Hi Daniel – as of early April 2017 I’m not aware of anyone paddling any difficult whitewater in a DIY Packraft… 2017 will be the first full year they’re out there in the wild, however, so that may change soon.
In the interest of managing expectations, I just want to start by saying no lightweight inflatable will ever be as tough and maneuverable as a plastic river kayak – even $2000 packrafts at four times the weight of a standard DIY Packraft can’t compete with a kayak – nor with a whitewater raft for durability.
To state the obvious (not for you, Daniel, but for you the general reader/for the record), in moving water there are many factors that will determine whether the paddler and boat survive intact – paddling skill, water level, wood, stream bed rock shape/size/sharpness, momentum (speed times the weight of boat+payload), judgment/risk-taking, luck, fatigue, packraft design, care taken during packraft construction, and the materials your packraft is made of (etc.). I’m doing my best to provide high quality packraft designs and materials, but everything else is up to the builder/paddler.
With all that said, here are a few ways to make a packraft more durable:
- Double up the material in places that are exposed to abrasion and sharp objects. For example, you could extend the floor material up 1/2 or 2/3 the way around the outside of the tubes (or add extra patches to the outside of the tubes) and seal extra patches of material in the front of the cockpit area where your feet will rub.
- Substitute heavier/stronger materials in place of lighter ones.
- Add padding (e.g. inflatable floor+seat) between your self/gear and the boat to reduce pinching forces when the boat encounters something hard – when storing gear inside the tubes, always wrap hard stuff in soft stuff, and when tying gear to the outside of the boat, avoid placing hard edges against the tube fabric where it could wear.
- Add sufficient gear tie-downs so gear is held securely in place without putting too much stress on any single tie-down as the boat is thrown around.
- Add a seat back and thigh straps or knee cups to improve the responsiveness of the boat so you can avoid more obstacles. This page shows some interesting ideas. Be very careful not to add any straps that could lead to entanglement!
- Add a spray deck and skirt or self-bailing floor to reduce the weight of the boat (and therefore momentum) by reducing the amount of water on board. (The lighter your boat+payload, the less force will be applied when you encounter an obstacle.) I’m told that some whitewater packrafters actually add weight to their boats to make them punch through big water better.
- Avoid under-inflating your packraft. If it’s too soft it could wrap around a sharp object and puncture or tear instead of bouncing off or sliding past the obstacle. Keeping your packraft firm will also make it more responsive.
- Sit forward in the boat for better weight distribution and handling (i.e. add a back rest or back brace).
I hope other people will add to this list, but again, let’s be clear – even doing all of these things will not guarantee a good or safe whitewater experience! Your safety and the integrity of your boat are your own responsibility! Remember the DIY Packraft Terms & Conditions and don’t do dumb stuff 🙂
