[adamfkimball]

I've been looking for the perfect small raft for years. It would work with my existing constraints, which are:

• It doesn't require a trailer. Much of my fishing takes place while I am out with my travel trailer. Any raft which demands a trailer to be useful is automatically disqualified.
• It needs to comfortably carry two people on relatively easy-ish water (say III max)
• It should pack up readily enough that I can cram it in the truck bed (covered by a camper shell) such that if I didn't use it on the trip, I wouldn't be fighting with it.
• Once at a destination, I'd like to be able to build it up to a sufficient degree and transport it to/from the water relatively easily. For instance, maybe I can strap the frame to the roof rack of the truck and partially deflate the raft itself. Or ideally, put the whole thing on the rack for short rides. In a perfect world, I could stick the whole thing in the bed, leave the tailgate down and strap it in. The idea is here to minimize futzing when I am tried, at the take out, and just want to get some food and warmth.

It's really the last point which is complicated. I've seen boats that almost work but then I'll notice that the foot brace on the frame is such that I can't strap it to the roof rack, or a hundred other little details that mess things up.

So.. could this one be the one for me? If you have one, how do you transport it?

Any help would be great!
Adam

 

[sroffe]

Adam,

I have one, and bought it for the same reasons you are looking at one. I travel with a travel trailer, and desired to have a 2 man raft. I do not have a canopy, but generally travel with an open bed on my truck. I pack the raft folded up, and lay the partially disassembled raft on top of all my gear. When at my location I will assemble the raft. It doesn't really take all that long. Two people makes it easy lifting the assembled raft.

One member here has a mini van or SUV. I think he transports his with the frame almost completely disassembled.

Sam

 

[adamfkimball]

Sam,

Thanks for response. A few more questions:

• Do you set up at the put-in or set up and then transport to the put in?
• How long does it take you to set up?
• How long does it take you do teat down?
• Do you carry a lot of other stuff in your bed for these camping trips or is it fairly open in the bed?
• Is there any reason your process wouldn't work if you had a canopy on your truck?

Thanks!
Adam

Adam,

I have one, and bought it for the same reasons you are looking at one. I travel with a travel trailer, and desired to have a 2 man raft. I do not have a canopy, but generally travel with an open bed on my truck. I pack the raft folded up, and lay the partially disassembled raft on top of all my gear. When at my location I will assemble the raft. It doesn't really take all that long. Two people makes it easy lifting the assembled raft.

One member here has a mini van or SUV. I think he transports his with the frame almost completely disassembled.

Sam

 

[dough_boy]

Water Master Bruin Review after 1.5 years

I've had my water master bruin for around 1.5 years now and I finally finished a review video of the raft. I've taken it on a lot of different style trips, from day trips, to from base camping multi-day steelheading trips, to 5 days with my kids down the John Day, to 4 days trips floating the...

www.washingtonflyfishing.com

Flycast vs NRS

Hi. Longtime fly fisher, interested in getting my 14 year old son in the game. I live in North Carolina. Looking at ponds and medium-size lakes to start, then some bigger tailgaters in the area (eg, South Holston) in the future. Wondering your thoughts on Flycast 2.0 vs NRS Slipstream or...

www.washingtonflyfishing.com

Check out the review above and subsequent discussion.
The foot rest on the Bruin can be removed/flipped so that the frame can ride on top of a rack.

The boat fits in my TACO longbed with 3 seats. I have a flat snugtop over the bed. I pack the boat in the bag, and then slide the frame folded into the bed. It's bulky but you can put a bunch of gear in bins and then place the frame on top of those bins. I throw everything in bed (waders, boots, etc) they are all in bins (12 gallon hinged lid with opaque bottoms). There is still a lot of room - just have to work around the frame.

I don't think, but have tried putting the entire boat and frame into my bed. Kind of doubt it would fit. I fold the oar arms/locks in. If you left he bed open...dunno. It's a 11.5ft boat and my bed is 6ft the tailgate is probably 2 ft so 3-4 feet of boat would be out and likely partially deflated. (Its hard for me to imagine that it would work). Think it's easier to deflate and fold the boat.

I would say 30 min set up and take down. Done the take down in the dark. Not too bad.

If I knew I was only going to ever have 2 - I might look at the NRS slipstream. Could modify the frame so its more foldable. It's 2 ft shorter than the Bruin.

 

[sroffe]

Sam,

Thanks for response. A few more questions:

• Do you set up at the put-in or set up and then transport to the put in?
• How long does it take you to set up?
• How long does it take you do teat down?
• Do you carry a lot of other stuff in your bed for these camping trips or is it fairly open in the bed?
• Is there any reason your process wouldn't work if you had a canopy on your truck?

Thanks!
Adam

@dough_boy comments are about the same as my experience. He posted a couple other links that might be of benefit to look at. Marks review is nice.

It takes me about 30 minutes to set up. The boat and other gear go in the bed of the truck. When traveling from home, I will set the boat up and throw it on the bed of the truck and strap it down. When camping I will set up at the camp site. But, I've only had it a year, so I am still trying different things.

 

[Poff]

Hi Adam (and anyone else that might find this helpful) -

Our university recently purchased a WaterMaster Bruin after a very long search for the right boat for our needs. Let me start by saying that there are some awesome raft companies with great reputations. I researched options from all of them located in the US. I've learned there is no one perfect raft for a given set of needs. Here are some of the reasons I picked the Bruin and some thoughts on how it might meet the needs stated in your original post:

• Weight - WaterMaster lists the raft weight with floor as 59 lbs and 120 lbs with frame and oars (fishing frame setup with two seats).
• Size - 11' 6" x 5' In our area (Kentucky) we have some small skinny water and some bigger tailwaters. This size boat made sense for us.
• Versatility -
  • aluminum bench seats instead of a traditional rowing frame is an option. We ended buying the bench seats just in case we needed them; this was in addition to the rowing frame.
  • NRS rowing frame which is completely modular allowing you to add or delete parts based on your needs. This is also great for sourcing replacement parts or add ons in the future. You can have two or three seats.
  • You can run a very minimal frame using an aluminum bench seat with a four bar rowing frame and rowers seat (see photo from WaterMaster website). This could be a good option for you in terms of ease of transport for trips where you don't need everything.
  • since we don't really have any whitewater on our targeted waterways, I took out the rowers foot bar and replaced it with a standard straight crossbar. This eliminates the roof rack issue of the foot bar hanging down. For a brief time, I had flipped the foot bar upside down and mounted it in the back and took the back crossbar and put it in the front.
  • you can take the lean bar off or leave it on
  • if you loosen the back 'anchor and seat arm' and the front lean bar, you can fold them toward the middle to reduce the length for transport
• Warranty - WM offers a lifetime warranty on the raft. They are the only company to my knowledge to offer this. The next best warranty I'm aware of is Aire at 10 years.
• Drop stitch floor - when properly inflated, the floor is flat and solid making it easier to stand and cast from

As I said, this was what we selected for our needs. Hope this helps.

Raymond

P.S. As noted by others @msteudel has some nice resources that feature the Bruin.

 

[Tflatley]

I use a Sea Eagle that I throw in my truck bed and strap in. You can buy a two wheel cart to transport some distance. Mine is one man but they make others that carry 2 or 3 people.