NRS Frame and Side Box Dilemma

Hey bud!

I have a 156R and I use rocket box slings and rocket boxes. Not super convenient to get into or light but it’s the most cost effective solution to extra storage. I haven’t had any issues with them banging into my legs.

AZJefe said:

Looks nice. Why not go ahead and suspend a floor and do full-length side walkways?

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Didn't want a suspended floor and still would need boxes to maximize that space. I have zippered bags in the gap between the sideboards for quick access stuff that can get wet. You can see them tucked out of the way and hooked around the oar locks.

GOTY2011 said:

I have similar Cambridge boxes on my Streamtech Salmonfly and they are great. I use one for breakfast foods & JetBoil, the other a DSLR and other stuff. Easy to grab, walk up to camp, etc.

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Nice! Kind of my thinking as well!

Randaddy said:

What stops the boxes from migrating in toward the footwell when shit gets rocked? The modified foot bar can solve that at the front of the boxes, but back towards the rower you may need a stopper of sorts beyond just a strap wrap where you tie down the boxes at the tabs to make it super solid.

I love the look. Love that you're sitting low, on a box or cooler, instead of a big, dumb seat. It's a lot of metal and weight compared to mesh drop bags and more dry bags, but it's clean, and if rigged well would be a pleasure to take long trips with. I would recommend doing a test flip with it loaded and see how many people it takes. I like trips with small crews and have been reticent to go with the dream setup, as it takes a lot of people to flip back over quickly.

Aluminum boxes and less extra stuff for the win, for sure. Gorgeous layout. Please post pics when it's done!

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I appreciate the kind words! This has been a dream boat for me that I've slowly been piecing together over the years.
As designed I'll only have about a 1/4" gap between the box and the crossbars, the box will be strapped on ether end to the crossbars. So with that and the modified foot bar I cant see how a box will be able to move latterly or twist (everything should fit pretty tight). Haha I like that you mention no "dumb seat", I just sold off three seats and the last one got picked up a few hours ago. I'm going all-in on no seat! And yes, I absolutely will be posting pics of the final result!

Pattoft said:

Make sure you leave enough room to get to the cooler and drybox latches. It looks like you are covering them up. It's a bummer if you can't open them without taking them out. I made the mistake of adjusting my frame and covering my latches once. I never remove my cooler or big drybox on a trip. Sometimes it is nice to make the captain boxes a little shorter so you can get a hand in there or flip the drybox latches up.

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My existing drybox latches will be mostly covered up, but will still be able to open (until I get massive sausage fingers), I did a lot of testing with that when I was mocking it up and feel comfortable with the layout. My existing Cambridge box seems to sit lower than other boxes I've seen, so I didn't have much room to play with. The same with the cooler (again, until sausage fingers), but it sits up just a bit higher so shouldn't be a big deal. In fact, it may keep sausage-fingered people from snagging beers out of my cooler haha!

Norcalcoastie said:

Hey bud!

I have a 156R and I use rocket box slings and rocket boxes. Not super convenient to get into or light but it’s the most cost effective solution to extra storage. I haven’t had any issues with them banging into my legs.

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Nice! Good looking boat you got there! I was using rocket box slings with pelican cases. I never could find a pelican case though that that could maximize that space. I'll probably be selling off my two rocket box slings once the boxes get here and I'm comfortable with the new setup.

Dstruxx said:

What is the purpose of the gaps in your side rails?

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Personal preference I guess? In my head when I got them years ago I figured I couldn't really use that section of board to strap anything down, so I got side bags from Cascade River Gear to fill that void. I'm sure full length boards would make it much more convenient to walk the length of the boat though!

I personally don't like having side boxes in the captains bay. I like to have some room for my legs and don't like having something to bang my knees on all day.

I went with the Frontierplay "Personal"dryboxes up on the frame next to my cooler that I sit on and they work great. They are 14"x14"x6". I need to put a bracket to bolt them down to the decks, but so far a 4' cam strap run through the handles and around my frame have worked well. I do a thin Tuff River Stuff mesh bag on one side of my captains bay and a small pelican on the other side for stuff like my cell phone and Inreach/Zoleo and a few other things that I like to have easy access to but need to stay dry. I also found out that the wireless stuff doesn't really like being in metal boxes, so the pelican is nice for that reason too. I do find myself tossing a bunch of stuff on the floor in the captains bay though...at least in the easy sections where I'm not too worried about stuff getting ejected out of the boat.

All,

I've had a few comments on this thread, and a few messages come my way about the reasoning of having the gap in between my sideboards. I thought I'd address them here…

When I got them years agoI wasn't in a position to make my own so I was limited to what I could find online. NRS offers sideboards in 3', 4', and 6' lengths. If I got 6’ lengths, they would be too short if I had them centered on my frame as they would only extend 24” each direction beyond my footbay (I know my OCD wouldn’t allow to have them offcenter). I could have gone with (2) 4’ sideboards per side to run the full length of the frame, but I didn’t think I’d like the look of sideboards butted right up to each other. So, I went with (2) 3’ sections per side with the footbay section open so I could make some use of that space with bags.

For me, it works great. It allows my table up front to fully rest on the sideboards making it a rock solid hatch cover/bench. In the back it gives a little bit extra walking space, which is great because 9 out of 10 times I load/unload my boat from the rear where all the bags are kept.

Someday, once these sideboards have run their course, and I no longer like the side zipper bags, I would absolutely consider going full length with the sideboards!

Easy access captain's boxes are great. Added these on my 14' cat; a pair of Frontier Play captain's boxes. A friend welded on pairs of angles to clip into the footbar and I fashioned a bracket for the other end to use with the same pins holding the main dry box in. Really nice and fast not to have to deal with straps for opening/closing. Still have a nice wide footwell.

Your method using tabs with straps sounds great as well.

Yes, I too have a "cuddle board" with rabeted ends to fit into the boxes and cover the footwell for sleeping.

You

Following up on this...
My boxes came a few days, and they were built exactly as designed. I cannot say enough good things about Mad Cow Metal Works!


I knew I had to modify my foot bar to accommodate for the boxes. It was a pretty simple process. I designed and 3D printed an insert that was about 5 1/2" long to go inside both ends of the pipe and little lip to know where center is (not that I've ever given a damn about where the center line is on my foot bar. I cut out just over 12" of the foot bar, and inserted the 3D printed part.


This is what it looks like when both halves are pushed together:


Then, instead of having two seperate footpegs, I had some extra NRS pipe around so I had it span the entire length.


Test fitting everything together:


Final product with the new SeaDek on all three boxes:


I can't wait to use these. Leaving for my first trip a week from today, so these came just in time!

(Yes, I can still get into my cooler and existing drybox.