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The Art/Science of Rigging

44K views 44 replies 27 participants last post by  utahriverguy 
#1 ·
Hi all, I am new to the Buzz. I have been a kayaker for the last five years and our two kids have reached the age where they can now enjoy river trips. Yeehoo! I have enjoyed the first part of this winter acquiring new and used gear. I purchased a family rig, a used 16' self bailer and a four bay frame. The maiden voyage for me and this rig will be Deso this May. I will also be raft support for two kayakers. I will be carrying everything in my rig. What are some methods to the rigging madness. I have all the right gear including a large yeti cooler and dry box an eco safe groover as well the fire pan and some 20mm rocket boxes. I hope this thread invokes some thoughts of the river on these chilly January evenings. Thanks.
 
#2 ·
There is definitely an art to it, but it's hard to say without seeing how it goes together. It's something you'll figure out as you go, or at least that's how I did it. You'll try it one time, one way. You won't like something, and you'll tweak it either on river or the next time. And so the process goes until you have something you like. Try a dry run. Blow up the boat, put the frame on, boxes, cooler, etc. You'll at least have an idea and will be able to start somewhere.
 
#3 ·
Thats a good idea. As far as the groover goes I'm thinking put it on the bottom of the pile in the stern. Then strap all the dry bags etc down and the thing shouldn't come out. Thats my main concern is strapping/holding odd shaped stuff in the boat like fire pan, propane tank, groover.
 
#4 ·
I made a wood beavertail for my stern to put all the hard odd shaped things like fire pan, ammo boxes, water jugs, and groover. I'm about to glue some extra d-rings to the inside of the stern tubes to have lash points to hold all that heavy stuff down tight. Start heavy and then pack soft bags on top. Last winter spent lots of nights in the garage trying to figure out how I was going to rig all the normal things and come river season I did it totally different, someone once told me that I will never get it right and I will be screwing with it and changing for the rest of my life, so I guess keep that in mind. If you want to get your oars dialed in you could head out to a local lake in late April and get that figured out before your long Deso trip.
Good Luck!
 
#5 ·
I agree with everyone else, it takes time to figure out your rig. The hardest part is figuring out where to put the hard, odd shaped objects. Beaver tails are a must in some cases, it will save unnecessary wear on your boat floor (I put ammo cans, water jugs and the fire pan back there). Another very useful thing to have is a drop bag. Since it sounds like you have a 4 bay frame, with only one cooler and dry box, you probably have one/space for one. This I usually store my chairs, pump and any other odd, hard to tie down stuff (ie. trash/can bag). On top of this drop bag, cut out a wooden platform (can even make this into a table and backboard), tie down some pads and voila! You have an awesome sitting area and storage compartment.
 
#8 ·
this is what i did when we bought our first boat a few years ago. it was a pain getting all that crap off the shelf and putting it back, but it was better than doing it on the river. try to load your boat where it is just a tad bit front-heavy.
 
#7 ·
I do have a smaller compartment in the very front of the frame. I plan to buy/make a river table to cover this compartment and to sit on. A drop bag under the table would be perfect. Not sure what a beaver tail is. I'm thinking its a cargo floor made to keep gear up off the floor.
 
#9 ·
A beaver tail is just a hard floor for the stern, most commonly made of plywood. It hangs off the frame and stern tube drings, so all of that gear is kept off the floor. As others have said, it is very nice for lashing down weird stuff. I drilled holes all over mine, and threaded rope through those holes. This way I have many loops throughout the floor to use to thread straps to, no matter what/how I've rigged back there. I've thought of extra stern d rings, but instead I still use the outer one to hand the beaver tail, then I have a small one that goes to an o-ring that i use for the rest. Keep in mind that your beaver tail will be hanging, so you do need some straps/rigging over the top of the gear to hold it in place in case you flip. Soft over hard, as others have mentioned, works great. It's especially great for a nice big dog bed.

Play with your rigging this winter, get all of your crap and rig and rerig. Then expect to want to change it within an hour on the river. Every trip we take we rig different, mostly because we are taking different things. Sometimes we're assigned the fire pan, sometimes not (for example). Drop bag with table over the top is great too, fire pan, chairs, roll table, etc etc etc.

Have fun!
 
#10 ·
I know lots of folks run beaver tails, I really don't like them. On the grand my rig came with one but I ran it up front to keep the weight up where it should be. I think that is the danger with it in the back - you end up stern heavy.

run a four bay frame with a drop frame behind.
bay one - table ( I have room under but no drop bag for it yet) room for two or three passengers big dry bag on either side of the table.

bay two - large dry box small dry bags and tent bags go on either side. Firepan and camera case on top - I usually make sure I don't need to get in this one.

Bay three - captain's boxes and my feet. Once you have these you won't go without them.

bay four medium seat box - one the ends of the box I put small rockets, small propane, "crash bag"

drop frame - for the cooler. room on either end for a big dry bag too. Or large propane or water jugs. I stack my chairs on top of the cooler. wrapped in our camp tarp. Also room for a large dry bag on top of the cooler. If you do this and want to get in the cooler you need to rig up everything that goes on the cooler as one unit. So two straps and you are in the cooler kind of thing.

I also think about having the heaviest things in the boat the closest to the middle unless I am trying to counter a really heavy cooler in the back for example. Then water jugs go to the front. If I have two big guys up front water jugs to the back with the charcoal. That kind of thing.

