# Frame Build



## Hanny (Aug 2, 2020)

Powder coat garage build


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## Hanny (Aug 2, 2020)

Hollander fittings..$7.99 on eBay. Aluminum tubing $2.90/ft, Powdercoat $5.00/ft


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## Hanny (Aug 2, 2020)

Downriver is 6 month wait for double the cost


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## gwheyduke (Jul 3, 2008)

Where did you get it powder coated? I like the color. Looks a little wide, but it will certainly work.


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## wdeutsch (Apr 27, 2020)

Damn. Looks sharp! Where did you find aluminum tubing for $2.90/ft? I just did a rebuild on my frame and couldn't find anything NEARLY that cheap! (1.25" or 1.5" tubing?)


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## Bkgarlington (Jan 18, 2021)

That’s clean looking. It’s a ton of fun to build your own and and have the gratification on the rover.

Do those fittings attach with set screws? Do people drill those out and through bolt or pin for added strength?


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## wdeutsch (Apr 27, 2020)

Bkgarlington said:


> That’s clean looking. It’s a ton of fun to build your own and and have the gratification on the rover.
> 
> Do those fittings attach with set screws? Do people drill those out and through bolt or pin for added strength?


Set screws, generally. Can't speak for anyone else but I haven't had anything shift in a couple years on the river (including a grand trip). When I took mine apart to reconfigure recently, it took more than a couple taps with a hammer to get the fittings to release. So, even if the set screws loosened, I doubt you'd have a lot of trouble. That river grit fixes things up REAL good!


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## upacreek (Mar 17, 2021)

Dude that metallic flake powder coating is SHARP AF. I remember way back when every bass boat had a paint scheme like that, and then Schwinn later copied the coolness to making bikes/bags with the stuff.


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## Whitewater Worthy Equip (Dec 11, 2013)

Your frame looks great!!!

The width is exactly how we build ours...outside of chafe strip. It allows for more real-estate when adding deck boards. It the oars feel to light on the handles or in too low of a gear use a hollaender #30a for tower base and rotate it so the tower is inside the frame. (this will make the towers closer together. I have straight towers in stock that will allow you to tune the height by cutting them down to the correct size.

You got a great price on the pipe. I suspect your supplier has old stock and has not adjusted pricing to reflect current cost. Any powder coating shop with a big enough oven can do that color and anything else on the Cardinal Paint

I weld the corner to the front and rear cross bars and drill the pin the the longitudinal bars at a 45 deg angle. Do Not over tighten the 1/4-20 x 2.5 in bolt on you'll crack the fitting. They make plastic nut caps for the win.

I have everything in stock to built frames so hit me up if you want to avoid the mess and time to figure out the process.

I also have the following boats in stock:









SB-130 13' Self-Bailing Raft


All the flexibility you could want. Easily considered the most versatile boat of the RMR fleet. Whether you are interested in fishing, paddling, doing overnights or almost anything else, the SB-130 is a great raft and is able to take on all types of whitewater with ease. The 13 footer is small...




rockymountainrafts.com





Color: Waterfall









SBDS-160 16' Drop-Stitch Raft


Sometimes you need to get away, take a few days, and escape on the river. Load up and hit the river in maximum comfort. The SBDS-160 makes an awesome gear rig and comes standard with 2 thwarts and 16 D-rings placed in the perfect spots to rig your frame. Big, 22" main tubes and a beefy...




rockymountainrafts.com





Color: Blue 

Congrats on your project and it looks great!!!


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## tBatt (May 18, 2020)

looks slick. Also really interested in where you got pipe for $2.90/ft.


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## MT4Runner (Apr 6, 2012)

Agree, nice build!



Whitewater Worthy Equip said:


> The width is exactly how we build ours...outside of chafe strip. It allows for more real-estate when adding deck boards.


Also gives you good oar gearing/swing on a narrow boat instead of trying to add counterweights to deal with outboard-heavy blades.


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## jberg421 (Jul 19, 2020)

Sick frame. The best decision I made as a boating noob was to build my own frame. Cheap, customizable, people on the water always compliment it and make you feel good


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## jamesthomas (Sep 12, 2010)

Yep, if you were good with tinkertoys as a child and can accurately use a tape measure, (don’t laugh many folks can’t use a tape measure) you can build your own frame with Hollander fittings. Buy a good pipe cutter and you are set.


