FS: Alpacka Packraft Setup + Aquabound Paddle

[Collin A]

Folks,

It is with a heavy feeling in my gut that I am posting my packraft setup for sale. I haven't used it since I moved away from Sacramento and I don't forsee it being something I continue with.

Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/wANwCsEVy5zK242K9

Asking for $1000 shipped (plus 3% to cover G&S fees) for everything.

You'll get:

• Alpacka Carribou Bikerafting Raft - just the basic one (no bailer or internal storage) that comes in at about 5 lbs in blue. Comes with the seat, inflation bag, storage sack, and a mini-repair setup. No tears, abrasions, repairs, etc. Only used in freshwater, and cleaned/air dried after every use.
  • https://www.alpackaraft.com/products/caribou
    
• Aquabound Whisky 4-piece fiberglass paddle in sunwave. This is light and packs down small for easy carrying on the bike. It was bought as a cosmetic second so its got some inconsistencies in the epoxy, but is structurally sound. There is one itty bitty chip in one of the paddles in the outermost layer, but otherwise pretty good condition. 200cm length
  • Whiskey Fiberglass 4-Piece Straight Shaft Kayak Paddle | Aqua Bound
    
• Not pictured, but a little waterproof holder to hang onto your phone, wallet, etc. very useful in keeping the important stuff dry.
  • https://www.alpackaraft.com/products/lap-bag
    

Backstory:

I picked up the raft and paddle in mid-COVID (Spring 2021) and used it extensively with my appaloosa during my time in Sacramento - pedaling up the American River Trail to the Nimbus fish hatchery and then paddling down the river back to paradise beach in Sacramento (about 3-4 hours of leisurely floating). I also used it once for camping up at Folsom lake Peninsula Campground, which was a hoot and mildly scary.

It served as a great extension to my normal bike rides during the hot summer months and the weird time of COVID, and really opened up my eyes to what you can accomplish via bike. If you have a river near you, I'd strongly recommend giving it a shot.

Collin in Riverless Berkeley

[Patrick Moore]

I'm not in the market, sorry, but I find that little inflatable very interesting. Is the boat designed specifically for packing on a bike, then floating the bike down river, then back to bike packing? I didn't know that this combination was a thing.

And isn't the Appaloosa a long wheelbase model? Do they make kayak-specific bikes? (Recall a long-ago Boblist member planning a custom small-wheel backpacking bike for wilderness trips.)

The reason I'm interested is that my next door neighbor (ex Serotta brazer back when Serotta built in steel and former roadie, but as a mail carrier nearing 60 he now finds that his daily load carrying uses up his energy) and his wife like to pack inflatable kayaks to the Rio Grande (the river is about 1/2 mile East of my front door, but they pack the kayak/s north to a Corrales entry point), float downriver about 6-8 miles, then take the other car back to pick up the first car. I think he once or twice packed the kayak north on his bike, locked bike, floated down, then drove back to pick up bike.

If you or anyone else cares to post photos of kayak/boat excursions, I'd be delighted to see them.

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Patrick Moore

Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique, Orbis Terrarum

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[Patrick Moore]

"They" is the unspecified general predicate, not "Rivendell."

On Mon, Mar 25, 2024 at 2:02 PM Patrick Moore <bert...@gmail.com> wrote:

... Do they make kayak-specific bikes?

[Collin A]

Patrick,

I've posted my "Joe-Rafter" here before and I think John Rinkler picked one up in the winter?

But yes, this raft was designed with having a heavy bike loaded on the front of the raft, no mini/foldable/small wheeled bike required. I essentially used it to bike up river, strap my bike to it, paddle down river, hop back on the bike, then pedal home. It saves having to stage a car as your friends and most others with a kayak do it. Its not as fast as a kayak (although, that's partly due to the engine as the argument goes), but also exceedingly light and packable. So the idea is you never have to worry about locking/staging anything and just bring everything with you on all legs of the trip!

I added another photo and video of what its like with the bike on the front of the raft.

Collin

[John Rinker]

Oooh and aaah! Thanks for the photos Colin. I wish you had posted this months ago before I bought mine! $1000 seems a good deal. C'est la vie! 

