The past few years we have been going on raft trips with a variety of different floating devices. From inflatable kayaks to my grandfather's old bucket boat. This year I decided to go all in and invest in a complete raft setup. I'm excited to have a vessel with enough space to hold people and gear for multi-day trips and be entirely self sustaining.
The Gear
I was absolutely overwhelmed with the amount of choices I had to make to get a raft. Hopefully this list can provide an easy short list for someone looking into getting gear for rafting as well.
- Star Outlaw 150 - I went with a PVC boat instead of hypalon because it saved me a ton of money that could be used towards other gear.
- Bighorn II Frame (Comes with oar towers, seat, and foot bar)
- 3 x 9' Cateract Oars with 8" blades
- Straps (a whole bunch of cam straps of varying lengths)
- Drybox
- 2 Paco Pads
I already had a cooler.
The First Trip
Last weekend we took the raft down the Colorado from Dewey Bridge to Take Out Beach outside of Moab. I strapped the frame to the top of my truck and folded up the raft and threw it in the truck bed. It was quite an experience rigging everything for the first time, but I imagine this will get faster with time. After this trip we already have another short list of things we want for the next trip we will be taking in a few weeks
- Cooler / Drybox mounts
- Rowing Gloves
- Bench for the front of the boat
- Mount for an umbrella
I love the creativity when it comes to rigging and setting up your raft exactly as you want it.
This Year's Trips
We have a few trips planned this year already:
- Labyrinth Canyon
- A/B/C of Green River
- San Juan
The River Bucket List (For Now)
- Gates of Ladore
- Westwater
- Middle Fork of the Salmon
- Desolation
I also really want to take friends and family on the river that have never experienced it before. So I'm really looking forward to those trips as well.