# Trying to decide between I-Beam floor or Drop-Stitch



## Slangy (Jun 22, 2010)

I know this is probably a beaten dog type of post but I cannot figure out which raft to choose. I am looking for a new raft and I have narrowed it down to a 13' from Rocky Mountain Rafts. Now all I have to decide is which floor do I want. We are not a hardcore raft every weekend group although we do go down the Snake River above Alpine every year and make around 15-20 trips down each year. We currently have an old Eclipse boat that has been great for what we do but we are getting a larger group as years go by and would like another boat. My question is, what is the benefit of a drop stitch floor compared to the I-beam? I hear drop stitch is better over shallow areas and is more stable and you can walk on it, although I don't have much of a need to walk on the floor. 

Those of you who have I-beam floors what was your reasoning for doing that type verses the DS? And those of you with DS floors what was your reasoning verses the I-beam?

Thanks for any input you can give me to help me make up my mind.


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## Whitewater Worthy Equip (Dec 11, 2013)

I only recommend the dropstich option if you plan to do a a lot of fishing.


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## Slangy (Jun 22, 2010)

Whitewater Worthy Equip said:


> I only recommend the dropstich option if you plan to do a a lot of fishing.


I don't ever see us doing much fishing out of the boat, unless we are fishing out cold brews that were dropped into the water


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## smthgfshy (Jan 8, 2008)

We went with a drop stitch. 

Reasons:

1) we have a dog and the dog was way more comfortable moving around on a drop stitch. 
2) when standing to fish or just getting in/out of the raft the floor was much more stable than an ibeam. 
3) we wanted maneuverability over tracking for our rivers here in AK
4) of the two brands readily available with drop stitch floors the RMR was locally available and 1/2 the price of a Maravia. 
5) we don't have side rails yet and the drop stitch provided a safe spot to place our beers
5) in our research, it was concluded that ds floors draft shallower than ibeam and with our rivers and potential load weights, we wanted a raft that drafted as shallowly as possible.


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## [email protected] (Jun 1, 2010)

I went RMR drop stitch over I-beam for all the reasons that smthgfshy mentioned and because top of the floor to the top of boat tubes is about 12" vs 10" on the 12 footer. The floor is not as thick in other words so there is more storage space below the tops of the tubes. I can not confirm but was told by RMR sales that it also weighs less.


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