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## Hanny (Aug 2, 2020)

I went wide with this rig because I sleep on my raft, I'm 6 feet tall and my last boat my pillow would often fall off into the river, so I'm going wider, more room for stuff, gonna have 10" inch diamond plate running down the sides, plus I can now get the, next size wider bimini top. My last boat could only use 66" wide bimini, now I'm going 72". The pipe (1.25) is non anodized, bought last year at Recla in Montrose, so probably more now.
Hollander fittings were pretty easy to find and shop for on EBay, DRE sells them for like $17-19 bucks, if they even have them. The Powdercoating was done by CR Powdercoating in Delta color 'Illusion Money Green'. I'm adding 3/16 diamond plate on sides next week. I do some fishing guiding part time, made a lean bar , just waiting on NRS low pro to get in stock. I'm in the market if anyone has 2 low pro fittings they want to get rid of.. I have 10" NRS oar towers with Cobra locks for it.. Just waiting for the Bandits to get here so I can place them...Pretty stoked, this is about my 7th frame that I have built, all have done well except a paddle cat frame I made for Gore Canyon race in 1996, by the end of Gore rapid the boat was all twisted, we have to line it over Tunnel rapid...(6 out 7 ain't bad) Fun times indeed


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## sonofdad (Jul 21, 2015)

Hanny said:


> I went wide with this rig because I sleep on my raft, I'm 6 feet tall and my last boat my pillow would often fall off into the river, so I'm going wider, more room for stuff, gonna have 10" inch diamond plate running down the sides, plus I can now get the, next size wider bimini top. My last boat could only use 66" wide bimini, now I'm going 72". The pipe (1.25) is non anodized, bought last year at Recla in Montrose, so probably more now.
> Hollander fittings were pretty easy to find and shop for on EBay, DRE sells them for like $17-19 bucks, if they even have them. The Powdercoating was done by CR Powdercoating in Delta color 'Illusion Money Green'. I'm adding 3/16 diamond plate on sides next week. I do some fishing guiding part time, made a lean bar , just waiting on NRS low pro to get in stock. I'm in the market if anyone has 2 low pro fittings they want to get rid of.. I have 10" NRS oar towers with Cobra locks for it.. Just waiting for the Bandits to get here so I can place them...Pretty stoked, this is about my 7th frame that I have built, all have done well except a paddle cat frame I made for Gore Canyon race in 1996, by the end of Gore rapid the boat was all twisted, we have to line it over Tunnel rapid...(6 out 7 ain't bad) Fun times indeed


nice job @Hanny, thanks for sharing! mind sharing more pics when the diamond plate comes in? i'm curious how you're planning to attach it to your frame.


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## Whitewater Worthy Equip (Dec 11, 2013)

If you want to keep it light use .090 diamond plate and add a square tube support to the inside.


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## westwatercuban (May 19, 2021)

That's sick! Very intuitive and good job on the design. Due to big lead times, I can only imagine more solutions to our shortages are going to come up. Thank you for sharing!


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## wdeutsch (Apr 27, 2020)

Whitewater Worthy Equip said:


> If you want to keep it light use .090 diamond plate and add a square tube support to the inside.


Speaking of light.... I've got a sheet of .063 diamond plate lying around and I'm considering using it for side rails. My frame is double rail, spaced 10" on center. I'd be looking at 14" wide decks. Any opinions on whether that'd be too thin a diamond plate to stand up to being walked on with that span?


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## westwatercuban (May 19, 2021)

wdeutsch said:


> Speaking of light.... I've got a sheet of .063 diamond plate lying around and I'm considering using it for side rails. My frame is double rail, spaced 10" on center. I'd be looking at 14" wide decks. Any opinions on whether that'd be too thin a diamond plate to stand up to being walked on with that span?


I know I’m not WWE but I can tell you it will work, you just need to add some some sort of support underneath. Like floor joist under your floor. As long as you have that support underneath. The plate should be fine.


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## MNichols (Nov 20, 2015)

Hanny said:


> Downriver is 6 month wait for double the cost


Yes, but you get a really nice sticker on your frame, and radiused corners.. They do turn out a nice product, but you need to factor in their overhead, employee costs, advertising, and numerous other pesky little things such as profit, businesses are quite fond of that, it enables them to be around to serve you in the future. 

You bypassed all of that in your DIY build.. Just sayin. Nice DIY though.


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## MNichols (Nov 20, 2015)

jamesthomas said:


> Buy a good pipe cutter and you are set


Aluminum pipe has been typically and historically cut using chop saws meant for the woodworking trade, I've seen people cut it with circular saws as well.


