Building My First Raft

Well, I finally got her out on the water. The custom trailer I ordered to go with it got finished with just hours to spare. Randy and the guys at Sawtooth Welding in Idaho are seriously amazing to work with. They finished up my trailer weeks ahead of schedule so that I wouldn't have to rent for the maiden voyage. I was planning on driving up to get it, but fortunately @Jen was on her way down from the PNW to come on the maiden voyage and she was able to pick it up on her way.

The day before she got there, I put the finishing touches. A bimini and a swim ladder. This was her last night living on the floor of my garage.
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Late that night Jen showed up with the trailer which would be loaded and on the road the next day, but it was too late to start so I had to wait. Once I saw it in the day light, I was even more impressed. This thing can swallow a ridiculous amount of gear! Those are 10 foot oars!
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Winching her up for the first time. I have some work to do on the strap system.
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Fiftymile, meet your chariot.
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We drove down on Friday night and car camped en route. Saturday morning we got the rest of the group together in Fruita, CO to rig and launch. This was a proud papa moment seeing my whole inflatable fleet all lined up together. I really need to paint the names on the starboard sides of the Sea Eagles.
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Fiftymile rigged and floating for the first time.
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Rowing that boat for the first time was like speaking a foreign language. My brain wanted to run it like a kayak paddle, but this was nothing like that! A few miles down the river we stopped for an incredible lunch. I'm going to save most of this for the trip report, but the first meal on the new boat carries some significance.
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People moved from ship to ship, but mischief remained consistent. Sage liked her grey paco pad and totally wanted to kill those water guns.
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First campsite at Bull Draw.
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I gave my camera to @neiloro the next day so he could take some shots of the boat from an IK.
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Me, @Dave and @Melissa on Fiftymile.
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All of the appropriate supplies for a late Sunday morning. The Engel cooler/drybox on the side was where I stowed my camera, lenses, etc. It worked great for the measly $50 it cost (compared to ~$500 captains boxes).
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The entire group of 11 (including Sage) rafted up together on Sunday afternoon.
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Back at home, I snapped a shot to show how awesome accessing gear under the raft is. I love this trailer! And the top/side rails lock up so it's a versatile utility trailer as well!
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Amazingly, after spending so much time researching and building, there was only one thing I urgently had to change one we put her on the water. My seat. The stadium chair I added put me too high and once I got rid of it, the rowing felt much more natural. With supporting all the people in kayaks, we had plenty of gear so I was able to lean back on that when I wanted. The rest of the boat was just perfect. All of the bays, the boards, the swim ladder, the oar tower positions, bimini position. All of it, perfect. I've spent a ridiculous amount of hours researching the perfect raft setup over the last year, and for never having stepped foot on one, I think it turned out pretty good. And our resident guide on the trip agreed. Full trip report coming soon!
 
Congrats on a job well done. I dig the design of the the trailer. Really clever. Looking forward to the report!
 
Now you need to head up to Idaho and take her down some whitewater!
Any of these rivers should suffice: Payette, Salmon, Lochsa, Selway or the Snake.
 
I second that the setup was perfect. The swim ladder was sooooooooooo nice!! And that trailer is absolutely fabulous: pulls perfectly, fits everything, and versatile. Definitely the nicest raft trailer i've ever seen :D
 
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