Self-bailing floor?

[Jim Yeo]

Has anybody thought up a self-bailing floor design? I got to thinking about it after reading about the inflatable floor option. Obviously it increases the potential  for a wet butt, and perhaps more weight, but I’m curious about the possibilities.

Topic

[RhettB]

Greetings,

I recently finished a V3 and took it for a short whitewater (class 3) run. I plan to convert it into a self-bailer, as I’ll wear a drysuit for a lot of my river paddling. The additional flotation chamber is also desirable from a safety standpoint. I own a couple self-bailing river rafts, so I’m fairly certain I can mimic the inflatable floor.

Matt, I’d like to purchase about 3 square meters of the same fabric used to create the seat in my V3 kits, but don’t see bulk fabric for sale in your online shop. Would this be possible?

Thanks!

[Matt (Admin)]

Hi RhettB, I’m sorry I’m not doing any bulk fabric sales at this time. Maybe when global supply chains are back to normal and I have plenty of stock I will, but that won’t be in the foreseeable future. Some people have had success modifying inflatable camping mattresses to fit the packrafts floor – that’s the approach I would take, as it would save a lot of time and probably would cost about the same.

[Matt (Admin)]

Hi Jim,

My recommendation is to install a couple of these valves in the floor, at the sides near the rear, where they won’t be covered by your seat. When the valves are open, the packraft is self-bailing, and when they’re closed (on flat water) it’s dryer and lighter (because you’re not hauling water in the boat).

You could also model a self-bailing system on one of the major packraft manufacturer’s designs.

Cheers!

[Author]

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