Courtney wrote:

I call rafts and catarafts floating strainers.

Courtney

Well, as one of those Rubber Pushers, I would define the strainer as the person
at the oars who is trying to move 16 to 18 feet of craft and many hundreds of
pounds of gear through the water.

The art is in prediction and planning rather than reaction. No quick dip of a
blade here or a brace there. If you end up in the wrong place, there is little
to do but hope and hang on. Lose your momentum and you are at the mercy of the
river gods. Rafts move like barges, or as the earlier poster described,
"steamrollers". They have incredible floatation which compensates for a
myriad of mistakes. Most of the videos show rafts going through big water
with the oars in disarray. Unoccupied craft fare as good or better than those
with a person at the oars. Makes you wonder why we do it. But there is a joy
in the attempted mastery of any skill. There are few things that feel as good
as the push and tug of a river on a set of oars.

And raft life is good. A raft lets you travel the river in comfort. I have
done 12 day single craft trips in the desert in July and still had ice at the
end of the trip. A raft lets you eat well, sleep in comfort, and carry
everything you could possibly need and a bit more. This type of travel should
not be confused with the weekend paddle raft kamikazis and order shouting guides
featured by commercial consessionaires. Some day, I would like to graudate to
what I consider the ultimate river craft: The Dory.

Blakely

---
Blakely LaCroix
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.

r.b.p Clique member #86.

The best adventure is yet to come.

Dory......WOW that would take a huge spray skirt!
"Noone" wrote in message
...


Courtney wrote:

I call rafts and catarafts floating strainers.

Courtney

Well, as one of those Rubber Pushers, I would define the strainer as the
person
at the oars who is trying to move 16 to 18 feet of craft and many hundreds
of
pounds of gear through the water.

The art is in prediction and planning rather than reaction. No quick dip
of a
blade here or a brace there. If you end up in the wrong place, there is
little
to do but hope and hang on. Lose your momentum and you are at the mercy of
the
river gods. Rafts move like barges, or as the earlier poster described,
"steamrollers". They have incredible floatation which compensates for a
myriad of mistakes. Most of the videos show rafts going through big
water
with the oars in disarray. Unoccupied craft fare as good or better than
those
with a person at the oars. Makes you wonder why we do it. But there is a
joy
in the attempted mastery of any skill. There are few things that feel as
good
as the push and tug of a river on a set of oars.

And raft life is good. A raft lets you travel the river in comfort. I
have
done 12 day single craft trips in the desert in July and still had ice at
the
end of the trip. A raft lets you eat well, sleep in comfort, and carry
everything you could possibly need and a bit more. This type of travel
should
not be confused with the weekend paddle raft kamikazis and order shouting
guides
featured by commercial consessionaires. Some day, I would like to
graudate to
what I consider the ultimate river craft: The Dory.

Blakely

---
Blakely LaCroix
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.

r.b.p Clique member #86.

The best adventure is yet to come.

Grip wrote:

Dory......WOW that would take a huge spray skirt!

I am told that there are self bailing dories. (driftboats, McKenzie boats). I
say "told" only because I have never personally seen one. Got to admit it does
seem counter-intuitive though.

Blakely
---

Blakely LaCroix
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
r.b.p Clique member #86.

The best adventure is yet to come.

Actually I do remember seeing that style craft. High bow and cool looking
lines. Great looking boats, was kidding about the spray skirt
"Noone" wrote in message
...

Grip wrote:

Dory......WOW that would take a huge spray skirt!

I am told that there are self bailing dories. (driftboats, McKenzie
boats). I
say "told" only because I have never personally seen one. Got to admit it
does
seem counter-intuitive though.

Blakely
---

Blakely LaCroix
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
r.b.p Clique member #86.

The best adventure is yet to come.