Raft Size???

[CEC2011]

I'm going to get a raft to set up to row and I am contemplating 2 sizes. The first is 13" x 5'9" and the second is 14' x 6'8". I will do most of my rowing here in AR so I am a little concerned with the raft being too big but I also will be doing some paddling out west or east each year. What do you guys think? Is the 14 footer too big or will it suit AR rivers just as well as the 13 footer. My dad has a 13 footer and it handles most everything we've thrown at it I was just thinking that maybe the 14 footer would be more versitile and obviously will carry more cargo.

Chris

[Roger]

Get the 14'. It will work on the Big Piney, Mulberry, Buffalo, Tot (at appropriate levels), and some others. Plus it can handle a Middle Fork of the Salmon run at normal levels, Arkansas in Colorado, and the Green River in Utah (Deso and Gray). Plus a bunch of others probably.

[okieboater]

Another vote for a 14

good all around

I would not feel comfortable in a 14 on the GC, but a lot of folks do.

[Tmuse]

Have to agree go with the 14 ftr. I have 12.5 ftr. And it is great for Arkansas and most stuff out east and some stuff out west but needs to be a little bigger to haul more gear and still have room for people!

[Clif]

I swapped my bucket boat...standard floor... 12 foot for a 15 foot cataraft. I was worried the new boat would be too large. It is only so when the Buffy is low and more of a tight channel issue is the rowing thru no current pools. So my vote is bigger is better cuz at some point I think you will want the extra volume.

[T Yamashita]

Hi,

I'd ask what size are the tubes and the width. It also depends on what you plan to do with it too, If you're doing trips a 14' is great. If you're planning more day trips on the piney. lower richland or the 'tot, a smaller raft maybe better. Most people seem to really like the super puma for most things in AR.

I got a 14' hyside with 21" tubes and it's a pain to unroll and put together by yourself. It's great for overnight trip on the buffalo, but not really worth it for day trips unless you have a crew.
Just my 2 cents.

ty

[painterbob]

we run 13 ft." bucket boats" on the buffalo . as rentals

[robkanraft]

Well, my answer goes against the current of other answers, but I own a 14’ Vanguard and an 11.5’ NRS Otter and the 14 never comes to Arkansas.

If I could only have one, it would be a 12’ er. That said, we almost always only have two people, a row frame and a cooler on board. The smaller boat is a sports car compared to the larger boat, my wife and I can carry it. Not so with the 14.

If you are going to have multi passengers, or frequently carry cargo the 14 does make sense.

I’m never going to the Grand, and if I were, I’d probably rent the right boat for that river. If you don’t get to go west very often, you can always rent a barge on the other end.

Both of my boats have successfully run multi-day trips on Lodore section of the Green, but obviously the 14 handles better with the same amount of cargo. Hope that helps,

[Eric Esche]

Have owned two 16' rafts in past, and would like one again or even an 18 footer in a cat that could be disassembled for transport in my canoe trailer, but nothing in plans or financial forecast.

Big rafts take less time and energy logistically if they have their own dedicated trailer, and you can store them inside and transport them mostly inflated. Smaller rafts that you can stow in a truck or pickup truck have their advantages, as you can also probably safely store them inside if you have a basement. I jelly rolled mine and they died one winter in storage when black ants found them in my storage building on plastic, on a pallet on a concrete slab, even though I had sprayed the building and outside of it for insects. Ants and mice love nesting in and eatting rafts.

Ran enough flood stage stuff on various rivers to not really want a smaller raft and high water would be when I would most likely use a raft even today. Prefer 21" tubes on a bucket raft, 24" tubes on a self bailer.

For most stuff here in Arkansas, 14' or 15' would do just fine and slightly narrow rafts would go more places at low water.

90% of the time, I took mine out with no less less than two other people, never more than 5 others. The other 10% were R2/R1 runs on crazy stuff, or at night, or on rescue/salvage runs. Chafing strips top and bottom are worth the extra weight and dollars of you run shallow rocky rivers and want to keep your raft longer.

I ran my personal rafts on the Chattooga for 8 years or so, so you can't say they did not see tight water maneuvering every time they went out. I was a guide for 14 years there and also ran other rivers east, west, and north, mostly paddle but some rowing rigs.

Been my observations that most/more folks that sell their rafts and buy another one, move up to larger rafts, and the few that down size buy better rafts than their first ones.

one more voice heard from.

Eric

[Crane]

I currently have four rafts... a 9' bucket boat, for use as a spare paddle raft for my grand-daughter & friends on the Spring, etc. (and my rowing frame fits closely enough to row it if I choose; a new 13' Super Puma, to use on most Arkansas occoassions and, specifically, if I ever get a chance to paddle-raft Richland again, but also if I want to do the bony Salt or the MFS at low water; half a 14' Hyside that I bought when I first started rafting and which is just fine on most Arkansas water (except Richland) and most western water (except the MFS at 4.5' or higher); and a 16' Jack's Plastic cataraft with 30" tubes, which is a delight on bigger water (and would have been with me on the MFS at 5' plus, but was doing the Grand with friends about that time:) If I could only own one boat, I think it would be the 14' Hyside because of its adequate size for most western and eastern rivers, big enuf to haul a share of trip-gear, but it's small enough for most Arkansas rivers, and it makes a pretty decent paddle raft because of its 18" or 19" tubes. My 2 cents... Crane

[prophet]

funny how the best all around raft length is the same as for canoes

[Michele Jackson]

I tend to concur with robkanraft's answer. We bought a 14 ft raft as our "only" raft a few years ago. It's only been on one western trip (and did fine). We've used it in Arkansas a few times but you definitely need a "crew" to get it to the river. It's not practical for just my husband and I to carry it by ourselves. I kind of wish we owned a 10-12 ft for local rivers (and the Ocoee and Brown's canyon) and a 16 ft for western rivers. If I could only own one, I'd prob'ly start with a smaller one for local rivers and rent (or borrow?) a larger one for western trips. The 14 ft is "OK" for both AR or western rivers but not "great" for either. A lot depends on how many passengers you plan to carry on your local trips.

[Crane]

So, a Puma or Super Puma for local and most, and a bigger-than-small cat (16' plus) for western rivers... I'm starting to feel like a golfer... Crane

[Deuce]

I have a 14 footer that I've rigged out with a frame thanks to advice from Crane, Okieboater and others. Maybe some day I'll actually get to use it.

[Clif]

there is sumthin to be sed about rollin it up and tossing in the trunk... a smaller boat. Sometimes a plus on a quicky AR float