For those who use reflip thwarts on your cats: I'm just wondering if you can tell me what size of thwart you are using? (diameter x length in inches roughly?). I realize that some of you just pull one off of your raft and use that and it is what it is. Just curious if there is a minimum size dimension you feel works better than others (for those who practice reflips anyways) - is bigger, better, is there a too small diameter to make a difference?
Maiden voyage is this coming Friday, but I set the cataraft up in the Living room the other day (shitty day outside, would have set it up in the car port but got stuff in the way right now) to get a feel for alignment and all that and came up with an idea that may not be new. As you can see by the picture with my rear seat bracket mounted, I was thinking that this may be a worthwhile mount for a thwart installed longitudinally (parallel with length of the boat). But it got me to thinking if there was enough surface area for the thwart to make it truly secure/hold it in place and not have some of it get pushed in/up when upside down rendering it less effective than it could be. It got me thinking - if I could get a bracket built out of the same flat plate type/thickness & width as the rear seat mount pictured, and it would start behind the rear cross bar and run all the way forward underneath the rowers seat. Cut out slots in the plate that are the same as the rowers seat mount and you can sandwich this flat plate between the rowers seat mount and rowers seat using the mounting bolts and you could anchor it to the rear cross bar using U-bolts like the rear seat mount presently is. Then have some slots cut out in 2 places along this flat plate to strap the thwart to it. The strap slots could also double as lashing points for cam straps to keep cargo below this thwart mount at bay better and would effectively divide the bay in two as well which would make accessing dry bags and the gear below it on the deck more convenient. Thoughts? I hope I conveyed this well enough to give you a picture in your mind anyways.
Sounds like I need to learn what re-flip thwarts are( I tend to lag behind with the times),
but damn am I glad your contractor did not install engineered flooring on your ceiling speycatr!
Dave built it for my frame as an option for $80 (for just the bracket - seat is an NRS high back for $100+ish) and it was powder/clear coated when the frame went in for it. I'd imagine if you had him fab up a stand alone bracket and wanted it powder coated there may be a small fee on top of the $80 to do this. Dave will give you the inside scoop obviously. It mounts with 2 u bolts plus it has a reinforcement gusset underneath so the seat will not move at all - very solid! Bracket has mounting slots for the rand less low back and high back seats along with the folding pontoon boat style seats.
Dave is building my frame right now and I did order a seat bracket like yours too! Can't wait! Did you make the floor? I think using the seat bracket for the reflip thwart would work great! Is that a 15ft WD?
Sent from my SM-G955U using Mountain Buzz mobile app
If your boat is 15' I would look at the dimensions of the 15'6,17'6 and 18'3 Aire thwarts to see what would fit best. I have a 13' WD and was considering the same thing.
Sent from my SM-G955U using Mountain Buzz mobile app
Purplepaddler - Dave made the floor (checkerplate aluminum with reinforcement underneath). It is obviously removeable and Dave designed it to affix to the boat with 4 cam straps.
Scott, When I run a "cat roller" I just take two straps that will go from seat bar to rear top bar. Put one on each side of the seat. Then take two more short straps. Wrap these two around the first two making a cradle. Then two more straps. These two are around the thwart, but they need to be around the first straps and the second straps, over top of thwart pulling the cradle apart. No part of third set will be under thwart. This is confusing but you will figure it out.
If you are going to buy a thwart, you might as well just buy a cat roller from Aire. I think they have d ring on them to make securing easy. Under cataraft outfitting there is a picture of one.
I've seen the Cat-a-roller from AIRE before. Do they still have it in their catalog? I got it in my 2015 AIRE catalog but I can't seem to find it on their website anymore. I was thinking a thwart on the bracket I described would be more versatile as far as not taking up as much storage space behind the seat, etc.
You could build the cradle out of rope or straps. I have not done this for years because I am heavy enough to flip most of my boats by standing on one tube and leaning back. My 14' sotar I can flip with a line attached to the frame on the seat bar inside of the tubes. I have it tied by the seat bar and let it float in the water. The Sabertooth almost rights itself when I am climbing on top of upside down . I use the same method. I have a short piece of rope tied to frame near seat and run through floor.
Hope this helps That 15 foot wave destroyer will probably need some help if you are not a big guy. I am 6' 2" and weigh 245 lbs don't know in Kilos, since you are Canadian and all. But I have never tried a 15 footer. I have tried to upset my 16 footer and can not do it by myself, 72 inch wide frame. It has never been upside down, YET. Hopefully it never is but a cat roller would help.
Good luck and happy boating. Your idea of a tray would be great. Two pieces of 3/4 square tubing would work also and be lighter. The tubing would be the cradle and you could strap around it like I did the jug in my picture. You could build this easy, add some flat bar to the ends drill four holes. Anyways have a good one,
You could build the cradle out of rope or straps. I have not done this for years because I am heavy enough to flip most of my boats by standing on one tube and leaning back. My 14' sotar I can flip with a line attached to the frame on the seat bar inside of the tubes. I have it tied by the seat bar and let it float in the water. The Sabertooth almost rights itself when I am climbing on top of upside down . I use the same method. I have a short piece of rope tied to frame near seat and run through floor.
Hope this helps That 15 foot wave destroyer will probably need some help if you are not a big guy. I am 6' 2" and weigh 245 lbs don't know in Kilos, since you are Canadian and all. But I have never tried a 15 footer. I have tried to upset my 16 footer and can not do it by myself, 72 inch wide frame. It has never been upside down, YET. Hopefully it never is but a cat roller would help.
Good luck and happy boating. Your idea of a tray would be great. Two pieces of 3/4 square tubing would work also and be lighter. The tubing would be the cradle and you could strap around it like I did the jug in my picture. You could build this easy, add some flat bar to the ends drill four holes. Anyways have a good one,
Hey don't worry about the conversion factors man LOL - I'm pretty used to converting it so I can understand it from American/Imperial weights & measures because I have frequented a variety of different often American based enthusiasts forums over the years, this one being a fine example. Besides in Canada we have kind of a hybridized or bastardized system anyways since we are your neighbours and are so intertwined with your economy. While we "technically" have the metric system, many Canadians myself included, still use feet & inches for measurements, and pounds for weight. Yet with temperature we'll often use Celsius (technically centigrade) and kilometres/kmh for driving distances.
I haven't tried to reflip the WD yet but I'm sure I'll be fine. I've done a 16 foot & 18 foot raft (with just an oar frame) before by myself and a 20 footer with oar frame with some help. Defiantly required some effort but not impossible. The 20 footer can be done by one with with proper technique and favourable wind conditions (i.e. non existent) .
What may change things is when I install the MadCatr reflip straps which will take away some leverage (but add a safety & quickness factory) because they are on the inside of the tubes, not on the outside of the tubes. This is where the Thwart or some kind of Cataroller will help. Thanks for the input, the time you have taken to share your experience and knowledge is very much appreciated and very valuable.
Put the flat bar on and drill single hole for seat bolt. On the back you could drill two holes each and use a U bolt. You will have to figure out if if flat bar need to be opposite so u bolts nuts will not touch thwart.
The one in that picture was order by a friend of mine last fall. I am sure Aire makes them, maybe market is so small they just took down the advertising. My friend who bought this one, uses a flat bench seat. The cat roller he uses for a back rest.
Thanks for the compliment. Anytime l can help, l will try.
Curtis
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
Mountain Buzz
639.4K posts
63.2K members
Since 2003
A forum community dedicated to whitewater kayaking, boating, and rafting enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about safety, routes, gear, models, styles, gear swaps, reviews, accessories, classifieds, and more!