# Best Low Water Boat?



## MountainmanPete (Jun 7, 2014)

The keg might drag a little.


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## shappattack (Jul 17, 2008)

You have a broad question there. There is a big difference between low and extremely low.


Typically low flows on the MF Salmon can be boated off the top of Boundary Creek with just about any size raft given proper skill. I have rowed my Super Duper Puma no problem at 1.5 feet. Friends rowing hyside mini-max with no passengers also looked very pimp. 


For just about any low flow trip the bigger the surface area of the boat, the better time you will have with less dragging, except for real creeky runs where you have to fit your boat through narrow slots that only a certain sized smaller boat can fit through. Canoes suck balls for very low water boating, speaking as someone who currently has a canoe and boated a bunch with it.


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## shappattack (Jul 17, 2008)

In addition, all manner of IKs, packrafts and such will perform better at real low flows than a canoe. I have never paddled a SOAR but have seen a couple on the River. They have a big surface area and would probably preform great at real low flows and would be similar driving to what you are used to in a canoe. A lot of folks use the huge soars in Alaska wide and shallow rivers.


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## FallingH20 (Nov 10, 2015)

This is what Blue Hole OCA's excell at. Last I knew, the molds had been sold to some company in Arkansas. Some length, pretty flat, and enough nose to stay reasonably dry. I've run one tandem down fairly big stuff in the Southeast.


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## FallingH20 (Nov 10, 2015)

Judy Ranelli's DangerBlog: Blue Hole Canoe information


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## MountainmanPete (Jun 7, 2014)

You are in Boulder correct? 

https://boulder.craigslist.org/boa/6174967324.html


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## kevinusa (Feb 26, 2017)

The best craft I have used for really low water is a Jacks plastic Welding small cat. I have run rivers at sub 50cfs levels. pac cats come in different sizes also.
You can stand up between the tubs and just walk down the rocks.


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## paulster (May 27, 2011)

Indeed a broad question. A couple of gross generalizations: Very low pressure in an inflatable boat, at least a raft, provides a big advantage in low water. Big boats and light loads do well in shallow water (surface area/weight). 1 person inflatables like IK's, pack cats, fat cats, and packrafts do quite well in low water. I have almost no experience in canoes but they don't seem optimal for low water. And I have learned that straddling rocks with a cataraft is a lot less effective than you might think, unless, I guess, you keep the boat lighter and load higher than I've been able to. 

I'd suggest checking out a pack raft if you want to go light and nimble.But you need friends with packrafts unless you want to go solo.


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## RiverCowboy (Mar 14, 2011)

*1 Strong Vote for the Alpacka packraft*

I've had an Alpacka with a whitewater spray skirt and a 4 piece breakdown paddle for a few years now. I do a bit of guiding between Colorado and Montana and spend a lot of time living out of my truck, and I always have my Alpacka even if I don't have my 14' Maravia cat along. I'll paddle it in up to Class III all day, and short packraft/swim sessions in Class IV is not terribly unpleasant.

They are SUPER durable, I would wager that you'd be hard pressed to tear one up even if you parked it for dayzzz. Mine just gets banged around in the back of my truck with me and a dog and the occasional woman of the campfire in and out of it, and has some greasy looking rubs and some weird other shit kinda painted on it, but it doesn't even have a pinhole. 

I've never even done it yet, but mine has a waterproof zipper in the stern of the hull, and two dry bag/float chambers that you can load your gear into, and clip in place inside the tubes before inflating. The gal that runs the company told me they actually run big whitewater better with a little weight in them. And I've seen plenty of photos of dry bags clipped on the bows, and guys purportedly run expedition length trips out of them ultralight self supported.

Anyways, what do I know, I'm just an average mountain boy. But food for thought, and I hope it helps!


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