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Hey river rats, I need your opinions!!!

3K views 8 replies 8 participants last post by  Chip 
#1 ·
We currently have a two-person ducky and are thinking about adding another (same IK). My idea is to lash them both together with a modified frame and use them as a raft.

I know some of you are going to tell me to just buy a raft, however, I am getting a really good deal and the extra money would be better spent on a new kayak.:mrgreen:

I’m looking to give my wife the opportunity to run some whitewater and when we get to the larger rapids we could “frame up” and run down together.

What are your thoughts? I’m sure its been done before, so does anyone know the outcome? Thanks in advance for your replies.
 
#2 ·
Have you thought about how you will paddle/steer this thing? If you use a paddle on one side, you can't reach the other side? If there are two of you, one on each side in back, you better be pretty darn close friends to work that beast. If you put on an oar frame, where will you sit? The middle will be pretty uncomfortable.

With river running, proper equipment is worth the money.
 
#3 ·
This is totally doable. Actually a company was making frames for just this purpose, but I think they stopped a few years ago. Two duckies with a frame equals a cataraft, albeit one that is lower to the water (makes it quite stable) and probably has a smaller cargo capacity. As for wear to sit, this really isn't an issue, every cataraft has a seat mounted in the middle, just buy a seat and mount it to the frame.

If you want to run more of a R2 style than as a rowed raft - then make a frame that accommodates that. However there is no reason that you couldn't design a frame that would allow paddling on one or both sides of each kayak while sitting in the normal kayaking position. You would just run it the same way a shredder runs stuff. The Russians make boats like this all the time and use raft paddles just like there were in a shredder or R2ing any other raft. They paddle on the outside and actually kneel instead of sitting, but there is no reason that you can't sit and make it work. Then just work your way up to harder stuff.

http://www.raft.org/images_jpg/russpc1.JPG
 
#5 ·
speaking of russian cat frames, I saw one in the "flesh" several years ago. the tubes it sat on were designed with "saddles" or dips in them, and the frame was design to 1) hold the tubes together, and 2) provide a place wedge your feet in.

anybody have pics of any types of russian r-2 frames?

i think i could probably think of a way to bulid one, but it sure would be nice to have somewhat of an idea before i start cutting 4$ a foot tubing.
 
#6 ·
russian rigs

you can refer to the book " The Complete Whitewater Rafter", by Jeff Bennet, which gives a brief, but interesting history of river craft. It has some cool pictures of Russian "Plohts". Also, Perception made an R-2 craft in the early 90's called the Revolution, modeled after a Russian Design. It didn't go over well here, but nobody was used to running a boat that way.On a different note, I was given 6 old Corsicas, (long boats) and made three, cataraft style boats using them as the pontoons and building a frame out of 6061 aluminum handrail material, and fittings, i think the same stuff Downriver frames are built from. you sat in a seat in the middle and rowed these which made them very maneuverable. we took them down Cataract and The Yampa/Green . They were cool because you could still take them apart and use the kayaks individually if you saw a surf wave you couldn't resist. You may look at heavy guage galvanized electrical conduit as a cheaper alternative to the handrail, or muffler pipe, but that requires some fabrication beyond a hacksaw or band saw. I tried to ost the plans I made for these boats, but the file is too big, I'll try to figure out how to do it.
 
#9 ·
The advantage would be to have two duckies, for the trips when that'd be best.

A duckie-hull cat (seems like we did this one a few months ago) would have a low center of gravity (assuming you load the drybags, etc, in the floors and sit on the frame). But, compared to a regular cat, it would also have a pretty high drag, so it might handle in a sluggish way in rapids, and to row it on flatwater against the wind would be torture.

Aire built a double-tube cat (four in all) that's pretty similar to what you're proposing. No longer available. But some people who have them swear by the idea.

So give it a go. If it doesn't work, you'll have two good duckies.

yrs, Chip
 
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