# What are the essential safety techniques for new rafters



## slamkal (Apr 8, 2009)

If you are a kayaker you should know how to read a river so you should have the basic knowledge of scouting and identifying river hazards

There are a few books you can pick up at your library

Whitewater Rafting Manual. Johnson
The Complete Whitewater Rafter. Bennett

It's a piece of cake. Most important thing is to always point your raft so it won't flip. Sideways or angular is the worst way to try and punch through a hole

Start simple on class ii get a feel for your boat. Do new rivers with someone who is familiar with the river. And duck when you hear gunfire


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## caspermike (Mar 9, 2007)

Hey man I can teach you a lot bout rafting and shit, you need flip line first of all..2 ropes for one boat is good call if you get it pinned, learn how to make z drag in the dark...looks like you have the cooler part figured out... pin kit includes, prusiks,carabiners, one long ass rope, webbing for anchoring to... extra paddles always are good... I would be stocked to float down beartrap with you but there's one 4 shouldn't be difficult at all in a oar frame... make sure you are not tugging d-rings the wrong way when your frame is strapped down. Carry a patch kit with extra layers and first aid have fun.. rafting the main thing is read a head and make sure your angles are setting u up to be in position for next rapid, read ahead..


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## F.A.A.C. Slim (Jan 14, 2010)

Always have a few 'biners, 100' of good rope, and pulley(s) around when you pin a raft on a rock/tree and or if you flip the thing over and need to re-flip when alongside the riverbank. Throwbag is a must to carry and a MUST to be practiced with before things get critical. Make a PVC tube ladder to help gettin' out of the water and back in the raft. Otherwise enjoy and remember that things that hold air will puncture.......but can be patched.


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## montuckyhuck (Mar 14, 2010)

Keep that cooler full and you will have a swarm of saftey kayakers around you at all times.


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## randowhite (May 7, 2010)

learn, practice and use the downsteam ferry angle....it'll serve you well especially as you ramp up....in the Grand it is often the only thing that works......plus it takes a whole lot less effort to get to where you want to go....can help you escape the swarm of kayakers after your beer....


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## manifestphil (Apr 5, 2011)

Shoot! Ya'll crack me up...

@slamkal Thanks for the book recommendations. I'll check them out.

@caspermike Let's hit the Beartrap for sure. I've rowed the Kitchen Sink at medium levels about 3 times now. I'm always game to head over to the Lochsa too, but have never rowed it myself.

@montuckyhuck Come find me and I'll hit ya' with a cold PBR anytime.

As far as flipping goes, I've just been lucky enough to keep the black side down for the most part. I'm not really that concerned, but do want to know that I'll be able to flip my boat back over. Probably should just do it a few times on flat water to practice. Don't know where to begin on setting up a z-drag though.

I've taken boats down the Gallatin, Madison and Yellowstone here in Montana. I've also partially rowed the Main Fork of the Salmon last year with no problems. Feel pretty confident reading whitewater and boat-scouting.

@ F.A.A.C. Slim - Can you make some recommendations on pulleys? I usually keep about half a dozen non-locking carabiners stashed on my boat, and a webbing flip line around my waist.


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## briandburns (Jan 12, 2010)

And tighten up the chicken line on your boat. Could be an entrapment issue.


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## manifestphil (Apr 5, 2011)

briandburns said:


> And tighten up the chicken line on your boat. Could be an entrapment issue.


That's probably a good point. The photos of this boat are literally just how it was dropped off to me last night.


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## F.A.A.C. Slim (Jan 14, 2010)

Try any climbing shop for rescue pulley like we use for crevasse rescue......


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## fiya79 (Feb 9, 2010)

If you tighten up the chicken line how can the entire crew stick a leg between the raft and the line to avoid being tossed out? You Colorado boys don't know how things are done west of Utah.

Welcome to rafting.

seriously though. tighten that baby up. 

common scenarios:
Practice flipping and getting back in in a big eddy. I have numerous rafting friends who have never flipped and have never practiced. I tend to flip a few times a year and seeing my former guide friends freak out when that baby dump trucks is priceless. Seeing them be unable to climb on top is also a treat; unless the fan is still being bombarded by excrement....
Practice without a flip line too, using a paddle t-grip or a strap.

In 15 years I have never had to do an on-river patch job. I have had to remove and clean/replace valves and pressure relief valves. have the tools, have the knowledge. Knock on wood.

