After my first canyon trip on the Green River’s Gates of Lodore last summer, I was hooked. This feature story began quite shamelessly self-serving. I wanted to set up the Rapid team with a killer raft rig in case any of us got the call from a friend with an open spot on a permit. Then I realized, if I’m this intrigued and excited about multi-day canyon trips and dream of the Grand Canyon, most of you probably do too.
I enlisted the help of Rapid columnist and long-time southwestern river guide, Jeff Jackson. After weeks of mail ordering from Rapid ’s partners AIRE, NRS, Sawyer, Wa- tershed and Yeti, we finally found ourselves at the put-in of our local river on a cool, cloudy spring day building our ultimate canyon rig. In this story, we share why we chose what we did, how we put it all together and what we learned along the way.
THE RAFT
The base of our ultimate canyon rig is the raft itself. We chose the AIRE 15.6R ($4,353). At just under 16 feet long, it’s large enough for multi-day trips, but still reasonable on smaller rivers. We won’t be racing or running big drops so a traditional shape and full-sized, round (that’s what the R stands for) tubes will provide a stable and dry ride. For us, this is a family raft and gear boat for raft-supported kayak trips. We ordered three thwarts for seats ($228 each), so we can also paddle-guide it. AIRE boats are light, beautifully finished and come with the best warranty in the business— if we wreck in the next 10 years, AIRE fixes it. We picked orange because it’s bright and it’s the only color not used by the rafting companies around home. Dan, Rapid Media TV’s cameraman, already calls it Punkin. I prefer Jack.
THE FRAME
When it came to the raft frame, we first considered a boutique-built custom job, but settled on something more modular. Being 2,000 miles from the Colorado, Green and Salmon, we needed the option to break the frame down for travel.
We may stern rig this boat with thwarts at the front for the neighborhood kids, and on longer trips we may add another dry box or cooler. The modular NRS frames allow for incredible versatility. You buy the frame in pieces, starting with the outer rails, and then add crossbars (88” side rails with six 66” crossbars, $517) to hang gear. AIRE provides blueprints of their rafts with dimensions that determine length and width of the frame and sizing of the dry box and cooler. Generally, it is best to go as big as the raft will allow.
THE OARS
Most people buy one nice set of oars and one set of cheap spares to be lashed to the boat and hopefully never used. After ordering our nice set of 9.5-foot
Cataract SGG oar shafts ($277.90/pair) and Cataract Magnum seven-inch blades ($143.90/pair), we received a call from the new owner of Sawyer Paddles and Oars. Peter Newport was keen to send us a set of 9.5-foot Sawyer SquareTop Dynelite oars ($729.96/pair), the most beautiful we’ve ever seen.
The SquareTop name comes from the oversized section of Douglas fir above the rope wrap that acts like a built-in counter balance. Despite the added strength of a sexy carbon fiber braid wrap, we’ll be saving these babies for deepwater rivers and hanging on the wall in the office.
CARGO
We started with the Cambridge Welding aluminum dry box ($393) that we sourced directly from AIRE. The box is 15.5”x15.5”x40” and drops perfectly between our raft tubes with an inch to spare on each side. We liked that the box comes standard with custom welded brackets so it hangs from two crossbars.
We chose Yeti’s Tundra 110 ($449.99) as our cooler, 110 being the volume in quarts. Our raft has the width to accommodate a Tundra 120 or 125, but the 110 was spe- cially designed for rafting. Yeti worked with guides to design a cooler that fits in standard aluminum frames and nests so that the frame doesn’t bump the latches and you don’t bump your knuckles when opening the lid. As far as we’re concerned, Yeti builds the most rugged coolers on the market. If we were running
an 18-day trip in the Grand Canyon we’d mount a second 110.
Duffels offer better accessibility and who needs backpack straps to carry gear 25 yards up the beach? We ordered a couple Water- shed 105-litre Colorado duffels ($149.95 each) for personal gear. As a day deck bag for hiking shoes, sunscreen and other fiddly bits, we ordered the large Watershed Tramp Mesh Duffel ($69.95), although we could have gotten away with their smaller MD ($54.95). We’ll stuff the rest of the camping gear in less expensive dry backpack-style NRS Bill’s Bags ($69.96 to $94.95).
THE BUILD
Building the frame begins with setting the outer rails in place and lying the crossbars roughly where you think they will go.
The first big decision is where to set our NRS eight-inch-tall oar stands ($94.95/pair). We centered the oar stands on the frame— the neutral position for a gear boat. If we were to have a crew of bow paddlers, we’d move our rowing position back.
