Recently moved to the mountains and want to buy a raft.  Primarily for fishing(3 ppl) but for some camping excursions(4 ppl) and moderate white water(6-8 ppl) too.  Looking at a Hypalon/Pennel Orca vs PVC, 14 foot with a frame.

Any experience or suggestions?

What is the rafting equivalent of AR15.com?

I have a 14' NRS Expedition self baler. Hypo.
I rowed a PVC boat in the Grand Canyon once. It worked well.

I have it set up to row with an NRS frame and can support 4 people for 6 days running white water. I ran the Green river in UT 3 weeks ago. In that mode, I pull out the thwarts to maxiximise gear space.
I also set up with the thwarts in for running day trips as a paddle raft.

Mountain Buzz will have good info for you.

Buy a used boat 1st. You'll save lots of $ and know what you really like.

Attached File

Thanks for the tips.  Your boat is one that I am leaning toward. Do you have floors in it?

I am looking at used rafts but I also have access to pro deals with NRS and Hyside.  I am not in a hurry which works to my advantage especially since all manufacturers are back ordered.

My boat has an inflatable floor. That allows the water to drain out. I've used rafts with a regular wrap floor that don't drain. If you don't do much white water, then a wrap floor will work. Otherwise, you'll have to bail it out when water gets in. For fishing, on class I-II water that's not much of a problem.

I added extra D-rings for more tie down points. I also have dry box and a drop bag under the front seat which is actually a table. I use a cooler as a seat. The frame is maxed for the boat length.
My oars are Cataract shafts and blades. Carlisle oars work well but are much heavier. I run them on Pins and Clips but the traditional set up is oar locks. Some people will also use oar rights on them.

Here's another view of my rig set up when I ran the Middle Fork of the Salmon in ID. Note the "rocket boxes" just forward of the oar towers. They're milsurp 20mm ammo cans. They're water tight and super versatile for storage.
Attached File



Here's a couple other boats. This gives you an idea of how people rig them out. These are set up for running multiday whitewater trips. The front seat is bolted to a homemade table/hatch cover. It's just a cheap boat seat. It would work well for fishing.
Attached File

That's great info and thanks for the pics.  When I said floor, I actually meant hard floor, like for casting platforms or also in the captain's bay. I definitely want a self bailer but will likely add floors for fishing.

I've only ever run one in the 18' I've rented for the Grand Canyon.
I've been thinking of building one for the captains cockpit so I can carry a couple of rocket boxes or water cans in it. The rear cargo area has a sling in it to keep weight off the floor. In fact, everything is suspended from the frame.
My front passengers just stand on the inflatable floor.
For casting, you can stand on the captains seat and drop hatch in the front. I do that when I'm boat scouting a rapid.

I can see standing on a drop stitch floor but casting on an ibeam is just not realistic.  And trying to balance on a chair, hatch, cooler, dry box or whatever, is fine for a little fishing on smooth water, but again not realistic for any serious angling.