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wm griz/koidak, nfo assault xx/xxx, or catchercraft src.

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9K views 44 replies 27 participants last post by  writer 
#1 ·
would like input about the pros and cons from people who have experience with them. thanks.
 
#3 · (Edited)
I used to own the Assault and if you are fishing lakes it is fine. I personally do not like the pinned oars, especially on a river. It is lightweight, but as such the material is thin and made me nervous on the river as well. So if doing rivers would not get the Assault.
 
#4 ·
Had a WM Grizzly, sold it when I got the opportunity for a WM Kodiak several years ago. Have done two 8 day trips on the Dean River and many day trips on the Sol Duc, Queets, Quinault, Humptulips, Cowlitz, and I don't know how many rivers. Upside: it will handle water that is tougher than I care to negotiate. Downside: it's heavier than some of the others in a pack, but it does fit well in float planes and helicopters, so it's a good fit for the purposes I bought it for. Still want to do some week long trips in AK with it.

Sg
 
#6 ·
I currently own @Wayne Kohan old Assault X. My findings aren't far off from his. It's alright for light river use but I wouldn't want to go down anything with any hefty rapids. I've used it on the Clackamas and Klickitat and it's been fine so depending on your expectations/uses it could meet your needs. FYI, Scadden's whitewater and weight capacity ratings (class IV and 800lbs for the Assault X) are complete fiction. I'll be selling my Assault so I can get something that will handle a load for some camping trips. It is light and very easy to transport in a small vehicle or drag up and down banks you otherwise can't launch/takeout from.

My recommendation, if you end up using any of the frame-less boats with pinned oars, is to carry a spare set of oar locks. If you break one of the pins, it's pretty quick to replace one, and rowing them like a kayak sucks.
 
#8 ·
Check out the SRC and the Freestone from catchercraft. I was looking for a watermaster because I wanted something I could easily transport in my SUV. I don't like rack and pinion oars (I've owned a WM Kodiak and Assault XX) but the weight and ease of transport is so convenient. The Freestone was brought to my attention. It's very light and compacts down to a similar size as the WM and Scadden, but it has a small lightweight frame and cataract mini mag oars with oar locks. I just did a three day float on the D and it performed great.
 
#9 ·
To me this debate over which craft to get is a no brainer - the Assault XX - with a class V whitewater rating, and ready to go in under 3 minutes - you can go anywhere that fish may live!
 
#10 ·
I have an Assault XX and there's no way in hell I'd run that thing down a class V.

I think the watermaster kodiak is nice (I have a grizzly). It's a better built, more durable boat. However, the assault xx rows better and you can put a buddy on the front. Having the option to take a friend is really nice. I haven't had any issues with durability. I ordered an extra oar from Scadden and got it a month later. Not too heinous.

I have pretty much given up on the integrated oars concept however. I think it's a poor design and will inevitably lead to catastrophic failure. If I was doing it again I'd rather have bought a small two person raft and strapped a real raft frame to my roof rack.
 
#11 ·
Like JesseC, I have a WaterMaster (Kodiak) and an Assault XX. I agree with his comments, except I haven't given up on the integrated oars. I like the convenience of frameless, knowing anything over Class II is now "out of my network".

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I577 using Tapatalk
 
#16 ·
We all have different uses for our watercraft. A lot of people on this site fish rivers and fast moving water. I'm a stillwater fisherman, and love my Scadden Renegade for this purpose. I fish a lot in the Eastern Sierras here in California. Sometimes I fish lakes with no launch ramp. My Renegade weighs only 28 pounds, and is quick and maneuverable in the water. It's a great boat for me. If I fished class II or III waters, I would probably need something different.
 
#24 ·
I've owned my WM Kodiak for 10 years. I've averaged around 100-125 river miles (150-200 km) every fall since I bought it. I didn't buy it new. I steelhead a fair amount in the winter and spring as well, but couldn't tell you how many miles I put on. Safe to say I have over 1000 river miles on the thing. Other than pinning a couple of oars and breaking them ( my fault) and going with one piece upgraded Carlisles (directly from them as they end up being about half the price) I have had zero issues. I upgraded the shaft in the oar lock system to a solid piece of UHMW instead of the hollow bit of ABS that I just about wore through. However on the most recent trip I had a fairly major seam leak. This wasn't a cut or puncture or tear etc, rather the seam was failing. So I fixed it with a patch. In sub zero temperatures. I built a fire to warm things up and to keep things warm until the glue kicked. This finally after ten years of trouble free service. I can't complain. I have yet to contact WM to see what they suggest and am not too sure I will bother...
 
#25 ·
If you know how to row whitewater then you can take a Scadden or a WM safely down class 3. You Might be able to do a short section of class 4, if you have a lot whitewater experience, and you've scouted it out. As for class 5, well I'm not sure what Dave Scadden is smoking. These boats have a huge margin of error though, I've seen a bunch of newbies floating sideways down rapids and come out unscathed at the bottom!
All that stability comes at a cost, the boat are slow like slugs. They're not designed to row great but rather to fit into a small bag!
The WM is better quality that the Scadden.
 
#30 ·
Especially when you consider all the problems with Scadden's alleged "customer service", it's the Watermaster, hands down. I've owned one for maybe 6 years or so, love the boat, and it's one hell of a lot easier to singlehand than my Clack, which is a little difficult to handle and fish at the same time.......:eek:
 
#34 · (Edited)
the src is framed and is listed at nearly twice the cost as what you can buy a new assault xx for, so it is really hard to compare them. you wouldn't compare a $25k camry to a $45k mercedes, would you? i think that is where people lose perspective...they try to compare scaddens/wm to more expensive framed boats.

they are two very different things and each have a use. for a 2 person frameless raft, im yet to see a better option than an assualt. the wm's are awesome for 1 person as well, and most seem to think they are of higher quality then scadden's

set a budget, consider what you are going to use the boat for, and make a choice based on that.

don't listen to the trolls.
 
#36 ·
We would be happy to meet you on the water with one of our boats to try out personally. North Bend, Ellensburg, or where ever you can talk me into meeting you. The better the fishing the further I will go.

I just realized CacherCraft is nearly in my backyard. Can one go to the fab shop in North Bend to check these out or do you have to go to the main office in Ellensburg?
 
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