# 14' vanguard and raft frame



## eladio (Mar 3, 2009)

Finally I got my own raft!! I was wondering if anybody out there has a 14' vanguard raft with a frame? I want a aluminum adjustable frame and was hoping to get anybodys advice on what works the best with vanguard, with reguards to drybox, coolers,and all around set up. The vanguard is a little on the shallow side etc... I dont have the money to go all custom, but would like a drop floor, seat, dry box mounts etc.. Any advice would be appreciated, ski season is winding down and its time to outfit this virgin raft and get on the water.


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## Osprey (May 26, 2006)

*what do you want to outfit it for?*

what do you want to do with it? fishing, multi-day expeditions, day trips? I think the most versatile setup is the NRS just because it is so easily adaptable to whatever you want to do that day. I also have the 14' Vang and you can pretty much run anything up to 88" side rails and 60-66" width. make however many bays you want for drop bag, cooler, dry box, as space allows. I'll run a seat for a day trip but on multi days you want the extra space so I sit on my dry box. The NRS cooler or dry box mounts are the perfect depth for that boat. 

A good resource is Darren at FrontierPlay, he knows those boats inside and out. Give him a call and tell him yours needs and he'll give you good advice and get a package together with everything you need. (no affiliation, he's just always done right by me.)

btw, congrats on the new boat! is it new? or I guess what I want to ask is how you ended up with a boat with no other setup? generally you just get a better deal on a package than doing it peacemeal so I was curious.


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## caverdan (Aug 27, 2004)

You might want to check out a couple of Chips threads called "games with frames". Here are the links.....hope it helps. 

http://www.mountainbuzz.com/forums/f11/games-with-frames-13726.html

http://www.mountainbuzz.com/forums/f15/more-games-with-frames-21488.html


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## tmaggert (Aug 18, 2008)

eladio,
I got my 14' Vanguard last summer. I built my own frame for it. As it was my first frame there was a couple of problems, like ordering two exact pieces of decking instead of mirrored. Now one side has the diamond plate up and the other down. Other than that the frame is great.

I'm a steel detailer so I drew up my frame in a 3D CAD program prior to building it. I have attached a PDF of the "Erection Sheet" That provides a 3D view and a plan view.

The frame was made with made with 1.5" (1.90" O.D.) schedule 40 6063 T6 aluminum pipe and Hollaender fittings. Just like the DRE Colorado™ Diamond Plate. One of the main changes was using internal coupling at the front and rear instead of the "swaged joints" that DRE uses. I like this better as it provides a smooth surface at the joint with nothing exposed to snag on.

What do you mean by adjustable frame? Are you talking about width and length or just the positioning of the internal rails?

For the drybox we had DRE build one. My brothers both work for Whitewater Rafting so we got a prodeal. My brother ordered the box a inch or so to tall, (_"The vanguard is a little on the shallow side"_) so we need to move the mounts down. However, that might cause problems with our seat mount (DRE) so I need to look into that.

We haven't bought a cooler yet but we are looking at a Yeti Tundra. We did buy the NRS Frame Cooler Mount and threw a old camping cooler in there for a Westwater trip and it worked fine.

If someone is interested, I am looking at selling the frame so I can possibly make a couple of changes. It would be on the cheap side to cover the cost of new material. The changes I would make (other than fixing diamond plate) are; adding a inch or so to the deck width, possibly changing the deck material to kennel flooring for better rigging, and maybe reducing the pipe to 1.25" for weight savings. I also have a crazy idea about making the decks removable so I could attach legs and have a couple of camp tables.

If you aren't interested in buying mine, I would be more than happy to talk about my frame and experience. Don't hesitate to ask questions.


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## [email protected] (Sep 26, 2007)

I have the vang and one thing is the COOLER HEIGHT VS Oarlock HEIGHT. If you sit on a substantial cooler then the oars are too low with standard NRS stuff. Darren got me the original setup, great guy, but not the 'anal retentive perfect' setup

I went to a taller NRS oar mount and Cobra oarloacks, on a NRS frame, works quite well, but if I did it again I would go for a rainbow oarmount setup, maybe even go totally with a DRE setup.


