entire lives. I've been down the rivers listed a few times each on my single man pontoon, and of course as a passenger in a drift boat. I have also done my fair share of boating on stillwaters throughout my whole life. As such, we know our limitations and fully understand the risks and danger that water poses. Neither of us would dream of buying a raft and going out to try to fish a class III or IV river the next day. That is something we might aspire to do in a few years, but we have a lot of learning to do first.

The use of the boat is very likely to be limited to the rivers I listed for at least the first couple of years as we learn the sticks. Everyone has to learn somehow, and this is something we both want to do. It would be great to buy something we can grow into as our capabilities and confidence increases, but as JasonB said, boats are like fly rods...good for some things, not great for others...and I wouldn't be totally miffed if I had to sell it and upgrade to something else a few years down the road. So, I guess another "must have" is good resale value

In this case we are looking for something easy to store and transport that we can do some learning on. Mostly day trips, I certainly expect to be able to fish directly out of the boat but of course would also use it to get between runs and walk/wade.

JDubP thanks for the heads up on the SRB option, that looks promising and the fact that they do a loan-out pre-test program is awesome.

[Dragking]

Here's a little background on my boat buying/use history and my thoughts on your situation. I used to live in San Francisco with a very small garage with room for a compact car. I bought a 12 ft. two person cataraft boat with a steel frame. A typical weekend would involve car topping the frame on my SUV, inflating at the launch, then car topping the entire boat on Sat. evening and Sunday morning (e.g., around Redding), and then car topping the frame home. That worked fine, all things considered. After a few years, I moved to Redding, sold my cataraft, and bought a drift boat. In my experience, the drift boat is great to row and fish out of on the rivers you listed (except the U. Sac), but it's probably not the best way to learn to row a river. Three years after getting my drift boat, I went on some whitewater trips with friends, got the whitewater bug, and bought a raft (in addition to the drift boat). I bought a turn-key raft/trailer setup off craigslist. It's a 14 ft. Tributary (older blue version) with a modular NRS frame that can be used as a cargo frame, a stern frame or a fishing frame. I really like it. BTW, getting the pontoon, then drift boat really got my wife into fly fishing. She also loves rafting now and feels better rowing the raft than the drift boat.

Of the boats to listed, the Stryker seems like the best option. However, in my experience with rafts, you will always find yourself wishing you had purchased something more burly. I assume you live around Sac, which means you have great fishing and whitewater within a couple hours in several directions. I realize you just want to get out log some days fishing, but my advice would be consider getting something that will allow you to comfortably run class III and maybe explore some class III+ class IV- water in the next several years. Another important thing to consider is oars. A lot of those smaller/frameless/light duty boats you are looking at have fairly light duty oars, which can be a limiting factor (read: scary) in certain water. I know you don't want a trailer or a super expensive boat, but I think you'll be happiest in the long run if you look at something used that is a little more heavy duty. The Aire super puma (Outcast PAC 1300) comes to mind and seems to come up used pretty frequently. Used rafts can be a great value (and well built rafts are meant to take years of outfitter-level abuse). If you're set on new, it seems like everyone and their mother has an NRS pro deal these days. This raft looks like it has seen too much sun to be worth the risk, but it gives you an idea of what's out there: https://chico.craigslist.org/spo/d/a...295844913.html Also, you wouldn't necessarily need a trailer for that type of boat. You could car top the frame and keep the raft stored rolled.

In the end, you'll be stoked to be on the river with whatever you end up getting.

Just my two cents...

[JayDubP]

PV - forgot to comment on your list of rafts. Only one I have used is the OSG Striker. I think you & GF would really be happy with it and it could handle serious water later on...

Outcast discourages discounting, so the price you pay online or at Cabela's will be the about same price you'll pay locally.

Kiene's is an Outcast dealer so either the store or Bill should be able to set up a demo or to put you in contact with a local OSG Striker owner who will spend some time on the water with you.... I have a feeling they have had this request before.

I have had only good experiences with Outcast, including great cust service from their CR Manager, Kellen Kinghorn. Outcast is a subsidiary of AIRE. Outcast makes fishing inflatables designed for fishing by fisherman while AIRE makes top quality whitewater inflatables designed by whitewater fanatics. Outcast uses Scotty mounts, so there is a vast assortment of accessories available.
Only downside is trying to use it single person.

It will be easier/quicker to sell an OSG Striker and the resale value should be better than the lesser known brands.

Let us know what you end up with.

Jim

Jim

[sierraangler]

I have an older PAC14 and a Scadden XT2 frameless.