I have yet to use my Caribou as winter up here is more conducive to skating the river than floating it, but those days are coming soon. 

I appreciate seeing your photos as they help me visualize how my 62cm Hunq will ride the bow. Have you ever attached your Appaloosa without removing the rear wheel? 

I'm heading south in a few days and plan to paddle the boat in Utah and Arizona. I'm very excited to get the boat in the water finally.

Cheers, John

[Collin A]

Poor timing indeed! But who spends winter buying a raft ;)

You can for sure mount a bike on and keep the rear wheel attached. Depending on your paddle stroke, the wheel might be in your way and make paddling awkward...it worked fine for me but having the extra wiggle room to extend your paddle and "dig deeper" so to speak makes a big difference in comfort and paddling efficiency.

Photo for proof:

As an FYI, bring more straps than you think you need for the first couple trips, along with a goofy hat, gloves, and a whole bunch of sunscreen!

[aeroperf]

TSF16 Folbot.  Disassembles to fit in a car, assembles into a 16 ft. kayak.

You can't haul it on a bicycle (it weighs the same as a canoe), but you CAN strap a bicycle to it and carry the bike.

When I did the Allagash Wilderness Waterway, we made a cradle with two bicycle wheels to move it through the (very few) portages.  RIP my 1957 Schwinn - had to get the wheels from somewhere.

Before

After

[John Rinker]

Thanks Colin. Iterating the set-up that's just right for me will only add to the fun! It looks like you've got a pannier of some sort attached to the left fork. Did you leave that attached? BTW, that's some Appaloosa! Beautiful color. Root beer?

Aeroperf, that's a very cool TSF16. I once had the pleasure of paddling one for a short bit in calm water, but I didn't have to set it up nor break it down. I'm sure at some point one of those Rough stuff Fellowship riders tried to haul one by bike!

Cheers, John

[Patrick Moore]

Thanks, Collin; insights into a new -- to me -- pastime. If I were younger I might have tried it on the Rio Grande.

Folbots: I remember those being advertised at the way back of National Geographics in the 1960s.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/6b09e6bb-ed51-4fa6-837a-28c3f0b88e6an%40googlegroups.com.

[rlti...@gmail.com]

This is one that stuck with me. Packing a raft on a Brompton in the UK.

Robert Tilley

San Diego, CA

Sent from my iPhone

On Mar 25, 2024, at 1:03 PM, Patrick Moore <bert...@gmail.com> wrote:



To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/CALuTfguXjPLyuuPjQk8rQmk%3D5eXH%2BOXUOOo6-u6pXCvCDponXw%40mail.gmail.com.

[Collin A]

  It looks like you've got a pannier of some sort attached to the left fork. Did you leave that attached? BTW, that's some Appaloosa! Beautiful color. Root beer?

It was on in the early iterations to hold the PFD. I eventually figured out a better way to hold it on a rear rack - the pannier acted a bit like a reverse sail.

The color is standard orange, but with a lovely dusting of Sacramento dirt and sand :)

[John Rinker]

hey Robert,

That's a great little film! Wow! Those Bromptons sure don't look very stable at speed, but they fit nicely on those rafts. I love that Alistair was wearing an airline pfd. Hopefully, the person in his seat on the next flight didn't need it.

Thanks for sharing that.

Cheers, John

[Collin A]

The rivers are calling, summer is coming...and the setup is still available...

Collin in Berktown

[Mike Godwin]

There is a story in Adventure Cyclist of some guys out of Fairbanks riding mtbs along the Alaska Range (west to east) and used home-made pack rafts to ford water ways. 250 miles IIRC. The author of that article is also in a Scientific American from a few months back, helping out with water surveys in the Brooks Range. Using packrafts again! I think he is a math prof at UA-Fairbanks, and used his wilderness skills to assist with the water surveys. The term water surveys is used very lightly - melting permafrost is causing biochemical reactions in the peat and soil layers, and releasing metal oxides into the streams and turning them orange. 

Mike SLO CA

[Collin A]

Sold to a gent in Nevada. Thanks folks.

Collin, raftless, in Berkeley

On Monday, March 25, 2024 at 12:16:55 PM UTC-7 Collin A wrote: