Since the new Ultralight and Telkwa DIY Packraft kits were released, several people have asked for a similar packraft kit made from standard weight fabrics without a wrap-around floor. Tonight I inflated this new packraft for the first time – I haven’t even weighed it yet, but I was so excited I wanted to share a couple of pictures.
I’m calling this model the “Skeena,” after the river that has been featured in this website’s header image for the past couple of years.
The Skeena will likely take the place of the V3 DIY Packraft, as their weights and capabilities will be similar, but the Skeena is easier to construct, having only eight tube segments instead of ten.
For its maiden voyage I took the Skeena to one of my local lakes and as soon as I hopped in I felt so confident that I set off for the opposite shore, crossing nearly a kilometer of open water. On the way back, the wind picked up and whitecaps started to form, but the Skeena bobbed along just fine.
Specifications:
- Weight including seat and ten attachment points (120 cm / 47″ size, 560 GSM floor): 2.22 kg (4.9 lbs)
- Packed dimensions including seat: 18x18x45 cm (7x7x18″)
- Tube diameter: 275 mm (11″)
2 Comments
Rene Hansen · July 15, 2019 at 2:26 pm
Tracking in open water… i am not (yet) a packraftbuilder, but have made other DIY boats. I have been wondering about a (no weight) solution for a keel on these packraft, partly for tracking, partly to avoid drifting in wind. Is it possible to attach a small tube down the centerof the raft. Say 5 cm in diameter and “inflate” it with a substance you have in abundance – water, to ensure resistance to assist tracking and avoid too much drift. In my experience 5-10 cm “keel” is plenty to ensure stability.
Matt (Admin) · July 15, 2019 at 5:03 pm
I think it would be pretty easy to add a water-filled keel, but whether the tracking would improve so much that it outweighed the increased drag, I’m not sure.