Flycraft rafts

[wreckatx 141]

Does anyone on here have any experience owning/rowing/fishing out of a Flycraft raft?  Thinking about purchasing one.

[bmbmd 1027]

I backed them on Kick Starter so I got a hat and some tie down straps.  

[otisdog 365]

I don't have any experience with flycraft, but I have  decades of experience fly fishing out of rafts. I went and looked at their website and the stealth model and noticed a couple of things.

I don't know if you will be fly fishing, The advantage of being able to stand in a raft in fly fishing is that it gets your rod tip 6'  to 8' higher above the water than in a float tube. Gives you many more options in how and where (and what) you can cast. But when you stand and cast, having a broad base, as in being able to spread your feet, allows you to properly control everything. The stealth on the website is pretty damn narrow, and precludes a wide stance. It's narrowness is also an issue in seaworthiness , wether  floating a river or being offshore. You're out there to fish, not worry about your craft.

I think for what you pay and what you get, you can do better. A wider inflatable is cheaper. You can build your own frame with floor for a couple hundred bucks, and you will have something that you will be able to use in more situations.

[wreckatx 141]

Useful opinion.  Thanks.  I have been fly fishing for about 30 years and agree with everything you've said.  I have a family place in southwestern colorado with a medium sized river that no-one ever floats and is too skinny for a large raft.  Also attracted to something I could throw on top of my truck. I do worry about stability.  It's only rated for class 2 rapids which really isn't much.

[otisdog 365]

I have a 12 1/2' Avon. I move my toolbox back to the tailgate, and put the raft on that and the cab. Strap from the front bumper to the nose ring, I can drive 70 easy.

[wreckatx 141]

On 4/24/2018 at 5:35 PM, otisdog said:

I have a 12 1/2' Avon. I move my toolbox back to the tailgate, and put the raft on that and the cab. Strap from the front bumper to the nose ring, I can drive 70 easy.

Where do you fish?

[otisdog 365]

The west...Snake, Green , Sacto  and the Fall.

[krevo 142]

They are really awesome boats.  I dont own one but my friend does.  Easy to haul around and get into spots you can't take a normal raft.  That said - there are plenty of companies making PVC inflatables now with ridgid flooring and swivel seating.  NRS does.   I think there are even a few overseas companies cloning them all now.
You're looking for a high pressure PVC inflatable that rated around class 4.

Edited May 4, 2018 by krevo

[wreckatx 141]

22 hours ago, krevo said:

They are really awesome boats.  I dont own one but my friend does.  Easy to haul around and get into spots you can't take a normal raft.  That said - there are plenty of companies making PVC inflatables now with ridgid flooring and swivel seating.  NRS does.   I think there are even a few overseas companies cloning them all now.
You're looking for a high pressure PVC inflatable that rated around class 4.

Thanks Krevo. 

[Kahuna 41]

I've had a FlyCraft for a couple of years.  My wife and I use it for fly fishing in the Yellowstone area, mainly the Henry's Fork.  The narrow beam is no problem whatsoever for casting; the footing up front is adequate and stable.  Moreover, when landing a fish, the side of the boat is within reach without climbing around.  The only problem we've encountered with the narrow beam is that the oars are hard to balance - too much of their weight is outboard.  FlyCraft exchanged our oars for a slightly shorter oar, and that helped somewhat.  We could also counterweight the oars to get a true balance, but that defeats our goal of having a lightweight rig.  By the way, this balance issue is only a problem for my wife; she lacks the upper body strength to row for long without getting tired.  She also could just be playing me so she gets to do all the fishing, while I get stuck on the oars.  Now I'm starting to get pissed off!

The raft and frame are really well made and assembly/disassembly are a breeze.  We usually just keep it partially inflated in our garage, then inflate it before hitting the road, slide it up on the top of our Expedition luggage rack and strap it down.  I should add that we are both in our mid-60s, so I'm pretty confident that even Millennials could handle this raft.  For really long trips the raft rolls up into a lightweight, compact bundle that I can carry solo.  The frame and oars also breakdown so the whole rig easily fits into the back end of the Expedition.

We added the  transom and third seat just in case we bring along a kid sometime.  The transom also allowed us to add a small Honda engine, which we really haven't had much success with so far (the prop gets wrapped by grasses in the lakes and loses power, so you get to row back in).

One criticism I have is that the seats could be lot more comfortable.  They are hard and don't drain or breathe.  There are a lot of much nicer, adjustable mesh kayak seats out there now and I wish FlyCraft would move in that direction.  I would adhere to the Class II rapid limit, but that covers a lot of water in the West.  If you check some of their videos, you'll see that they go through some pretty good rapids, but they sure as hell aren't dropping off waterfalls.  Anyway, I find it difficult to control the drift of my dry fly when screaming like a little girl.  If heading into more difficult/technical water is your thing, I would look for a bigger raft.  The FlyCraft certainly handles big water, just not big rapids.

I've seen several other folks with FlyCraft rafts on top of their vehicles when driving around the Madison River, Henry's Fork, Hebgon Lake, etc. and always ask how they are enjoying their raft.  I've never heard anything but rave reviews.

Edited May 11, 2018 by Kahuna

[wreckatx 141]

5 hours ago, Kahuna said:

I've had a FlyCraft for a couple of years.  My wife and I use it for fly fishing in the Yellowstone area, mainly the Henry's Fork.  The narrow beam is no problem whatsoever for casting; the footing up front is adequate and stable.  Moreover, when landing a fish, the side of the boat is within reach without climbing around.  The only problem we've encountered with the narrow beam is that the oars are hard to balance - too much of their weight is outboard.  FlyCraft exchanged our oars for a slightly shorter oar, and that helped somewhat.  We could also counterweight the oars to get a true balance, but that defeats our goal of having a lightweight rig.  By the way, this balance issue is only a problem for my wife; she lacks the upper body strength to row for long without getting tired.  She also could just be playing me so she gets to do all the fishing, while I get stuck on the oars.  Now I'm starting to get pissed off!

