[EricNort]

I am really loving my first ultralight packraft (“first” because I am hoping to build a second with a couple more fishing rod holders added along with some other improvements).  It is nearing a year old now as I finished the build in early September of 2023.  These pictures are from a 3-day backpacking/fishing trip I just did with a couple of my hiking partners.  The lake is Spectacle Lake in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness of Washington State.

The only major issue I have had is with the seat and backrest losing air.  And that is only because they were the first components I assembled and I made some mistakes in the build / learning process.  The seat I was able to repair but I damaged the valve stem on the back rest with my heating iron.  I ordered a new seat and backrest kit today to replace the originals.  Hopefully I will do better assembling them the second time around!

The packraft is typically strapped to the back of my backpack at the bottom with a foam sitting pad wrapped around it for protection.  The raft, seat, backrest, inflatable PFD, and lanyards for my paddle and fishing pole all go into the inflation sack.

I just liked seeing the shadow of the packraft on the lake bottom.

My hiking partners both brought inflatable dinghies to fish from.

[EricNort]

Got it, thanks.

[EricNort]

I have completed my build of the Ultralight Packraft with fishing rod holders added.  The build went much quicker than I expected and I had it completed in about three weeks.  I worked on it on nearly a daily basis and was thrilled to have it ready to bring along on a backpacking trip to Flapjack Lakes in Olympic National Park this past weekend.

There was a minor leak I was aware of but hadn’t located before the trip (loss rate of a couple breaths every 30 minutes) but Gear Aid Tenacious Tape worked great to patch the leak once I did locate it.  The leak was coming from one of the intersections of the floor panel and tube joints even after seam sealing all the internal joints and seams.  To mitigate the leak I made a top-up tube using an extra Boston valve, 90° nylon barbed fitting, and extra Camelbak hose I had from an old bladder.  I used JB Weld Plastic Bonder to glue the nylon fitting inside the Boston valve. After taping the leak in camp though I didn’t have any noticeable loss of pressure over the two full days the raft was inflated.

The fishing rod holders worked great.  I thought they might have been the source of the leak, but thankfully weren’t!  I highly recommend them to anyone who will be using their packraft for fishing.  I followed the design included in the How-To section.

The other raft in some of the pictures is my son’s Klymit Litewater Dinghy which I included just for comparison.  My boy enjoys it but I found it to be very uncomfortable to use over long periods.  The seat and backrest of the ultralight packraft kit are a definite plus!

Matt, thanks for a great design and kit!

 

Liberal seam sealing for added seam durability:

 

Top-up tube assembly:

 

Lots of feisty brookies in this lake!

 

Side-by-side

[EricNort]

I thought it would look good with the logo on it so I did that this weekend.  I downloaded the logo and printed it out full scale on 11″x17″ paper.  One sheet was used for alignment, cut down to just the edges of the letters and line, and the other used to transfer the letter patterns to the fabric (used leftovers from the seat cushion).  To simplify the stenciling process I put double-sided tape on the backside of the patterns, stuck painter’s tape to that, then stuck the painter’s tape to the fabric.  The double-sided tape was too hard to get off the fabric – I learned that early in the build while doing tube seams – but painter’s tape releases from the fabric very easily.  The print-out taped to the raft above the logo was just for a reference because I placed the letters individually by eye-balling them.  The “K” came out a little wonky, but over all I am pretty happy with it!

 

[EricNort]

I decided my packraft needed a name.  It is Greek for “Of the Lake” with θάλασσας  pronounced Thalassas.

 

[EricNort]

The build is going great and I am hoping to be able to inflate my raft for the first time by this weekend.  I have the tubes on both sides completed and joined at the front and am in the process of seam sealing all the joints before I close it up at the stern end.  If all goes well, it will be going with me on a 4-day backpacking trip to Flapjack Lakes in Olympic National Park 10 days from now.

Here are a few pictures of the fishing rod holder build and installation.  (Matt –  feel free to use and share my pictures.)

• This reply was modified 1 year, 2 months ago by EricNort.

[EricNort]

Awesome!  I placed my order (with note) this morning.  I’ll be sure to post about the build process and how it goes incorporating the rod holders.  Also ordered the heating iron and silicone roller from aliexpress last week and they should be here soon, and I already have your fabric sample set from the shop to practice with.  Getting excited!

[EricNort]

Thanks! I will be sure to add a note to my order, which I am anticipating to place within this next week.

[EricNort]

Hi!  Found your site a couple weeks ago via YouTube and looking at buying the Ultralight packraft kit to bring along on my backpacking trips to alpine lakes in Washington state.

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