Finding your comfort zone (Part II)

Boat types

Two things affect your experience on a river trip: the difficulty of the rapids and the type of boat you are in when you go through those rapids.

On our trips, we take up to four different types of boats:

• Oar rafts
• Paddle rafts
• Oar-paddle combination rafts
• Inflatable kayaks

Here’s what they all have in common:

1. Tough, durable materials – all of our boats are specifically designed for whitewater rafting (and bumping into rocks). They are made from burly, rugged, composite materials and can withstand a lot of abuse. Ours are made from rubber (Hypalon), others are made from plastic (Urethane); we carry a complete patch kit and can make on-river repairs if we need to, (rare).

2. Multiple air chambers – all of our boats have multiple, independent air chambers, so even if the fabric isn’t burly enough, the boat won’t sink if it gets punctured. Most rafts have at least 5 chambers.

3. Self-bailing – all of our boats are self-bailing, which makes them more maneuverable and more comfortable. Self-bailing rafts have inflatable floors that have drain holes so the floor of the raft “floats” and any water that splashes in, drains out through the perimeter holes. It is a simple innovation that only took us many years to figure out.

And here’s a brief primer on each type:

Oars versus Paddles (very important!)

Oars are long, single-bladed (usually wooden) devices that are attached to a frame at a fulcrum point and are used to “row”. In our world, one person always uses two oars together.

Paddles are shorter, single or double-bladed (usually plastic) devices that are held in someone’s hands and are used to “paddle”. In our world, one person always uses one paddle.

So, to re-cap:

“Oar” is a noun and “row” is the corresponding verb; you row with oars (plural)
“Paddle” is a noun and is also the corresponding verb; you paddle with a paddle (singular)
(You can’t “row” with a “paddle” and you can never “oar”)

And here are some other types of boats we see on rivers:

Dories – Hard-hulled (usually wood), decked-in, whitewater-specific boats that are rowed. These are the bridge between the crude wooden row boats (pre-WWII) and our modern rubber rafts (WWII surplus). Because they are more fragile than rubber rafts, their use is pretty much restricted to deep-channeled rivers like the Colorado in the Grand Canyon and the Main Salmon.

Drift boats – Hard-hulled (usually aluminum), open-decked boats that are rowed. These are the traditional inland fishing boats common on many rivers of the west. They provide a stable fishing platform and can hold their place against the current (good for fishing), but they can’t carry very much gear and they sink if they tip over (not good for us).

Kayaks – Hard-hulled (usually plastic), closed-deck, single-person boats that are paddled with a double-bladed paddle. They require the paddler to be able to “roll” (right oneself after tipping over) because the kayaker is fairly securely attached to the kayak. [We occasionally allow experienced kayakers to join us on our trips].

Canoes – Hard hulled (aluminum or plastic), open-decked, single or double person boats that are paddled with a single-blased paddle. The original river and lake craft; they are great on flat water, less so when there is current, even less so when there are rocks.

Catarafts – Soft-hulled (rubber or urethane), pontoon-tubed boats that are rowed. Very common on whitewater rivers because they are easy (and fun) to row and because they are forgiving. They can’t carry as much gear as our oar rafts, so their use is limited primarily to non-commercial trips where there are typically more rafts in a group.