The raft and frame are really well made and assembly/disassembly are a breeze.  We usually just keep it partially inflated in our garage, then inflate it before hitting the road, slide it up on the top of our Expedition luggage rack and strap it down.  I should add that we are both in our mid-60s, so I'm pretty confident that even Millennials could handle this raft.  For really long trips the raft rolls up into a lightweight, compact bundle that I can carry solo.  The frame and oars also breakdown so the whole rig easily fits into the back end of the Expedition.

We added the  transom and third seat just in case we bring along a kid sometime.  The transom also allowed us to add a small Honda engine, which we really haven't had much success with so far (the prop gets wrapped by grasses in the lakes and loses power, so you get to row back in).

One criticism I have is that the seats could be lot more comfortable.  They are hard and don't drain or breathe.  There are a lot of much nicer, adjustable mesh kayak seats out there now and I wish FlyCraft would move in that direction.  I would adhere to the Class II rapid limit, but that covers a lot of water in the West.  If you check some of their videos, you'll see that they go through some pretty good rapids, but they sure as hell aren't dropping off waterfalls.  Anyway, I find it difficult to control the drift of my dry fly when screaming like a little girl.  If heading into more difficult/technical water is your thing, I would look for a bigger raft.  The FlyCraft certainly handles big water, just not big rapids.

I've seen several other folks with FlyCraft rafts on top of their vehicles when driving around the Madison River, Henry's Fork, Hebgon Lake, etc. and always ask how they are enjoying their raft.  I've never heard anything but rave reviews.

Very helpful. Thank you for posting.  I’m intending to use the raft for a mid-sized river in southwestern Colorado called the Lake Fork of the Gunnison, probably at around 500-800 CFS Andy maybe to bring the raft home with me to fish the lower Colorado, San Marcos, and Llano. 

 

[Kahuna 41]

The volume of the flow wouldn't be a particular problem for the FlyCraft up to a point.  I don't know how much experience you have on the oars, but I am pretty much a novice and would be hesitant to get on any river large enough to suck the edge of the boat under in a whirlpool.  I've experienced this as a passenger on both the Colorado River (in the Grand Canyon) and on the South Fork of the Snake River in Idaho.  That is spooky water to me and would seem like a suicide mission if I were to try it in the FlyCraft.  An experienced rower might be fine with it, however. On the other hand, the Texas rivers you mentioned would be perfect for the FlyCraft, assuming you aren't getting into a patch that is very technical with lots of large rocks that you need to wrap around.  The great part of the FlyCraft is that even if you hit a spot in a river that looks above your skill level or exceeds the boat's capability, the rig is light enough that two people can just pick it up and carry/drag it around the obstacle.  An even slightly larger raft will require you to walk (or rope) it through he rapids, which is not always a safe alternative.  Finally, the Lake Fork of the Gunnison doesn't sound like an overwhelming river in terms of flow.  Here are some shots of my home waters in Idaho (henrysfork.org) by comparison.  However, I checked out some photos of the Lake Fork online and there are definitely some stretches pictured that would exceed Class II designation, so you would need a broader raft to handle them, if you planned to fish through those kinds of stretches.

[wreckatx 141]

On 5/14/2018 at 5:13 AM, Kahuna said:

The volume of the flow wouldn't be a particular problem for the FlyCraft up to a point.  I don't know how much experience you have on the oars, but I am pretty much a novice and would be hesitant to get on any river large enough to suck the edge of the boat under in a whirlpool.  I've experienced this as a passenger on both the Colorado River (in the Grand Canyon) and on the South Fork of the Snake River in Idaho.  That is spooky water to me and would seem like a suicide mission if I were to try it in the FlyCraft.  An experienced rower might be fine with it, however. On the other hand, the Texas rivers you mentioned would be perfect for the FlyCraft, assuming you aren't getting into a patch that is very technical with lots of large rocks that you need to wrap around.  The great part of the FlyCraft is that even if you hit a spot in a river that looks above your skill level or exceeds the boat's capability, the rig is light enough that two people can just pick it up and carry/drag it around the obstacle.  An even slightly larger raft will require you to walk (or rope) it through he rapids, which is not always a safe alternative.  Finally, the Lake Fork of the Gunnison doesn't sound like an overwhelming river in terms of flow.  Here are some shots of my home waters in Idaho (henrysfork.org) by comparison.  However, I checked out some photos of the Lake Fork online and there are definitely some stretches pictured that would exceed Class II designation, so you would need a broader raft to handle them, if you planned to fish through those kinds of stretches.

Again, super helpful. I appreciate it. I have some experience on the oars, but there are some canyon portions of the lake fork that I wouldn’t try even in a large raft. I don’t plan on messing with those. Other than those canyons, it is very similar in size and temperament to the Texas rivers I mentioned and actually closest to the Guadalupe below Canyon dam, which I failed to mention. Again, thanks for the tips. I will update if I choose to pull the trigger!

[Kahuna 41]

Good luck!  It sounds like you are set to have a great time whatever you choose.

[DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt 12301]

Lake City HOLLA!!!

[wreckatx 141]

1 hour ago, DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt said:

Lake City HOLLA!!!

So don’t you think this little raft would be badass on the lake fork?

[DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt 12301]

1 minute ago, wreckatx said:

So don’t you think this little raft would be badass on the lake fork?

i've only fished it from the sidelines, but i'll be floating it this summer in my buddy's 13' NRS. love me some lake fork.