Differences from kayaking: it takes forever to get where you want to go. get there early and watch your momentum. noobs tend to get where they want to go, stop rowing, then drift on past their line because of momentum.
You can't roll. being upside down sucks big time.
Fortunately it is pretty hard to flip a raft. they are big, wide and heavy. this applies both ways, getting worked and getting back sunny side up.

I have flipped on the Main salmon twice, the NF payette cabarton run, the alpine stretch of the snake, and a few other runs. It gets easier every time to get it back together so intentinal flips on class III are invaluable.

Outfitters on day stretches tend to 'push' always going forward to get where they want to go. Private boaters and rational people learn to pull to ferry etc. you are way stronger this direction and it gives you way more time to set up. This may not be true in the grand canyon, but it will be in most local rivers.

anyhow my preferences for a mid sized raft with a rowing frame:

Waist salamander throw bag. about 6' of line tucked in the front pocket with a biner that i use as a flip line.
full size throw bag in rowing cockpit
oar retainers made of p-cord
another throw bag in the front compartment
spare oar tucked into frame straps nice and snug. No dangles.
drybag with repair kit, hat, poly layer, splash top.
Pin kit (as mentioned numerous times)
small k-pump

Idaho requires a spare life vest on each boat in most cases. I usually strap it around a frame bar as padding.


research rivers: join the idaho whitewater yahoo group. very knowledgable rafters who are pretty forthcoming.


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## Andy H. (Oct 13, 2003)

You won't need the thwarts shown in the boats as the frame makes them redundant and they just take up space that you'll need for chairs, tables, a tent you could stand up in, coolers filled with filet mignon and hors devours, firepans, shelters 30 people could stand under, and the other essentials.

Fiya's got it nailed about momentum - when you're setting up on a line to enter a rapid, remember that compared to that kayak, a raft is kind of like a freighter. They take a bit of effort to get moving but continue going after you've stopped rowing. Start setting up VERY early and don't overdo it.

And of course, its always good to have a good safety talk before launching and know your CPR before you get on the water.

-AH


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## rg5hole (May 24, 2007)

munter hitch and a carabiner

YouTube - Climbing Tools: Munter Hitch / tyed off Munter


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## manifestphil (Apr 5, 2011)

Andy H. said:


> You won't need the thwarts shown in the boats as the frame makes them redundant and they just take up space that you'll need for chairs, tables...


Thanks for the good advice Andy. Unfortunately with this older Momentum raft, the thwarts are permanently attached. If anyone can offer advice on whether they can be unglued and replaced with a removable system, I'm all ears.

And if CPR looked as sexy as that video in real life, everyone would be doing it! LOL!


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## slamkal (Apr 8, 2009)

I think for that raft it has a rubber thwart attachment. If you can get this off with a hair dryer to loosen the glue that would be the way. then clean, abraid, and reattach using a removable thrwart attachment kit.

I think what everyone is saying that this boat (as configured) is a gear boat and you don't need the thwarts -- could instead use their volume to hold drybox, coolers, ammo cans, whatever. Are you ever running paddlers? If you have no intention you can very carefully cut the rubber down the middle and it will leave a black piece on the thwart and a black piece on the boat. Then it might be easy to heat and strip off the old glue.

Also, in case of flip and fully loaded I'm not sure its really possible to re-flip midstream as that's a half ton of weight in the boat. Probably could be done but I doubt with one person. 

Practice climbing on the boat maybe but reflips are probably paddler boat experiences. 

Instead practice jumping on your buddies boat so you can follow the boat downstream and pull it into a shallow eddy where it can be flipped with a couple of pushers and one person pulling a rope .


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## windknot2 (Aug 15, 2010)

Casper Mike,
Can you elaborate a little as to what you mean by tugging the D-rings the wrong way with the raft frame? Thanks


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## SimpleMan (Dec 17, 2009)

Cut your chicken line off. Commercial boats need 'em for fat tourists. You shouldn't. My $.02 is to flip your raft on purpose once or twice in a nice flat stretch of river and climb on top, re-flip, and repeat. Better to know you can do it before you're all adrenalined out in your first genuine flip. And if you're running cool sh*& it will happen. This applies to frame rigs and paddle boats. We call it carnage training, and do it every spring to refresh. Have fun. 

I second the set up early tip. Always looking at the next rapid/turn/obstacle.


