Son in law has an 13' Odyssey raft.   I believe it is pvc with glued seams.  My brother has the exact same raft .  Both of them fell apart this past year.  From what I've read this is typical of glued seam PVC rafts.  10 year life then the seams could start failing.  Son in law was rowing some vets in the Healing Waters program when his raft decided to start coming apart.  Luckily we were close to the takeout so it wasn't a catastrophe.

Around here the Sotar rafts are the buy once cry once rafts.  Almost $5k without frame or trailer, or any gear.  The  aire or nrs rafts are about 1k cheaper.

Wondering if anyone here has experience with rafts and any advice for a new raft.  We aren't guides, but if I'm going to buy a raft I'd as soon get one you don't have to sell or trade in every 5 or 6 years.

I bought an Aire Jag with 10' frame and a cedar plank deck back in '98-99.  Wash it up and it still looks new.  Even stored outside full of air all these years and it as solid as when I bought it.  Slammed it into rocks and trees,  even had a bear run over it.  Tube skins are welded on the Aire and NRS boats.

My Outcast PAC 9 needs new D rings on the tubes and all new straps.  A new frame couldnt hurt to be replaced as its the older two piece breakdown frame.  That boat is older then the Jag.  If you stack and pack right you can get 5 days worth of gear on there and still reach your beer while floating.  The tube skins are sewn and are holding up fine.

The aires get good reviews, only negatives I've read are they are a bit heavy because they use bladders, and I think they are a bit narrower across the thwarts.

There is an nrs / aire dealer in town. I may have to go look.

I should have asked if you are looking at conventional rafts or catarafts.

Conventional.  I've fished off of a large cataraft once, it was interesting, but I wasn't sold on it.

Ended up ordering a 13'6" Sotar strike.  Not sure when will actually get it but hopefully by early March.

My buddy has this Smith Fly. Easy to row (as far as rafts go) and is pretty comfortable to fish from. Does take a little getting used to the soft self bailing floor and you have to back accordingly as everything gets wet with the floor. Its great for tight, twisty water.

That said its not a drift boat in terms of rowing, stability and comfort.

Smith Fly

J-

I actually have a drift boat and it is nice - not so much in low water conditions like we are prone to for the latter part of the summer.  They aren't fun in the wind either, we've had to turn the boat around and row downstream on more than one occasion to get to the takeout.

This is the raft we ordered (we ordered different colors, but this raft and we have a similar frame setup.)

Attached File

Copy. I've had drift boats in some realllll skinny water (usually Clacka Headhunter). Rafts are great for smaller streams/rivers.

Have fun with the new raft.

J-

I am picking up my new raft Thursday. I bought an Aire 143D from www.drlrivergypsies.com.  Dusty knows his shit when it comes to rafts and he helped me dial the boat in. Check out their current specials and the lime green 143 is the one I am getting.

I have fished out of my buddies Aire for years and it rocks.

The Sotar you ordered is a really nice boat. You will love it.

I sold my drift boat so I wouldn’t be tempted to guide any more. Now I can go fish anywhere and not worry about towing my hard boat. I can’t wait!

If you guys are looking for a good rafting forum, check out: Mountain Buzz

Very active with good threads, loads of info, and lots of experienced boatmen. Good classified section too.

Bought my first oar rig (NRS E-140) in 2003 and just got a new E-140 in 2013. I'm a fan of hypalon boats but these days most all reputable boat manufacturers turn out quality products. If you take care of your rafting gear it will last a very long time.