# What's the best small cataraft?



## teleboater5.13 (Sep 29, 2005)

Paddlecat...hands down


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## gravitycadet (Apr 10, 2009)

*shredder nation*

the original is still the best the shredder by airtight inflatables is the best cataraft for running any whitewater small light and responsive this thing turns on a dime why get an imposter when you can get the real thing.


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## vardaddy (Jun 14, 2004)

I second the Shredder


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## jahmon77 (Apr 11, 2006)

*Shredder All The Way !!!*

Shredder...Shredder....Shredder...


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## Tiggy (May 17, 2004)

Get a Kayak!
Or an open canoe if you dare 9)


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## Chip (Apr 7, 2007)

Narrow it down a bit— Do you want a paddle boat/R2 like a Shredder or Jack's Culebra or a cat to row solo (two tubes and an oarframe)?


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## lhowemt (Apr 5, 2007)

SOTAR Legend, SOTAR legend, SOTAR legend. 12'6" length, 22.5" tubes.

At least that's what I've decided to buy for day tripping the Lochsa (Class IV+). Mine will be here in a week! Yippee!


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## Chip (Apr 7, 2007)

SOTAR makes good cats. So does Maravia. But my favorite are Jack's: I've got four in different sizes and have been running Jack's boats for close on twenty years, with never a puncture. Jack (aka Paco) changed my life.










Cutthroat tubes (12' 6" x 16") with chafe strips. Frame is homebuilt. It's a great playboat that handles like a Mini Cooper. 

But it can also work for overnight trips:




















Just built a new lightweight play frame for this boat. Which I'll test as soon as it bloodywell stops snowing. 

Jack's Plastic Welding http://www.jpwinc.com


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## Bornwithatail (Mar 2, 2008)

*Cutthroat*

That's a pretty sweet setup there. What'd ya use for flooring?; stuff looks lightweight yet bomber.


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## Wnt2b0at (Oct 26, 2008)

I am looking for an oar rig... not an R2. The Jack's boat does look pretty Sweet!


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## yetigonecrazy (May 23, 2005)

i feel like the "cimarron" would be a trustworthy vessel. for that price it better be, $179, WHEW!

or who couldnt love the bass raider?


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## Matty (May 13, 2004)

Chip, how long are the oars on that rig?


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## emptypockets (Apr 11, 2009)

yetigonecrazy said:


> i feel like the "cimarron" would be a trustworthy vessel. for that price it better be, $179, WHEW!
> 
> or who couldnt love the bass raider?


 
We could do the vast majority of westwater in a bass raider! Still, it might be a good idea to bring along a tahiti in case we had some totally unexpected equipment failure.


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## yetigonecrazy (May 23, 2005)

ha ha ha classic. gotta love the tahiti!


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## Chip (Apr 7, 2007)

Matty said:


> Chip, how long are the oars on that rig?


6.5 ft. I decided they were too short and now have some 225cm oars (just short of 7.5 ft). Haven't rowed enough this season to tell how that works. 

The oarlocks are 49"/124.5cm apart.

The floor is PolyMax kennel/poultry floor http://www.TekSupply.com STK# HA2215 or 2217. There've been quite a few posts on the stuff in threads titled Games With Frames and More Games With Frames. Try keywords PolyMax, side decks, dog decks.


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## cataraftgirl (Jun 5, 2009)

*Poly Max Decking*

Hey Chip,
I'm new to the forum, and I've been reading the back posts about your Poly Max cataraft floors. I row a 14 X 22 Maravia Cat, with a 66 in. NRS frame. I'm looking for a lighter weight, detachable floor for my rower compartment. I need a 36 in. wide X 24 in. front to back floor. Would those dimensions require bracing ( aluminum angle, cam strap, etc.) to prevent excess flex while standing? I do a fly-in Middle Fork trip almost every September, so I need something that can be removed for the airplane. Instead of hose clamps, I'd use cam straps.
Right now I have an NRS mesh floor. I'm not wild about the "trampoline" feeling. Too much flex, even with the spreader bars. I prefer something a bit more solid, so I've made a 3/4 in. plywood floor. I'm wondering if the Poly Max would be lighter than the plywood? I know it would drain, and perhaps give me a place to strap some stuff.
What do you think? Thanks for posting so many great pictures of your frames.
KJ


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## asleep.at.the.oars (May 6, 2006)

The polymax has a lot of benefits, but it is awefully springy. Not too far off the NRS trampoline floors, really. I've got a Maravia 14x22 with 66" NRS frame as well, and by the time I finished reinforcing my kennel flooring enough to make it as bomber as I wanted (i.e. to solidly support my >200 lbs of foolishness dancing a drunken jig in the cockpit) I found it was easier to just cam strap in a piece of plywood and drill holes anywhere I could possibly imagine wanting to hold anything. 

But, I've spent too much time rowing commercial rigs on desert rivers where we don't really care about weight. When you're north of a ton and can float your boat onto your trailer at the takeout, what's a few more pounds? Chip tends to do things waaaay more elegant (and light) than I do.


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## Chip (Apr 7, 2007)

asleep.at.the.oars said:


> Chip tends to do things waaaay more elegant (and light) than I do.


Naw- I'm just more obsessed. 

Anyhow, C-Girl, for a 24 x 36 inch floor, you could trim 1 panel of polymax at one end or both (if you want symmetry). At the very least, I'd support it down the middle. I use aluminum bar, channel, angle, or tubing (depending on what's rattling around the shop) and have also used wood. If you don't have frame support on all the edges, then you need more stiffeners. 

Asleep's right about the flex. Pretty boingy stuff. 

The reason I use the plastic-clad hoseclamps is to attach the edges of the polymax firmly to the frame in several spots, which limits the flex. If you just use a few cam straps with the edges of the polymax resting on the frame and nothing to stiffen it up, the grid can flex and pop down underneath the frame, which means you have to undo all the straps to set it right. 

I 'spose you could mount the floor _underneath_ the frame— never tried that.


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