I bought the PAC14 first so I could:

- learn how to row with minimal consequence (bounce off rocks, ping pong down the river, etc..)
- get into more varied/skinnier water than with a drift boat (truckee, etc...)
- carry enough gear and/or 2 anglers

I bought the Scadden XT2 frameless because:

- have something easier to row and more nimble for my girlfriend
- have something you can easily portage and/or get to/from the water without ramps/trailer
- get it into places I couldn't get a trailer to (high alpine lakes, etc...)
- pack it into my station wagon or a buddies car trunk if needed - it does that no problem
- get it into even skinnier water than the PAC 14 (such as the e carson, wood river, lower owens, etc...)
- I realized getting 2 more people to go drift is significantly harder/more of a production than getting one other person

As everyone said there are trade-off's to every scenario. The biggest trade-off for ME with the Scadden is the rowing seat: lack of ore locks, rowing position/comfort and a rigid rowing platform. It handles class II and intermittent class III no problem. The portability of it cannot be beat. For these reasons, the Striker looks pretty sweet to me. I have touched it in person but have not rowed one, but if it can pack down to anything close to the XT2, and assuming it performs (it looked/felt like it could) it looks like it could solve most of the drawbacks of the Scadden for ME.

[TahoeJoe]

All of those boats look like they have their place in the fishing ecosystem. For me, they would all be good late season boats. I'd like to have one of the Stealth boats for skinny water like the North Yuba or Truckee later in the season. For the Trinity, Klamath and Lower Sac a driftboat or 13-14' raft would be more comfortable and carry more gear. I would want to test the Stryker before buying one. Those oarlock mounts right on the tube seem like they would be a bit floppy. A raft with a frame will transmit power to the oars better. IMHO, none of the smaller boats are very Class III capable. At anything big, I'd stash or portage my flyrods and then run the rapid and risk a flip.

I used to guide whitewater trips back in the day and, personally, would buy a 13'-14' raft that is whitewater capable right from the start. For a raft I have to admit that I have a whitewater bias and I want something that will go down the Tuolumne or the Middle Fork of the American. As Dragking says, you'll probably want to brave whitewater sooner than you think.

The Outcast/AIRE Fishcat or PAC boats would handle most whitewater situations. They do come up on craigslist every now and then.
Other hints: Hard floors are vastly superior to inflatable drop stitched floors as a fishing platform. you can add them on top. Get good oars. I learned how to row with wood and prefer it. Ash is strong but a bit heavy for fishing, laminated Douglas Fir is lighter. Sawyer makes nice stuff, both wood and composite oars. Cataract oars are nice too. A cooler seat instead of a tractor seat is worth consideration. It's a trade off, lots of lunch and cold beer or a backrest. Unpacking and rigging a larger raft and heavier duty gear takes time and requires storage space and/or a trailer. A driftboat on a trailer is an easier system and it rows much better.

All that said, having any boat gets you out on the water learning to row and that's a good thing. You can always trade up or down once you have more experience or, even, buy another boat. Boats and fly rods, seems like there's always another one that might be nice... you can never have too many.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Yes, getting out on a pond, a lake, the Delta, or a river in a floating craft is a pretty amazing experience for fly fishers.

I enjoy wading but small craft are so cool.

___________________________________________

The first time I floated the Lower American River in a skiff with Andy Guibord was a real eye opener for me.

After drifting and fly casting for Stripers in the early AM we stood up with Polaroid glasses to see Stripers swimming under water.

[PV_Premier]

A little update. I had the opportunity to pick up a OSG Striker used up in Spokane, and passed on it for a couple of reasons - 1) I've decided on a fixed frame for some of the reasons TahoeJoe mentions (stability and power of rowing) (2) the timing wasn't good as I won't probably use it much until spring, though it was tempting for the late season Upper Trinity and (3) after talking with the company a bit, i've sorta fallen in love with the idea of the Catchercraft SRB and planning to demo one on the Yakima river in March and if it goes well will buy and have it shipped down in time for opening day of 2018 season.

Stay tuned but I continue to welcome any and all experiences, feedback...

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Not sure if it was mentioned yet but used rafts can be as much as half of new price if you are patient......



Fun note: Some years ago I talked with a guy from a huge raft repair company in Oregon about how long these rafts last if taken care of properly.

He said they were still repairing rafts from World War 2? 1940s ?

.

[pvsprme]

A little update. I had the opportunity to pick up a OSG Striker used up in Spokane, and passed on it for a couple of reasons - 1) I've decided on a fixed frame for some of the reasons TahoeJoe mentions (stability and power of rowing) (2) the timing wasn't good as I won't probably use it much until spring, though it was tempting for the late season Upper Trinity and (3) after talking with the company a bit, i've sorta fallen in love with the idea of the Catchercraft SRB and planning to demo one on the Yakima river in March and if it goes well will buy and have it shipped down in time for opening day of 2018 season.

Stay tuned but I continue to welcome any and all experiences, feedback...

Catchercraft are great boats and Dave and Ken set a bar for customer service that is just the best. You made a great decision.

[JayDubP]

PV- got an email from Watermaster rafts- they have just introduced (introducing) the Watermaster Bruin, a 2 person , 11.5ft raft that has removable floor and NRS frame to which you can add raised hard seats.

Looks like you could use it without frame or floor to save weight on small water or go all out to handle whitewater. Pictures look good and specs are nice BUT price is little high, starts at $2,995, but they usually offer tradeshow specials.

Do not know if they had it at the ISE Show, but Pleasanton Fly Fishing show in in March and if you called Watermaster, they should bring it.


JIm