I'm looking at these two boats for central OR and ID rivers. Most of my trips are 2 people for 3 nights but will have 3 people at times and an extended trip once in awhile (5 days +). I know an overloaded CAT becomes a pig so I'm leaning toward the Jag. Any advice would be great. Most trips will be on the John Day, Deschutes, and the Rogue but I do plan to keep doing bigger water. Also any links to used boats would be a big help. Thanks!
I think the Jag would be perfect for the rivers you listed, it's probably the best all around cat out there. IMO a 14' cat would be over loaded for a 5+ day trip with at least 2 passengers especially if your carrying your fair share of the community gear.
I agree with wavester. I row a 14 X 24 Maravia Cat, and carrying 2-3 passengers plus gear would be overloaded. I usually don't carry a passenger on my Cat, but I do use a more narrow 66in. NRS frame. My river buddy uses a 14 ft. Cat & 16 ft. Cat with wider frames. The 14 ft. usually carries 1-2 people with moderate gear, and the 16 ft. carries 2 people with a little bit more gear.
I'd vote for the 16 ft. Jag if you know you'll consistently have passengers.
KJ
There's a 2010 Aire Jag listed on the NRS gear swap right now. As for frames..... I got an NRS frame two years ago and love it. Easy to take apart for winter storage & fly-in Middle Fork trips. Infinitely adjustable for different set-ups. I also use the NRS side rail racks for walkways & gear securement. I have 4 of the 3 ft. side racks and move them around to suit my needs. I use a 66 in. frame because I have a 14 ft. Cat, rarely ever carry a passenger, and prefer a narrower set-up. For a Jag you'd want the 72 in. frames. You'd probably want 10 ft. oars? DRE frames are also popular. You might want to talk to the folks at River Connections as well since they are in Oregon and might have frame info for you.
New boats & frames are always fun.
KJ
Is MakoF16 a reference to the squadron out of Homestead AFB?
As to which boat to get - Sotar makes Legend's in a 16' (there's a used 16'5" on their sales hotsheet right now...) So I wouldn't rule the Legend out on that basis. I also know a lot of good class IV/V boaters that consider the Legend to be the best cat made. You might try posting on the Idaho Whitewater Yahoo group and getting some opinions there - There are a ton of cat boaters in Idaho.
Thanks for the additional info. I'll probably drive over to the Sotar factory and have a look and talk to those folks as well. I spent a lot of time on 18' Aire cats up in Alaska on float/fishing trips (small water). I don't need something that big and I want to get into bigger water and I keep hearing about the Aire Jag as far as load and performance. I'll look at the sources you recommended and hope to figure it out before spring.
I spent 18 years flying with the Makos out of Homestead and will retire after 28 years on Nov 1st so it looks like it is "river time" for me!
The Jag will hold more, for sure, especially if you want to have passengers. That size of Legend does fine for a single person's gear, but there's not going to be room for a passenger and 2 people's gear.
Just a quick fyi - oar length is usually determined by frame width. So by committing to 10' oars before buying a frame you are in fact pre-determining your frame width to some extent. 10' is a fairly common size for 16-18' rafts and cats, but be sure to mention it when your out frame shopping and talking to frame builders.
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