Upper Deck End Plates Include Integrated Oar Blade Catchers

This view shows an oar blade stowed in its catcher. As an End Plate is located at each end of each upper deck you can stow the oars up out of the water when they are not being used - at either end of the deck.

This year we've added .50 inch thick King Starboard^tm End Plates to the fore and aft ends of each of the two upper decks. These finish off the appearance of the ends and also provide an integrated oar blade catcher.

King Starboard^tm  is a high quality marine grade polymer used for many details such as cabin appointments, stairs and ladders and control consoles on larger yachts. It is formulated to withstand indefinite exposure to the elements including temperature extremes, full saltwater immersion and continuous sun.

It's tough but has a soft composition providing an ideal interface between the frame and the Hypalon hulls.

Our frames are deigned so that only King Starboard^tm plastic and the polymer fabric hull straps contact the inflatable hull fabric. In use, no metal or wood ever touches the hull. This means the hulls stay clean throughout the season with no rub marks or the ugly aluminum or galvanized stains found on many catarafts. And no potential wear spots from metal continuously sliding around on the fabric.

Note the heavy black fabric reinforcement on the top of the hull. NRS builds their hulls with this feature to accommodate typical whitewater frame designs where aluminum pipe often rests directly on the hulls and can cause discoloration and wear if not rigidly strapped down.

Our frames provide the most benign frame/hull interface possible (soft King Starboard^tm plastic against Hypalon coated fabric) making such precautions unnecessary - but this adds a margin of protection far beyond most designs.