Boston Valve
The most common inflatable boat valve is the “Boston” valve, which is made up of three parts:
- A threaded flange that glues into the boat. This has an opening of about 21.5 mm (27/32”), which makes for quick inflations and deflations.
- A one-way valve that screws into the flange. This stops air from escaping while you’re inflating the packraft.
- A cap that screws on over the one-way valve to keep air in and dirt and water out.
Plastic rings hold the three parts together so they won’t get lost when they’re unscrewed, and the whole assembly weighs about 37 grams (1 oz). If you purchase a Boston valve elsewhere, make sure it includes the flange that glues into the boat and not just the parts that screw into the flange. Most boston valves available online do not include the flange because the target market is not DIY Packraft makers, but people who have lost the valves for their manufactured boats. The product descriptions do not make this clear, so you really have to look at the pictures to know what you’re buying. This is what you need:
Top-Up Valve
If you want to add an easily accessible top-up valve for regulating the air pressure in your packraft while you are on the water, you can purchase one like this:
This top-up valve (available here) has a twist-lock end cap that allows you to either add air by blowing into it, or to release air by simply opening the valve. It can be added to an existing packraft, and it weighs only 12 grams (0.42 oz)!
You can support this page by purchasing valves from me right here 🙂
6 Comments
Jon · July 30, 2022 at 11:08 pm
Hey Matt, I am just getting started looking into replacing our 2 person inflatable kayak with a couple of packrafts. We have done a lot of sailing and are used to inflatable dinghies. Your rafts looks very nice but I have a question. You use a Boston valve, we are used to seeing the D7 style valves (both our NRS kayak and RIB dinghy). Any thoughts about the pros/cons of the Boston vs D7?
Matt (Admin) · July 31, 2022 at 2:34 pm
The D7 is a nice valve, but it weighs more than twice as much as a Boston valve, costs more, and requires a special tool plus a torque wrench to be installed properly, so I’d only recommend it to someone like you who already owns other inflatables that use the D7 to keep everything compatible.
Freddy · April 15, 2021 at 11:04 am
The air valve advertised on ebay as raft and air mattress valve looks very similar, but is about 2 mms too small to fit the screw threads on the packraft. What your saying is I need the one pictured above?
Matt (Admin) · April 18, 2021 at 12:44 pm
Hi Freddy – in order to help you I need more information about what you’re trying to do.
Keith Kreycik · April 7, 2018 at 5:32 pm
Hi, How does one top up the inflation if the Boston valve is the only valve? Does the inflation bag itself allow complete inflation of the raft?
If I decide after using the raft for a while that I need a top-up valve, can it be retrofitted to a completed raft?
Matt (Admin) · April 8, 2018 at 1:39 pm
Hi Keith – the Boston valve is actually two valves in one: a one-way valve (that you can use for top-ups) that screws into a larger opening that you can use for quickly inflating or deflating your packraft. Cheers!