Watch out for oar clearance and sharp edges anywhere in the conceivable rowing area. And....what happens when that oar gets caught in the eddy/hole and nearly throws you out of the boat. This would be the extreme limits of oar leveraged/knuckle contact possibility to be aware of to try to keep from breaking your hand.

Any bag or box that I really care about I figure out how to get two straps on. I don't know the class you will be on, but that applies more to class 4. The rivers I take my kids on I don't usually think about having to double strap but it's not a bad idea.

I have also started to use my recycled zip lock bags to pre-label straps for: all frame straps, cooler straps, spare oar straps, front table dry bags, etc.
I don't like to leave my straps on the frame during transport if they are outside as the wind causes extra wear and tear and fraying.

Learn a clove hitch for straps and think about rigging things so you can tighten the straps from the cockpit. I use the clove hitch to make sure straps can't slip to end up with the buckle on a corner, under a passenger's butt or where you can't hit em with a knuckle.

That's about all I have for now. I dig a tight rig.
 
#11 ·
Bay three -...... and my feet. Once you have these you won't go without them.
Yeah, I don't go anywhere without my feet either. :cool:

It might be useful to note that you're running a 16' raft, a 14' like me and a few others are describing probably wouldn't have room for that rear drop frame, I'd consider that a 5th bay. Essentially you just have your cooler behind you, right?
 
#12 ·
I don't have much to add to those who have provided sage advice already. Raft rigging requires many straps; more is better, some short, some long and a lot of in betweeners. You will have a lot of cash in them before your thru. Your thread also makes a great counter-point to splitting up the BUZZ. A lot of us do it all; from kayaking to rafting and everything in between. Hard to squeeze your whole family into a kayak afterall.
 
#14 ·
Learn a clove hitch for straps and think about rigging things so you can tighten the straps from the cockpit. I use the clove hitch to make sure straps can't slip to end up with the buckle on a corner, under a passenger's butt or where you can't hit em with a knuckle.

That's about all I have for now. I dig a tight rig.[/QUOTE]

The clove hitch is also great for keeping all that cash you dumped in around. Nothing like having the "help" de-rig your boat and watching cam straps fall into the drink...
 
#16 ·
I'm trying to figure out how to load more gear in the front of my 16' raft. I have a four bay frame, from front to back its drybox, cooler, open bay, dry box with seat. Behind me I have a drop floor that supports firepan, groover, drybags, etc, etc. I strap it all down and then put cargo netting over everything. I strap my water jugs in the front utilizing two D-rings on the inside bow. I'm trying to figure out how to more gear up front but still have room for a passenger. Any ideas?
 
#17 ·
Build a deck that will be more or less level with the tops of the tubes before the rocker. They should be hinged to swing open and deposit loose gear into a drop bag under the deck. Paco pads strapped on top of the deck, drybox and cooler provide padding for the sunning deck for passengers. During rapids they assume an active posture sitting/kneeling and holding onto a strap.
 
#21 ·
as is says in the description: "The bottom is built like a cargo floor with heavy D-rings."

it is suspended off the floor (self-bailer or bucket).

you rig it like any load: heavy ugly stuff on the bottom, lighter and soft stuff on top, layer upon layer.
every rig is different, depending on the trip.

bob
 
#23 ·
River Rat Ray at Tuff River Stuff made a custom fit everything bag for me.

It holds a bunch of gear bags and there is room at the bottom for stuff like fire pans etc.

Ray does good work. Instead of running straps every where I just stand on the seat and pull the hoopie straps down tight to close the bag and tie off to the back of the seat. It is super fast and my guess is about as secure a setup as you will find.
 
#24 ·
A couple of points on the art:
  1. Always rig for flip
  2. Minimize the chance to entanglement
  3. Tie up your loose ends with daisy chains
  4. Consider painting the cam buckles something other than the red I use. :)
  5. Heavy stuff goes in the bottom
  6. Squishy stuff on top, for sunning areas and dog couches
  7. Build your table to act as a lid to your drop bag
  8. Pay attention to the balance

Below is how my frame is currently organized, just for reference. I have a four + one bay frame on a 16'. The front drop is on a daughter frame that is allowed to flex. There isn't a formula for these things; play around with it until you get to something happy.

 
#25 ·


Loading up the shit show. Front table gets another dry bag or two. The box I have open is the seat box. The cooler gets a dry bag on either side or on top or.....



You can see how much space is up front for my not small ass. Yes I have a dive mask on. I was looking for straps OK? My daughter is standing on one of the captains boxes. There is as much space in the stern as in the front and people can enter exit both ends with ease.




Room for two to row. :rolleyes:

To the left and right in front out of frame two large Bill's bags. Back right you can see water jug and Groover?? I usually try to separate those a bit.

The pelican usually gets a spare LJ over it to save on the knuckles. This was in a pretty mellow section. Bella is not ready for class 4 yet. The small rockets behind her - one is my metal purse the other is the ash can. People love to carry ashes. I don't. A small one works well. Just put the ash in the garbage if you run out of space. Reburn your ash, it helps.
 
#29 ·
I second that motion. This is a totally bomber way to get some quality time in the man cave. My raft lives in the garage (the truck will deal) and it's where I go when I need some quality tinkering time. The GF cracks the door once in a while, but she lets me be with my project time.
 
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