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## Hanny (Aug 2, 2020)

sonofdad said:


> nice job @Hanny, thanks for sharing! mind sharing more pics when the diamond plate comes in? i'm curious how you're planning to attach it to your frame.
> [/Q
> 
> Radiator hose clamps


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## Hanny (Aug 2, 2020)

MNichols said:


> Yes, but you get a really nice sticker on your frame, and radiused corners.. They do turn out a nice product, but you need to factor in their overhead, employee costs, advertising, and numerous other pesky little things such as profit, businesses are quite fond of that, it enables them to be around to serve you in the future.
> 
> You bypassed all of that in your DIY build.. Just sayin. Nice DIY though.


Not the biggest fan of DRE, they are my last resort to purchase anything


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## Hanny (Aug 2, 2020)

MNichols said:


> Aluminum pipe has been typically and historically cut using chop saws meant for the woodworking trade, I've seen people cut it with circular saws as well.


Angle grinder


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## MNichols (Nov 20, 2015)

Hanny said:


> Angle grinder


That's certainly another way lol likely not the most efficient though..


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## B4otter (Apr 20, 2009)

If you need exercise, hacksaw works as well... there's one in my patch and I've had to use it (altho' not on my frame).

I would stay away from radiator clamps around rubber... and bare feet.  I don't even use 'em on my gas lines (motor), zip (cable) ties work as well or better and not as sharp an edge to do damage. 

Perdonally, have never understood single rail frames w/sideboards. My 'pard who started a river biz in AK back in the 70's ("we lose a little on each customer but make it up in volume") build a bunch of breakdown frames w/speedrail fittings, 1 1/4" pipe, and sideboards (mostly for Avons & Campways boats). He still has 3-4 and we've cannibalized a bunch over the years - all the sideboards (19mm./3/4" mahogany ply) have sagged sooner or later, and the spans are 20-21 inches. Double rails 12 inches apart eliminate that problem (12" apart will let the sideboard lie flat on 22-24 inch tubes), and reduce sharp edges (again, notice a theme?). Put your speedrail fittings on the inside rails and you can weld diamond plate between, get away with 1/8" and still have breakdown capability. Just a thought...


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## Hanny (Aug 2, 2020)

B4otter said:


> If you need exercise, hacksaw works as well... there's one in my patch and I've had to use it (altho' not on my frame).
> 
> I would stay away from radiator clamps around rubber... and bare feet. I don't even use 'em on my gas lines (motor), zip (cable) ties work as well or better and not as sharp an edge to do damage.
> 
> Perdonally, have never understood single rail frames w/sideboards. My 'pard who started a river biz in AK back in the 70's ("we lose a little on each customer but make it up in volume") build a bunch of breakdown frames w/speedrail fittings, 1 1/4" pipe, and sideboards (mostly for Avons & Campways boats). He still has 3-4 and we've cannibalized a bunch over the years - all the sideboards (19mm./3/4" mahogany ply) have sagged sooner or later, and the spans are 20-21 inches. Double rails 12 inches apart eliminate that problem (12" apart will let the sideboard lie flat on 22-24 inch tubes), and reduce sharp edges (again, notice a theme?). Put your speedrail fittings on the inside rails and you can weld diamond plate between, get away with 1/8" and still have breakdown capability. Just a thought...


This will be my 5th diamond plate frame done with hose clamps ,,, works great


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## westwatercuban (May 19, 2021)

Hanny said:


> This will be my 5th diamond plate frame done with hose clamps ,,, works great


If it works, it ain’t stupid.


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## Shaft (Aug 7, 2017)

Hanny said:


> This will be my 5th diamond plate frame done with hose clamps ,,, works great


So you are adding diamond plate side decks to the single rail frame with the green anodizing? How do you prevent a long sharp edge on the inside of the decks?


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## Hanny (Aug 2, 2020)

Lots of questions, you just got to figure shit out that works, that's the answer to all the questions.. I like boats, I like to build boats. I just sold a beautiful boat here (look up post) on MB, and am now upgrading.. I have access to a friends shop with some cool tools.. just made this with his new pipe bender,


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## Hanny (Aug 2, 2020)

Shaft said:


> So you are adding diamond plate side decks to the single rail frame with the green anodizing? How do you prevent a long sharp edge on the inside of the decks?


