Shane

is there a way to tell between the two batches? I got a kit six months ago and haven’t put it together yet. Should I just to put it together with Pex out of an abundance of caution?

Thanks for addressing this issue, Matt. I found that with 1/2″ PEX-b for combing, the spray skirt stays fairly well attached to the spray deck through class III. However, it’s still far from dry in that boat. As my body rotates while paddling through whitewater, the waist shock-cord tends to drop down my waist until it sits quite low. Water then pools on the skirt and slowly drips through my shirt and into the cockpit. After running my local 2 mile stretch of whitewater, I had 50-70lbs of water in the boat. So while it won’t negate the need for a drysuit in cold conditions, it does at least prevent having to get out & dump the boat after every rapid. I think my next adjustment will be adding shoulder straps to the skirt to keep it higher on my waist. After that, I may look at aquasealing the holes along the deck where the tube-fabric-joining strips prevent a seal, as you suggest in the tutorial.

Great Video. I’m just about to start assembling my second packraft and I know my sealing technique needs improvements. After using he first packraft a few times I found the edge of the seams would develop little bubbles of delamination between the TPU layers which I spot hit with the iron. I think not having to move the iron back and forth along the seams during the sealing will help me get a better initial weld.

Do you have any instructions for using the Masterseal instead of the Superseal. I have two Masterseals lying around from another project. I don’t need one of them and would like to use it for my Telkwa, maybe as seen in a customer build in the center of the rear seam.

Sorry, I don’t know anything about that. Maybe ask Kipara?

These zippers cannot be shortened like a regular zipper, they have to be ordered in the desired length from the factory.

This is great. I could see these zippers being very nice for bow bags and ultralight builds. I was hoping Matt could offer a few master seals in a couple of different lengths.

Personally, I am only skilled enough for class 2 whitewater, but skilled paddlers have used DIY packrafts in class 4 rivers. More on this here: https://www.diypackraft.com/faq/whitewater-capabilities-of-diy-packrafts/

Seems like a large round log of firewood might have a similar radius. Could that work instead?

The exact dimensions aren’t critical, but it helps if the radius of the form is about the same as the curve you’re working on (or a bit less), so for the DIY Packraft tubes the radius should be about 5 1/2″, and the width of the form should be about the same as the width of the seam strip (30 mm in the case of the DIY Packrafts). There are some other tips posted on this page (scroll down): https://www.diypackraft.com/proper-heat-sealing-technique/

I would be interested in other DIY ironed projects.
Ultralight camping pillow?
Sleeping pad?

Maybe DIY paddle kits?

Matt knows what I want. Fabric by the yard purchases. Well, that and I could see a few other things that really should be here to flesh out Matt’s offerings:

1. Anfibio’s lifejacket. This inflatable jacket is perfectly fine for all but the worse whitewater. It pairs great with a pack raft.

2. Anfibio’s packraft packsuit. Anfibio has great packraft gear that just doesn’t ship to North America due to “insurance reasons.” As a business, they may be open to partnering with you. This is a win-win. We could get our hands on this gear, and Anfibio and Matt would profit.

3. MRS packraft large and small Skegs plus an official way to make them slot in and removable.

4. Matt could sell the Flextail pump.

5. High-stance inflatable backrest. Basically, this would fill in the rear area to create a very firm and upright inflatable backrest. This allows for a forward and aggressive stance. I’ve created one on my own boat, and it makes the seating position far more comfortable and helps in the transfer of energy in the stroke.

6. Spray skirt upgrade. The spray skirt as available could potentially use an upgrade. The combing ring is, in my option, not robust enough to handle large whitewater. Second, there isn’t a lot of flexibility if a user adjusts their sitting location forward. If you do this, it creates a significant pressure point added at the base of the skirt. Check out Anfibio’s sprayskirt design where they add an additional angled fabric between the deck and the chest. I think this would greatly improve the design. The sprayskirt should also have suspenders.

7. Footbag with Tizip.

8. Bow bag with roll top or Tie-zip.

9. Leg straps

10. Inflatable sail with a clear interior. If Matt permits fabric sales, I’ll probably make one of these this year.

11. A few odds and ends could be offered for a really complete storefront including:
UWHPE rope
Titanium rope knife
1″ and 3/4″ buckles, D-rings, square rings.
1″ and 3/4″ polypropylene webbing in black, blue, yellow, and red.
Kit building items like packraft blocks, Talcrum powder, Fisker shears, Seam Grip, and straight edges.
IP68-rated radio (A good option might be the ELIDA-branded one from Alliexpress. I’ve used it over an eight-day backcountry portage trip with great success. It’s the only radio I can find at this price point with USB-C, easy to-read display, a week-long battery, and fully waterproof.

Definitely a more stealth color. By that I mean a nature color like green, brown, Camo etc. The high visibility colors is what is keeping me from buying at the moment.

Yes, no problem – here’s a picture of the digital camouflage print: https://www.diypackraft.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/DIY-Packraft-4.jpg

I concur with Fred’s suggestion on a spray deck upgrade. The combing is poor in the current design, and makes the skirt nearly unusable. I am considering cutting the deck off my raft entirely.

How about an inflatable floor to make the boats self-bailing? It doesn’t seem that difficult – just an extension of the seat with a couple more baffles, and voila.

The self bailing boats and bow bag kits sound very intriguing to me!

Thanks for all you do here Matt, I’m so psyched with my new Atlin.