As winter slowly tightens its grip on the amount of daylight and outdoor opportunities, I’ve been using my time to continue working on my raft setup. While my understanding of the craft is increasing and my list of modifications is decreasing, I still have a long way to go. Here is a list and some descriptions of what I have tackled lately.
Anchor system modifications
While an anchor system of a raft seems pretty simple on the surface, as with most things on this raft, I have found that the details are what require the most attention. The raft came with an anchor and a pulley system, but I had to work out some details. For example, I detached the rope from the anchor and installed a heavy duty carabiner between the two so I can attach and detach the anchor when I am ready to get on or get off the water. I have heard multiple horror stories about damage caused to boat by dangling anchors when a boat was in transit. I’m trying to avoid those unwanted situations.
I also came up with a cheap but efficient way to store excess rope for the anchor system. I drilled a ¾ inch hole into a plastic container lid and the line that isn’t being used stores well inside the container. The container is also small and lightweight which is an added bonus. I don’t plan on using this tool during a float but might be useful at the start and end of a trip.
I am now in the process of figuring out how to secure the rope after the anchor is deployed. I want something quick and simple (and cheap wouldn’t hurt) but I’m still weighing (pun intended) my options. The challenge that seems to making this more difficult is that mounting some sort of cleat or cam cleat to a tubular piece of aluminum is difficult. I do have a bracket available, but it has holes drilled into it already. The holes are 4 inches apart and I can’t find anything that fits this prepared platform.
Gear twist ties
I’ve watched a few videos from Huge Fly Fisherman on YouTube about how to set up a fly fishing raft. They are really helpful and I have a lot of respect for the host’s knowledge and honesty. When he (Ben, the host) explained that he has looked at a lot of different fly rod storage systems but doesn’t really love any of them, I thought I would let him take the lead on that. He went on to show that he prefers to use gear twist ties as opposed to rod tubes and that was good enough for me, at least for now.
Ryobi inflator and deflator option
One of the biggest problems that I found with my raft was the issue of inflating it and deflating said raft. I don’t want to use an air mattress pump and I sure as heck don’t want to use a manual pump. I settled on a Ryobi inflator and deflator because I already have plenty of Ryobi tools as well as batteries. The Ryobi inflator and deflator had pretty good reviews and has an auto shutoff as well. After I tested out the tool, I found that it is pretty darn fast and only uses about 25% of a battery to inflate and deflate the raft.
Frame for long term storage
One of the reasons that I bought a raft was because of the amount of space it WOULD NOT take up. I already have a jon boat and a garage full of, well let’s just call it stuff. I figured that I would be able to deflate the raft during the winter months and store the frame on top of my boat. It was also my hope to store the raft under the boat but I didn’t want to just lay it on the concrete floor. For a reason that I can’t explain, it just didn’t seem like a good idea.
I decided that I wanted to make a wooden frame to set the deflated raft on. I also settled on the idea to put casters on the frame to make it easier move the frame back and forth from under the boat. It was as simple as buying some plywood, supporting it with a 2 X 4 frame, and attaching some rope to an eye bolt to the frame to help pull the frame out when I need my raft.
Coming up…
Up next, I will keep working on an idea to tie off the anchor line. I’m also going to figure out how to make a chicken line. This is a line that will go around the raft through the D rings and will give folks something to hold on to if they fall out of the boat and need to get a grip on something to keep them afloat. It’s not that I’m planning on having a lot of folks go for a dip, but I would rather have this line and not need it than need it and not have it.
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