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## N. Wigston (Nov 5, 2003)

One safety thing that's important is your river running strategy. You can't really eddy hop that effectively with rafts, so it's important to have a large distance between boats. Try to zig zag boats from river left to river right so there is always a good line of communication between boats. The biggest issue i've seen with rafting is groups getting clumped up, and then there is not enough room or time for everyone to stop in time to scout, or whatever is needed. 

Water reading also changes a lot, because you are so much slower than in a kayak. Moves have to be planned really far ahead. And the raft builds up a lot of momentum, so you can easily over shoot lines. 

I learned all this the hard way. now I teach river rescue/safety classes for private rafters just like yourself. 

Thanks, 
Nick Wigston
Downstreamedge.com


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## Solgear (Jun 28, 2010)

For thwarts that are sewn in, you can cut the threads (carefully) and the 2 pieces peel apart without putting a hole in the stitched pieces that hold the thwart to the tubes. Then clean it up, abraid it, and glue on some bat attachments available through NRS or some similar company.

Take a river rescue course of some kind for good practice and ideas you might not have thought of.

I really like William Nealy's book... Kayak or Slim Ray and Les Bechdel's "River Rescue"


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## Chip (Apr 7, 2007)

If you take a swim in big water, grab a breath in the trough of the wave, not at the crest, which will always splash right into your mouth as you're sucking air.


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## raymo (Aug 10, 2008)

River Rafting 101, 201, 302 and 401 all in one post. It is like getting a drink of water from a fire hose, look luck. Just like in kayaking the more ROLL technique's you know the better off you are. In rafting the more ROWING techinque's you know and combined along with read and run skills will help you dance down a rapid in style. For some rapids and mean flood stages, fast moving rapids you will have to use the eat shit and die technique for punching through them.


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## manifestphil (Apr 5, 2011)

N. Wigston said:


> The biggest issue i've seen with rafting is groups getting clumped up, and then there is not enough room or time for everyone to stop in time to scout, or whatever is needed.
> 
> Water reading also changes a lot, because you are so much slower than in a kayak. Moves have to be planned really far ahead. And the raft builds up a lot of momentum, so you can easily over shoot lines.


I absolutely hear you here. I feel like I've rowed enough of other peoples boats to have the basics down, but I'll keep working on managing the momentum of the boat better.



Solgear said:


> For thwarts that are sewn in, you can cut the threads (carefully) and the 2 pieces peel apart without putting a hole in the stitched pieces that hold the thwart to the tubes. Then clean it up, abraid it, and glue on some bat attachments available through NRS or some similar company.


I know the thwarts aren't sewn in. They're basically glued directly to the inside of the outer tube. I'm really concerned about messing these up and creating a problem I didn't have. Will probably see what I can do to get an experienced person to help me out on this one.

I'll be using the boat as a paddle-rig on the Gallatin River, so whatever I end up doing will need to have the ability to have the thwarts put back in. I'll talk to my local boat shop and see what happens from there.



Chip said:


> If you take a swim in big water, grab a breath in the trough of the wave, not at the crest, which will always splash right into your mouth as you're sucking air.


I've learned that one the hard way!


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## OleMissBoater (May 22, 2007)

If you don't want to remove the thwarts yet, you can deflate them completely, and pack around them. drybags could probably go under them.


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## kayakingphotog (May 25, 2007)

Mani,

The quintessential book on rafting, “Whitewater Rafting” by William McGinnis is a must have. Just checked Amazon and can be had for a small pittance. Don’t let the year of publication scare you. The art of rowing a raft is timeless and William’s book details the subject ad nauseum. Any question you have will be answered. 

Even though it has been mentioned previously the best piece of advice to keep in mind when running rapids is to think like a rafter not a kayaker. The transition between the two can be unforgiving. In a kayak you flip your hips just above a monster hole and you are skirting it. In a raft you have to think three moves ahead. There is no flipping your hips and moving a ton of ice and beer plus that tube tart at the last moment. 

“There are two types of rafters, them that’s flipped and them that’s gonna flip”


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## brendodendo (Jul 18, 2004)

I found these pages helpful when learning rope work.

Simple Machines

Mechanical Advantage Basics -this page is great. The writer uses rope, prussics, carabiners and some items that you can find around your house. Gives you an idea on how to set us some systems and ideas for practicing. 

Knots are the weakest link in the chain. If at all possible, substitute a prussic loop instead of a knot, like at the attachment point of what you are pulling on.

As per non locking carabiners, we had a discussion on the board a few years ago and the general consensus was, if you are going to carry any carabiners on you or your boat, make sure they are of the locking type.


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