Powdercoat


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## Hanny (Aug 2, 2020)

Shaft said:


> So you are adding diamond plate side decks to the single rail frame with the green anodizing? How do you prevent a long sharp edge on the inside of the decks?


Angle grinder to dull edge, then put a rocket box between you and dulled edge, or day cooler, or captains bag.. there are NO sharp edges on my boats... there are tools to figure this shit out...


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## Hanny (Aug 2, 2020)

Here is picture of my Last boat loaded with with Rocket boxes, next to the supposedly dangerously sharp edges witch you can't see.. I like the idea of hidden underneath second rails, but the exposed, permanently welded DRE's looks ugly and is a waste of space.. I'll stick with what works for my use.. Rolled the boat for winter, working on frame for the winter.. Buying a Lime Green Storm and making a Cherry 🍒 Red Frame it this winter, will keep you all posted..


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## MNichols (Nov 20, 2015)

Can't see much of any of the side rails on the DRE frame on that boat?


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## Hanny (Aug 2, 2020)

MNichols said:


> Can't see much of any of the side rails on the DRE frame on that boat?


Exactly


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## B4otter (Apr 20, 2009)

How about a photo of the hose clamp attachment?


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## Recreation_Law (Oct 29, 2013)

Hanny said:


> I went wide with this rig because I sleep on my raft, I'm 6 feet tall and my last boat my pillow would often fall off into the river, so I'm going wider, more room for stuff, gonna have 10" inch diamond plate running down the sides, plus I can now get the, next size wider bimini top. My last boat could only use 66" wide bimini, now I'm going 72". The pipe (1.25) is non anodized, bought last year at Recla in Montrose, so probably more now.
> Hollander fittings were pretty easy to find and shop for on EBay, DRE sells them for like $17-19 bucks, if they even have them. The Powdercoating was done by CR Powdercoating in Delta color 'Illusion Money Green'. I'm adding 3/16 diamond plate on sides next week. I do some fishing guiding part time, made a lean bar , just waiting on NRS low pro to get in stock. I'm in the market if anyone has 2 low pro fittings they want to get rid of.. I have 10" NRS oar towers with Cobra locks for it.. Just waiting for the Bandits to get here so I can place them...Pretty stoked, this is about my 7th frame that I have built, all have done well except a paddle cat frame I made for Gore Canyon race in 1996, by the end of Gore rapid the boat was all twisted, we have to line it over Tunnel rapid...(6 out 7 ain't bad) Fun times indeed


Put a grommet in the open end of your pillow cases. Take a small carabiner (I use a small crewgate one) and put it through the grommet, put an 18 inch string on with another carabiner. I hook one carabiner to something on the boat, out of the way of my arms when sleeping and the other carabiner to the pillow. Never lost a pillow in 25 years. Never noticed the grommet because it is on the empty open end of the pillow case. In the moring I unclip everything and store the biners & string someplace safe for the next night.

On a narrow boat,figure out a way to sleep diagnolly. I pull ammo cans out so they make a bigger platform and lay a big sign down (detor) that I found and two of us can sleep on a big boat or I can sleep fine on 16's

Jim Moss


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## MNichols (Nov 20, 2015)

Recreation_Law said:


> Put a grommet in the open end of your pillow cases. Take a small carabiner (I use a small crewgate one) and put it through the grommet, put an 18 inch string on with another carabiner. I hook one carabiner to something on the boat, out of the way of my arms when sleeping and the other carabiner to the pillow. Never lost a pillow in 25 years. Never noticed the grommet because it is on the empty open end of the pillow case. In the moring I unclip everything and store the biners & string someplace safe for the next night. On a narrow boat,figure out a way to sleep diagnolly. I pull ammo cans out so they make a bigger platform and lay a big sign down (detor) that I found and two of us can sleep on a big boat or I can sleep fine on 16's Jim Moss


 Perfect ! i lost two pillows in 40 years, no more! Thanks Jim!


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## Hanny (Aug 2, 2020)

Update on frame build
I decided to try a new way to mount the diamond plate.. I got some NRS ubolts and some 5/16"-18 Barrel Nuts.. I had to cut down the length of both the barrel nut and ubolt to make a snug fit. Came out pretty cool, can be easily taken off, Doubt I ever will,,


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## westwatercuban (May 19, 2021)

Damn that’s clean!


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## B4otter (Apr 20, 2009)

Even cleaner if you just put a sex bolt into the pipe... looks like pretty stout diamond plate, 3/16ths?


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## Will Amette (Jan 28, 2017)

Great solution Hanny


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