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## [email protected] (Sep 26, 2007)

Getting those oarmounts higher will also give you greater height in terms of what you mount in forn of your kick bar.


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## raftus (Jul 20, 2005)

tmaggert - which internal couplings did you use? NRS style with a bolt through or are they the ones with the pop-up spring loaded guy?


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## lhowemt (Apr 5, 2007)

[email protected] said:


> I went to a taller NRS oar mount and Cobra oarloacks, on a NRS frame, works quite well, but if I did it again I would go for a rainbow oarmount setup, maybe even go totally with a DRE setup.


I went DRE, and they will make them as tall as you want, and you can always hacksaw them down. I chose those over rainbows for tiltability, and fore/aft adjustability.


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## tmaggert (Aug 18, 2008)

raftus said:


> tmaggert - which internal couplings did you use? NRS style with a bolt through or are they the ones with the pop-up spring loaded guy?


I used the Hollaender 70ES. They are similar to the NRS style but there is a set screw that expands the splice piece and is a friction lock. Look at Hollaender's part drawing. You can see that there are only holes on one side. The only issue was you have to drill the holes in a fairly precise location to avoid any gaps.


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## Osprey (May 26, 2006)

[email protected] said:


> I have the vang and one thing is the COOLER HEIGHT VS Oarlock HEIGHT. If you sit on a substantial cooler then the oars are too low with standard NRS stuff. Darren got me the original setup, great guy, but not the 'anal retentive perfect' setup
> 
> I went to a taller NRS oar mount and Cobra oarloacks, on a NRS frame, works quite well, but if I did it again I would go for a rainbow oarmount setup, maybe even go totally with a DRE setup.


I agree about the tall oar locks, with anything other than a low back seat those are what you want. that's why I sit on my dry box instead of my cooler since it's a bit lower. It's all personal preference though, no one else is going to be able to make your "anal retentive perfect" setup but you. And even then, just when you dial it in, you'll want to change something and change it all up again anyway. It's just the nature of the beast if you are into tweaking your gear like everyone here  I can't think of a year since I bought my setup that I haven't ordered new seats, more bars, more whatever to change it up again.


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## eladio (Mar 3, 2009)

I got this raft high desert river outfitters in Maupin, Oregon. He is a dealer so I just piggybacked the raft when he was ordering new boats last season. I was thinking the nrs compact outfitter, and go from there. It sounds like 8" oar mounts are the safe way to go. I would basically be using the frame for multi day trips, no fishing needs. Did you put tracks on your dry box to slide the seat into when your sitting on your drybox for multi day trips? Also on your multiday trips are you running 1 cooler, and 1 dry box or more stuff? I still want the drop floor for water jugs, rocket boxs,etc.. thanks for the info, I am still gathering all the data from everyone to see which way to go


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## Osprey (May 26, 2006)

sounds like you got a sweet hookup on the rubber! (or plastic in this case )

Right now I run one dry box and one cooler with no drop floor. IMHO putting a seat on top of the dry box just makes it too high for the oarlocks so I only run a seat if I don't have the drybox in there. just ethafoam on the box and either stack items behind me for a backrest for the mild stuff or a stadium soft chair or whatever they are called work fine too. seats are really subjective, some can kind of mess with the angle of your thighs with the oars and people are really divided on seat backs and whether or not they mess with your stoke, etc. you honestly just have to play around. 

if you want to run a seat and the other stuff get the bighorn II and with the seat bar and the extra 10" of frame. then you have a lot more room to play around. I recently ordered longer side rails so I could add a drop bag and table to my setup but I'm still going to have to sit on my box. what I used to do is put a folding everlast table on floor in the back and stack everything on top of there. and that works good. water jugs go well between the foot bar and the cooler. I'm hoping the drop bag is going to help with some of the harder to pack stuff.


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