Another Competitor in the Single Man Raft World

skyriver said:
Took another look at this thing and really like the concept. Some great details on it like the oar rests.

Not sure about that dry/lock box thing though. It has a seal around the lid, but I swear I see air in this corner-
View attachment 132755

I think I'd rather just have a gear bag like the Outcast kind. Or a rack so I could strap in a 20L dry bag or my OPST fanny bag.

And no top or inside rings behind the seat. How do you strap something down? Especially since it's not the normal self-bailing floor. Without making some cuts in that floor, you can't even put straps around the tubes.
They will get feedback on that for sure. I'm annoyed and I don't even own it. 😁

I'll be sticking with my old Commander for now, but if this one gets refined a bit...
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I see two rings on top of the tubes behind the seat, but I wouldn’t mind three more—two closer to the seat and one at center rear.
 
Ok now we’re on a subject I’ve given a lot of thought to.
I love my Clearwater and the unbelievable service provided by Outcast (Aire). Maybe the best customer service I’ve ever dealt with.

But I’ve also been considering the need for a more robust frame.
The oarlock on the Outcast have performed very very well. I’ve rowed up to class III regularly. I only worry that one of these days I’m going to catch a downstream oar on the bottom and rip an oarlock off.
No such worry on flat water at all.

If it were up to me I’d include foot braces into the frame design. The NRS brace like the Outcast’s is subject to tearing due to being held on by just a D ring. Unfortunately I’ve done it trying to fight the wind on Lenice. Integrating the foot braces would also increase power in the rowing to fight said winds.
I like the bow “floor” on the Outcast. Helps prevent a wet face and I can throw some gear there.

NRS doesn’t provide attachment points for the anchor. I’ve glued a second Scotty mount pad to my outcast for a front anchor so that can be retrofit.

I like the seat platform but I’d have to spend a day in it to be sure. In the Clearwater you sit on top of the thwart which puts you pretty high. Pluses and minuses. The Clearwater seat ends up wrapping around the thwart over time and it kills my back after a long day since the back rest becomes kinda useless.

The construction of the NRS is bladderless PVC. This design works great. So does the Outcasts bladdered pvc.

It’s great to see more interest and development in this type of raft.
Maybe Outcast will develop a frame and keep moving it further.
 
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Matt B said:
I see two rings on top of the tubes behind the seat, but I wouldn’t mind three more—two closer to the seat and one at center rear.
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Yep, but those are too far back for most stuff. The Commander, Clearwater and Water Master all have better connection points than this thing.
I'd like to see rings in these spots like you mention-
1731692323424.png
 
skyriver said:
Yep, but those are too far back for most stuff. The Commander, Clearwater and Water Master all have better connection points than this thing.
I'd like to see rings in these spots like you mention-
View attachment 132762
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There are the D rings that the frame is attached on the outside that can be used and you can also latch onto the frame itself. I agree, you can't have too many options, but I would think there are enough options to secure stuff in the back on this one. I was also looking at the image of the box you posted. I don't think that is an air gap because it looks like the black crease is recessed and the white you see is over that. My problem with the box is that it is rigid; a cloth bag of the same dimensions can fit some things the rigid box can't because it can be stretched in some directions. Even if it is a waterproof box, the minute you open it up to do something water will get in. I use dry bags to keep water out of stuff and that back area looks like it can hold a lot of those.
 
Looking closely at the box, literature from what I skimmed doesn’t mention much. The corner looking like a gap I believe is a gap. Note how the boxe is constructed, using screws.

IMG_1362.jpegIMG_1361.jpeg
 
Fourbtgait said:
Looking closely at the box, literature from what I skimmed doesn’t mention much. The corner looking like a gap I believe is a gap. Note how the boxe is constructed, using screws.

View attachment 132779View attachment 132780
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Yeah, it's a kayak outfitting company- https://www.yakattack.us/tracpak-stackable-storage-box-spare-box-battleship-grey/

Pretty basic boxes that are cool for the purpose of affordable, stackable solutions, but not what I would put on that boat. I'm sure NRS is trying to get in on the kayak crowd. It's growing faster than rafts.
 
It is nearly frameless but not quite. I still liked their GigBob frameless design better which had an anchoring system. No anchoring system, no interest. I will add it is true one could use the glue-on Scotty anchor mounting pad on Boundary. An anchor is important to me so I can use it in a lake or keep the wind from blowing it downriver. That's why I got the Outcast Clearwater. Frameless and an anchoring system. Being frameless it is significantly lighter. Personally, I don't use the Outcast gear system. I use a boat bag.
 

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LBL said:
Ok now we’re on a subject I’ve given a lot of thought to.
I love my Clearwater and the unbelievable service provided by Outcast (Aire). Maybe the best customer service I’ve ever dealt with.

But I’ve also been considering the need for a more robust frame.
The oarlock on the Outcast have performed very very well. I’ve rowed up to class III regularly. I only worry that one of these days I’m going to catch a downstream oar on the bottom and rip an oarlock off.
No such worry on flat water at all.

If it were up to me I’d include foot braces into the frame design. The NRS brace like the Outcast’s is subject to tearing due to being held on by just a D ring. Unfortunately I’ve done it trying to fight the wind on Lenice. Integrating the foot braces would also increase power in the rowing to fight said winds.
I like the bow “floor” on the Outcast. Helps prevent a wet face and I can throw some gear there.

