Welcome to River King . . the world's finest fishing and working catarafts.
River King catarafts float anglers down the great trout waters of the West, haul gear and scientists into remote sites for fisheries or scientific research - and transport anglers, hunters and wildlife photographers through some of the most remote waters in the world - places where the design and quality of your watercraft can make all the difference.
This is the cataraft for flying-in to remote locations by float plane, portaging in to small lakes in the mountains - or for any situation where a full-size cataraft needs to be stored or moved around in a small package - like in the cargo compartment of your RV. Of course, the light weight of the basic cataraft design make them a dream to trailer, fully assembled. The modular frame also means that you can set the boat up in many different ways, from a solo fishing float to a cargo expedition boat loaded with friends and camping gear. The modular frame will conform to those needs and almost anything in between.
In this photo my friend Al Davis of Sequim, WA provides some size perspective as he stands alongside a 16 ft River King / 10 ft frame / 10 ft oars - as typically set up for flyfishing - as we prepare to drift the Upper Yakama near Cle Elum, WA this spring. Viewing right to left (bow to stern) there are 3 seats: the bow cooler seat, the oarsman's rowing seat on a middle cooler and an Action® fishing seat on the stern croass brace. Three pfd's and the hand pump are in the dry bag hanging under the stern seat.
River King demo available. We are currently backed up several weeks on orders. But, if you are out to take advantage of the summer fishing and not lose time waiting for your new cataraft to arrive, I have a 16 ft. long, 10 ft frame, dual anchor, PD16R River King Cataraft that's ready to go. It's been in the water for one day a few weeks ago for a river drift photo shoot. Comes with the complete whitewater rowing system including 10 ft Carlisle oars. Here's a chance to save some serious bucks on our most popular model for river fly-fishing. I'm sellling this one for $5135 $4000. That's $1135 (over 22%) off the $5135 usual price. Full warranty applies of course. Would you like to see what it looks like? It's the boat in the photo above. I'll even throw in the rear angler's seat / mounting bracket and the rod holders that you see in the picture. I'm too busy these days to take it fishing myself so someone might as well enjoy it.
If you're new to our catarafts, here's what we're known for . .
Two-foot frame sections . . for easy transport and storage. The frame can be left partially or fully assembled - or broken down into its components. In the six boxes (at right) a typical 16 ft River King Cataraft package is on its way to a customer in Mississippi. This complete cataraft package includes the rowing frame and tubes, an optional outboard motor transom and bow leaning bar and other accessories as well as the rowing gear including the oar-stands, oarlocks and white water oars and blades. The new upper deck connectors we developed last year clamp the deck sections tightly together using just a 1/2 inch nut driver. These make assembly / disassembly faster than ever.
Gear attachment points . . run along each side of both upper decks. On a 10 ft long frame that's 40 feet of edge where you can attach gear such as anchor systems, struts, spare oar hangers, etc. anywhere along the frame, inboard or outboard. You can even build and attach your own accessories - like supports for a duck blind for example. With these strong attachment points you can add, remove or relocate accessories and set your boat up almost any way you could imagine.
Only marine grade polymer ever touches the tubes . . shaped to the curvature of the tubes to spread the frame load over the widest possible surface. There's no chance for wear spots and discoloration that usually develop on inflatable tubes where metal or wood frames rub against the fabric. Our upper decks contact the tubes only through a surface of King Starboard® - a light-weight boat-building polymer that's impervious to sun, salt and weather exposure.
A double layer of industrial weight polypropylene-coated mesh fabric suspends the lower deck on each side (in picture below). These provide added protection for the tubes from activity in the cockpit area. The mesh extends around the edges of the 34 inch wide cedar lower deck so that not even the lower deck edges touch the tubes.
34 inch wide lower deck plus dual 14 inch wide upper decks . . that extend the full length of the frame. These offer many useful square feet of flat working / fishing / standing / sitting space. Our catarafts are exceptionally roomy and easy to move around in. Inflatables can handle very low water, sliding over rocks that would damage a rigid-hull craft - and there's no place for water from high waves or a downpour to collect inside a cataraft frame. It just runs out between the half-inch gaps between the Western Red Cedar slats in the lower deck.
Two-inch wide hull straps secure the tubes . . to the frame using fast snap-action buckles. Compared with traditional D-rings and outfitter buckle straps, these encircling seat-belt style straps can save you a half hour or more when assembling your cataraft at the put-in or if you ever need to adjust the position of your frame on the tubes during a float. A full set of 16 stainless steel D-Rings (four on the inside and four on the outside of each tube) are available for securing the NRS tubes to the frame using standard outfitter buckle straps should you ever need them for really heavy water conditions.
Give us a call today . . at at the number below - or send us an email - to discuss your particular watercraft needs.
You should be able to find everything you need by clicking one of the links on the left. If you have any problems navigating or finding something please call or email using the addresses at the bottom of this page.
