12 ft SB rafts

[Crane]

Years ago, I think it was Aire that made a cat with double (triple?) low tubes on either side with a rowing frame... I don't know what size the tubes were, but most IKs run 10" tubes, which is probably about the same... So, rowing frame & 8 straps converts two IKs to a small raft? Hmmm... might work!

[scott yarbrough]

Crane a couple of years ago I R2'ed a Water Wolf. I think that may be what your talking about. It is a Russian design with a interchangeable amount of tubes. I'm thinking the tubes were either 10" or 12" with no arc to them. With the different simple frames you could go from just two tubes and paddle it like a ducky using a kayak paddle, or four and R2 it with canoe paddles, or six tubes as a oar rig.

It was actually pretty cool. A wet ride however, I remember punching a wave on the upper Mulberry and the only thing that didn't go under were our heads.

[Crane]

I believe the one I recall was made by Aire... doubled-up, smaller tubes. You're right that it would be a very wet ride... but it was probably pretty stable, too... Obviously, since they no longer make it, it was passed by with newer designs... BUT, the theory still holds my interest in having two IK's that could be fashioned into one decent-sized raft to hold several paddlers or an oarsman and a passanger on Class II and III-ish water.

[Crane]

From the Jack's Plastic website: "The Idea of a cataraft evolved with Chris Walker, who had a company called Argonaugt, and later became one of the owners of the Aire corporation, (Argonaugt Inflatable Research and Engineering) the largest Cataraft manufacturer in the country. The Argonaugt was a double tube design. It had two tubes on each side. This design allowed the boat a shallower draft in the water, but it also had more surface area in contact with the water, and therefore it was more likely to be acted upon by the river hydraulics than a single tube design."

So, on Class II and III, it might not be as big a problem!!

see:http://www.jpwinc.com/frame.html

[Crane]

I also ran across a message on the Alaska paddling website where Jim Stoltz said: "I am also bringing a homemade 10' cat derived from two Aire Lynx IKs. It's the most fun boat I have." Hmmmm... Another Strike and I'm there... two IK's for the Nanty and add a frame/oars and have a small cat for the Ocoee!!

[Crane]

also:
"The original PAC 9000 quad pontoon design (now called the Cougar) came about after I suggested to Dave Scadden that two small diameter pontoons would create less wind resistance and a bigger surface area on top of the pontoons for storing items. He was helping Jim Dean design the Outcast line at the the time and the boat quickly became the Cadillac of the line.
We used it extensively from Kamchatka to Patagonia but reluctantly came to realize that it had serious limitations. It was quite heavy. The buoyancy suggested that it could be used in whitewater but the large surface area and low profile we created made problems in big hydraulics by being swamped easily and was pushed around in the currents more than we felt comfortable with. I'd limit that design to class II+ or less for safety reasons. While low profile in the wind, good tracking and shallow draft, the extra surface area created lots of extra drag and it made for a much slower boat than a standard pontoon boat. The double pontoons also reduced the interior leg space, between the pontoons, so guys using fins for propulsion felt a little cramped and the design didn't turn well with fins because it pushed do much surface area. The frame was widened eventually for better safety and interior space but other designs had already eclipsed it.

The next stage in the evolution was the frameless, lightweight boats Dave and I designed called the World Navigator, Escalade and Deschutes. Frameless designs worked great for our trips and developed a small but loyal following but the general public never really caught on to the frameless concept. Our favorite boat was often the Deschutes because of it's long, sleek waterline so the Cardiac Canyon (Bimini Twist) design was born to keep the shape of the low profile, high performance boats while adding a frame that accomodated a beefy rowing system and small standing deck. It's still the fastest personal pontoon boat on the water and cuts through wind and waves like nothing else.

The business is market driven and often surprises us. People kept asking for bigger and more specialized boats so we developed about 30 different boats since then, 16 of which are now part of the http://www.northforkoutdoors.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; lineup.

I hope that briefly explains why hardcore pontoon boat users have moved away from the quad design pontoon boats about 10-12 years ago. The design persists because it looks cool and some people think that they can't live without the buoyancy of 4 pontoons.

Downside:
-Heavy, slow, not really whitewater safe, wide, no lightweight or bladderless version available, doesn't turn well with fins.

Upside:
-gear storage area, blowout safety, low profile for wind, tracks well, rows and motors well.






Larry Tullis [url=http://www.northforkoutdoors.com

[Bob Stout]

Larry, when Liz, Mike, & I did the Yampa/Green in 06, the rivers were much less intence than this year -- probably 5 to 6 ft lower. A couple from Colorado had a quad design much like you discribe. They had purchased the tubes from Military Surplus.

[Crane]

I just like pondering options...

[Clif]

hmmmmm

[dthrasher]

Ty, I have a Maravia Spider and I am very happy with it. It is a little heavier and more expensive than the Pumas and the Stars but it is heavy duty and really handles well. Plus, it works well as a paddle raft.