Sooooo. Back to the original topic. I have used the same NRS frame for about 15 years now. Most of that time it was a cat frame with the NRS yokes. When I switched to a raft, I kept the side rails & cross bars, and sold the yokes. I have been happy with the frame. Nothing on it has ever broke, bent, rotated, or in any way hindered my ability to float down a river. It may not be hip, slick, and cool, but it works. It can be broken down into a small bundle to stick in an airplane to fly in to the MF in the fall, but 95% of the time it is assembled & on my raft. I did have issues with the cat yoke & down bar flex when I had a cataraft, but I came up with an easy fix for that. I have been known to curse violently at the U-bolts when I take the frame apart, but I don't break the frame all the way down very often anymore.
Every year I think about getting a new frame. Something lighter, something custom, something hip, slick, and cool. But then I remember my inclination towards fiddling around with my set-up. Tinkering with where things go based on what kind of trip I'm on (solo, passenger, extra gear, etc.). I still have another set of NRS side rails on the shelf, left over from the cataraft, that I can cut down to make a shorter day/weekend frame if I want. I can't quite convince myself to spend all that money on a new frame, when I like the one I have.
As far as my experiences with other builders go.....
Dusty at DRL made me a custom sized foot bar/cross bar for my frame that I like. I saw somewhere that he has a latch-in system that I might be able to retro-fit to my current frame & dry boxes?
My rafting partner has 4 Recretec frames on his 4 rafts & cats that he loves. They are anywhere from 4-15 years old I think. They are all in great shape, light weight, easy to assemble, and the latch-in dry boxes are awesome.
I have chatted online with Whitewater Machine Works about his frames. He has always answered my questions fully & promptly, and he's sent pictures of stuff when I've asked.
I have also bought foot bars and flip seat brackets from AAA. They were well made pieces and the folks there were very good to deal with.
My only advice to the OP would be to look for a frame builder who is relatively close to where you live so that you can perhaps have a face to face meeting with them to plan your frame build. That way noting gets lost in translation online or over the phone. Frames cost a lot of money & you want to get exactly what you need. Good luck in your quest & let us know what you decide to get.