Instead of a guide seat, we opted to use our dry box with a one-inch foam pad ($69) we sourced from AIRE. Jeff told us that our seat should be set so that when you pull on the oars your butt is not rolling off the back, and when you push hard on the oars you are not sliding off the front. The position of your foot rail depends on the length of your legs. After a test run, I realized I needed to come forward on the seat to get closer to the oar stands due to my short torso. I had to push the NRS custom foot bar ($134.95) forward to give me more leg extension. Once you find the right spot, either leave the frame assembled, or mark it with a Sharpie to remember the perfect spot.
The placement of the foot bar dictates the position of the forward box, in our case the Yeti cooler. We sandwiched the Yeti between two crossbars and slung it using an NRS adjustable cooler mount ($74.95).
On a custom fabricated frame, builders use aluminum checker plate to create gear or walking platforms along the length of the frame. NRS uses modular side rail racks ($69.95 each) made of marine-grade plywood topped with a no-slip protective surface. These running boards make moving about the raft easier and safer.
Ahead of the cooler, we had room to rig an NRS Campsite Counter ($245). Talk about a multi-tasking piece of gear. It’s a folding camp table, a bench in the raft and could be used as a makeshift backboard. Under the table we hung a small NRS cargo net (without straps $54.95), forming a hammock-like storage area for smaller items and bags.
In the stern, behind the dry box, we slung a large NRS cargo platform ($54.95) that hangs like a trampoline and acts as a suspended floor. This is where we’ll pile the bigger dry bags, strapped down or covered with a cargo net.
Making sure the frame was still centered front-to-back and side-to-side, we ratcheted it tight and prepared the straps. To lash the frame to the raft, we chose beefier 1.5-inch NRS HD straps ($7.00–$11.40 each). We used clove hitches to prevent slipping and so the straps remain on the frame when it is removed. We positioned the buckles so the direction of pull to tighten is toward the center of the boat. This allows us to tighten the frame on the water from inside the raft. Once the frame is secure, we used our K- Pump 40 hand pump ($160) to hard blow the raft, further tightening the frame.
For the Cataract oars, we sourced NRS Atomic aluminum oarlocks ($74.95/pair) fastened using stainless springs and wash- ers ($6.95/set) and, instead of split rings, we ordered fancy lynch pins ($1.50 each). We chose threaded Sawyer Cobra Scull Lock oarlocks ($59.99 each) to use with the Sawyer SquareTops. We double-checked that both sets of oars can be used in both types of locks and we ordered a spare of each.
The one-piece Sawyers come ready to go pre-roped and with rubber oar stops. Our Cataract SGGs took a little more setting up.
First, we installed the molded oar sleeves ($14.95 each), which protect the oar shafts when rubbing against the oarlocks. Then we slipped on the large plastic oar stops ($29.95/ pair). We put on the NRS oar tethers ($39.95/pair), which are leashes for the oars in case we blow them out of the oarlocks, and snapped on the Cataract Magnum blades. Sitting in the guide position, we measured up the oars. After one day on the water, I figured that I wanted my hands closer together. I reset the oars, leaving just enough room for my thumb knuckles to pass by one another. Finally, we added a set of Cataract counterweights ($69.95/pair), making the oars feel almost weightless. What a difference these will make on a long trip.
Before our test run, we hung our spare oars with NRS oar keepers ($19.95/pair). We installed our NRS bow line and flip lines, and clipped in our throw bag. The rest of the gear we’ll test on our first real multi-day in our ultimate canyon rig.
RULES OF RIGGING
- If you open it, close it. If you loosen it, tighten it.
- Pad sharp edges to protect you and the boat.
- Run straps through items rather than just over them.
- As much as possible, strap items individually. If one strap blows it will not compromise the load.
- Rig to flip.
KEEP STUFF OFF THE FLOOR
As a general rule, suspend all gear from your frame because:
- The floor needs to flex and bend over waves.
- This shares the load along the full length of the raft.
- It gives the floor room to move if scrubbed or wrapped on rocks
- You want to avoid abrasion between cargo and the floor.
STRAP MANAGEMENT
- Mount the buckles so that you can tighten the straps from your guiding position.
- Keep your working areas free of excess and dangling straps.
- No straps dangling longer than your palm.
- Wet the straps. When rigged wet, they will shrink and tighten as they dry throughout the day.
- Pack a pair of pliers to pull straps tighter or free jammed cams.
CONTACTS
AIRE / NRS / Sawyer / Watershed / Yeti
This article first appeared in the Early Summer 2012 issue of Rapid Magazine. For more great content, subscribe to Rapid’s print and digital editions here.
