Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska Raft question

To get from our sailboat to shore we used an inflatable most.

They are very stable and can be 'taken down' to transport.

Ours were in the 9 to 10 ft size and could take an outboard.

Jeff,

I had an 18' Aire Leopard Cataraft with a custom drop fame that really lowered the center of gravity.

It was made so the center section rode about 4" above the waterline when fully loaded and the end sections were raised to tube-top height for taking big rollers without taking too much water.

I put 3/4" Marine plywood floorboards all across the frame for a platform so that you could walk the entire length of the boat. A raised rowing bench of marine plywood provided not only a seat, but additional flat space to hold misc. gear.

The longest part of the frame was 6' and I could get all of it into a Super Cub except the 10' oars, which we strapped to the wing struts.

I mostly floated Class 1-2 water with a couple of Class 3-4 stretches and never had a problem. The most I ever put in it and floated a river was ~1750lb and I could still maneuver it quite easily.

A good Cataraft, with decent rocker, will outperform any oval or "D" raft, particularly on faster water.

From unloading the components on a river bank to pushing off took two of us about three hours and that included pumping up the tubes with a double-acting hand pump, assembling the frame and floorboards, and sorting and lashing everything for best center of balance.

I also built a motor mount for it and trolled for Silver Salmon in Resurrection Bay using a 25hp outboard. Got some pretty strange looks from other boaters...

My two picks would be first, the Aire Leopard; LINK

and second, the Aire Lion 16; LINK

For just you and Caroline, camp gear and a moose, the Lion 16' would do just fine.

I have pictures of mine, but they are all prints.

Ed

Ed thanks for the input.

Hopefully in a month or so I'll send you another picture... LOL.

Jeff

14 or 16 ft, about 6 chambers, self bailer with custom frame to fit 2 of your coolers,3 oars,and at least 18 inch tubes. On the coolers I suggest high end since they may serve as seats depending on ones design. A large water proof dry box can serve as a second seat. Coolers and dry boxes should be suspended in the frame and not rest on the bottom of the raft. Bottom needs to flex over submerged rock etc. Coolers don't work for crap if the lids compress and don't seal. Always lash coolers and dry boxes into ones frame. Accompanying gear should be purchased with concerns toward durability, and fitting into a compact initial load. Things like thin flat stoves, roll up tables, and chairs should be given a lot of thought.

I've done many week+ scout trips with rafts, but mainly favor a hard boat for my fishing trips that may run to two weeks.

Rafts can carry a ton of stuff, but they handle like a ton of bricks if overloaded.

OK how do the new Hi pressure drop stitch floor rafts perform. Sure makes a difference in my Saturn Kaboat.

Looking for drift boat like performance lots of rocker and a hard floor.