Check out this spray deck made by Dom Adcock! Dom kindly took a bunch of detailed photos and has allowed me to post them here. Also note the details of his back band and thigh straps. Weight as pictured (120 cm / 47″ size, 1000D floor) is 3.1 kg (6.8 lb). Excellent work, Dom!
Spray deck in place. With a spray deck installed, a back band provides support without putting stress on the deck and cockpit coaming.
Spray deck stowed. With the deck rolled up towards the bow like this, small splashes will be caught by the forward deck and water will drain over the sides of the tubes.
Spray deck, spray skirt, and paddler in place!
Tape the deck to your inflated packraft and then heat seal it in place.
Semi-rigid plastic tubing gives shape to the cockpit coaming.
15 Comments
Dominic Adcock · April 25, 2021 at 1:44 am
Yea they work fine. You get a little leakage but not enough to make you stop and empty it. Probably the same amount as paddling flat water without a spray deck(splash/drip from paddle), so they’re good enough 👍
Christian · February 26, 2021 at 9:39 am
As Barbara said above, I’m not sure if you will see this, Dom.
If by chance you do, how much water do you find gets into this setup? It looks like you’ve used #5 ish water resistant zippers (YKK Aquaguard?). Does this do the trick? Do you think there is enough leakage to warrant the extra weight/bulk/cost of waterproof zippers instead (something similar to the Tizip in a smaller size)? For anyone interested in this, there are cheap “waterproof and airtight” zippers on Alibaba produced by a company called Topaz in China (not quite sure how trustworthy they’d be for holding air, but I’d imagine that they’d do a better job sealing out water than the water resistant alternatives…)
Barbara · February 8, 2021 at 1:03 pm
Not sure if Dom will still see this, but curious where you got the back strap from.
Dominic Adcock · April 25, 2021 at 1:41 am
Found it on ebay, about £12 at the time. I had to modify the straps on the back to get best fit
Nele · April 4, 2019 at 2:07 am
Wow!
I love the (carbon?) tie-down hooks. Where and under what name are they to be found?
Dom · May 7, 2019 at 11:46 pm
They’re just plastic D rings. Cheap as chips😉
Leo · August 18, 2018 at 1:01 am
Dom, I’m planning on copying your deck as closely as possible, except using longer zippers to make it completely removable. I will add a velcro flap over where the zippers join in the front, and use the same velcro flap in the back like you have. Any tips/suggestions? Thanks, Leo
Dom · May 7, 2019 at 11:45 pm
I thought to also do this. Ut when you bend a wp zip they open slightly making them no longer waterproof. This is ehy i did my method.
joan · July 31, 2018 at 7:32 am
Hello, it’s my first day that I speak in this chat,
I am very happy to have found this website,
Could you tell me what maximum pressure the seams of the rafts resist?
Thanks in advance
Matt (Admin) · July 31, 2018 at 10:16 am
Hi Joan, I have not tested the failure pressure of the packrafts, but you can see the tensile strength of the fabric and heat sealed seams in this old video, starting at around 3 minutes: https://www.diypackraft.com/2016/10/22/fabric-comparison-video/
Packrafts are generally inflated to pressures less than 3 psi, but the fabric can withstand much higher pressures.
Ashley Perry · June 15, 2018 at 2:55 pm
Hey Dom! Where did you get all your materials for the spray deck?
Dom · May 7, 2019 at 11:42 pm
Fabric from Matt hear at DIY, wp zips, nylon tube, etc online-ebay etc
Dom · May 8, 2018 at 2:49 pm
Hi Conrad, i inflated the finished raft, then carefully taped the spraydeck in place, then deflated it. Then opened the Tzip and slid a piece of wood (covered with baking paper) inside to heat seal against so that i didn’t damage the other fabric. The spray deck is tpu side up so I have heat sealed half of a 20-25mm strip of fabric all they way around the edge of the deck, leaving me a good 10-12mm to seal to the raft itself. After i added small pieces of black fabric over the joins with a combination of heat sealing and glueing.
Conrad · May 8, 2018 at 10:01 am
Did you heat seal the edge with the tubes inflated or just tape in place while inflated?
Matt (Admin) · May 8, 2018 at 2:19 pm
I’m not sure how Dom did his, but I heat sealed mine in place with the packraft inflated. To do this, the iron must be hot enough to activate the TPU without much pressure.