NRS doesn’t provide attachment points for the anchor. I’ve glued a second Scotty mount pad to my outcast for a front anchor so that can be retrofit.

I like the seat platform but I’d have to spend a day in it to be sure. In the Clearwater you sit on top of the thwart which puts you pretty high. Pluses and minuses. The Clearwater seat ends up wrapping around the thwart over time and it kills my back after a long day since the back rest becomes kinda useless.

The construction of the NRS is bladderless PVC. This design works great. So does the Outcasts bladdered pvc.

It’s great to see more interest and development in this type of raft.
Maybe Outcast will develop a frame and keep moving it further.
Click to expand...
You could use cam straps going around the tubes where the foot rest attaches and carabiner the footrest to the cam straps. Just a thought on losing the oar towers: I would think it more likely the oar would snap out of the oar lock first. That's why I use safety straps from the oar to the oar tower.
 
Treefrog said:
You could use cam straps going around the tubes where the foot rest attaches and carabiner the footrest to the cam straps. Just a thought on losing the oar towers: I would think it more likely the oar would snap out of the oar lock first. That's why I use safety straps from the oar to the oar tower.
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You are right on both accounts. In fact so right I haven’t jumped into making a frame. I’m just interested in a more bombproof option in high winds or whitewater if a reasonable one came around. Seeing the NRS boat indicates that there may be some interest out there. I like seeing these new developments. Heck the Clearwater was a pretty radical move that fit between heavy but capable pontoon boats and float tubes.
 
D rings are easy to add if someone wanted to add some type of frame pieces like an anchor system or foot rest without the seat or oar portion. A frame builder could easily build you what you want.
Here is a small frame I had made years ago that worked well on a small raft that didn’t have an integrated seat, oars or foot rest.
SF

IMG_9754.jpeg
 
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Here is a small frame I had made years ago that worked well on a small raft that didn’t have an integrated seat, oars or fo
Stonedfish said:
SF

View attachment 133110
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Looks perfect for the Clearwater if the dimensions were right. Aluminum(?) and breakdown!
Only problem might be finding that builder and today’s cost. Any recommendations?
 
LBL said:
Here is a small frame I had made years ago that worked well on a small raft that didn’t have an integrated seat, oars or fo

Looks perfect for the Clearwater if the dimensions were right. Aluminum(?) and breakdown!
Only problem might be finding that builder and today’s cost. Any recommendations?
Click to expand...

Its been gone for years now, but I believe it was steel if I recall correctly. I'd do aluminum now to cut down the weight.
It broke down into multiple pieces. The place that did it for me is out of business. I've sold all my rafts once I got out of the steelhead game, so no suggestions for a builder. Perhaps someone such as @BDD might have suggestions on a frame builder if you were looking to have one built.
SF
 
Got an answer back from NRS. While I don't think it's a great answer I really appreciate them giving that sort of transparent service to strangers.
"

"Hi Stacy, thanks for the feedback. The box includes drain holes on each corner, but it does have a gasket on the lid to seal the container, making it splashproof. You can totally add some d-ring patches in addition to some attachment points. Feel free to reach out with any other questions!"

So splashproof (from above), not waterproof. Yeah, I'd rather just have my OSG bag that isn't waterproof, but is more "splashproof" than a cheap rigid plastic box.
And I know I can add glue on d-rings. Key words are "I" and "glue".

Still a really cool boat!!
 
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Stonedfish said:
Its been gone for years now, but I believe it was steel if I recall correctly. I'd do aluminum now to cut down the weight.
It broke down into multiple pieces. The place that did it for me is out of business. I've sold all my rafts once I got out of the steelhead game, so no suggestions for a builder. Perhaps someone such as @BDD might have suggestions on a frame builder if you were looking to have one built.
SF
Click to expand...
Sorry for responding late. Might be able to help. I have one now that I'm holding for a friend. If not claimed soon, it's going to the next in line.
 
LBL said:
Here is a small frame I had made years ago that worked well on a small raft that didn’t have an integrated seat, oars or fo

Looks perfect for the Clearwater if the dimensions were right. Aluminum(?) and breakdown!
Only problem might be finding that builder and today’s cost. Any recommendations?
Click to expand...
I'd bet money that's not an aluminum frame but don't fret too much. The weight difference between that frame an aluminum one of similar diameter might be a couple pounds at most.
 
looks great. i wonder if the gigbob is discontinued, though i love mine, it never really caught on in a big way.
 
The NRS having a frame makes it a very intriguing option to me. I'm in the market for a single man raft right now and I'm trying to avoid pinned oars (have had a WM and was not a fan of how it rows... also own a Scout for lakes but to me that's a jumbo float tube).

The Clearwater looks like a great option, but I'm not quite sold on how high the seat is, and the oar tower setup. If Catchercraft was still selling boats, I'd take a hard look at a Freestone. A guy has one listed on FB Marketplace and SpeyPages, but at a price that seems close to retail ($2100) for being like 4 years old. It has some extras, but I don't need a K pump (got one), nor do I see myself packing it into a bag which looks like the other main upgrade.

Any one hear when the Boundary is available to the market? I had a seen a video that said early 2025, but not sure how early is "early".
 
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