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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 - where the details really count.
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.
If you're new to River King, here's what sets us apart from the rest . .
Easy transport and storage Building a cataraft is not so difficult. Designing one that can be broken down into small components for transport and storage while retaining the high strength necessary for heavy water conditions - and that's also fishable in many diffferent kinds of water - is a real challenge that I've been working at for over 20 years now. The River King rowing frame can be left partially or fully assembled or broken down into its components to meet a wide range of transport and storage needs. Inside those boxes at right a full size 16 ft River King Cataraft is on its way to a customer in Mississippi. This complete shipment includes the rowing frame with the two upper decks and spars, all cross-braces, the inflatable tubes . . and in this case an outboard motor transom and bow leaning bar and other accessories as well as the rowing gear including the oar-stands, oarlocks and white water oar shafts and blades. 
Structural strength Four strong aluminum channel spars run under the inboard and outboard edge of both upper decks and form the backbones of the River King cataraft. These provide numerous attachment points (with 3/8" holes spaced every 2") for solid mounting of gear and accessories anywhere along the frame - inboard or outboard. There's room for lots of gear along these spars such as the lower deck hangers, the anchor system components, struts to stabilize the motor mount or leaning bar, spare oar hangers, etc. You can even build and attach your own accessories - like supports for a duck blind for example. With these channels you can add, remove or relocate your accessories and set your boat up almost any way you could imagine. The screws, nuts and connectors that attach gear to the spars are tucked back under the edges of the upper deck so that fly lines can not easily get near them.
Tons of flat working space . . 33 inch wide lower deck, 16 inch wide upper decks extend the full length of the frame. This flat space gives you places to put stuff other than on the lower deck - where it's always underfoot when you need to stand up to cast, take a picture or handle a fish. You'll find many other uses for this space such as fixing lunch, working with your camera accessories, tying a fly or two, etc. You can stand on the upper decks or you can even lay down and take a nap. The upper decks are made of 5/8" marine plywood, treated with an oil-based stain. They come in 2 ft long by 16 inch wide sections for easy transport and storage. The lower decks sections are 2 ft long by 33 inch wide. They use 3/4" thick western red cedar with the same stain applied to match the upper decks. Both the upper and lower decks are built with a 1/2" gap between the slats so there's no place for water from a wave or a downpour to collect inside the boat.
Marine PET polymer is the only material that touches the tubes. As in most cataraft frames, the full weight of the frame, passengers and gear is transferred to the tubes where the fabric on top of the tubes meets the frame. In our design this main contact area lies along the bottom edge of the four spars. Here, we've provided a buffer strip of King Starboardtm, shaped to the curvature of the tubes, to spread the frame load over the widest possible area. With this tough but smooth polymer material between the frame and the tubes there's no chance for the wear spots and discoloration that often develop where the more common metal-pipe rowing frames rub against the fabric.
Heavy mesh fabric loops . . suspend the lower deck from the inboard edges of the two upper decks. This makes assembly of the basic frame fast and easy with no fasteners required other than the PVC pipe that threads the hangers and mesh loops together. The industrial mesh fabric loops also provide protection for the tubes from any activity in the cockpit area. The mesh extends around the edges of the lower deck so that not even the lower deck edges touch the tubes. It's been said that our River King frames are the best friends your tubes have ever had. They'll keep your tubes protected and in new condition for many years.
Two-inch wide hull straps . . three on each tube, can secure the tubes to the frame's upper and lower decks using fast snap-action buckles. Compared with traditional D-rings and buckle straps, these tough seat-belt style straps can save you up to an hour or more when assembling your cataraft at the put-in. They also make it super easy to adjust the position of your frame on the tubes during a float to get the weight trim just right for best response to the oars. The three encircling straps on each tube are strong enough for almost all fishing water you'd encounter in the western US. But our catarafts come with a full set of 16 stainless steel D-Rings (four on the inside and four on the outside of each tube) for securing the tubes to the frame using traditional river style buckle straps when running serious water. In practice, you'll probably use the D-rings and buckle straps more often for low water conditions in the fall where you could be dragging the boat over rocks and gravel a lot. The tubes will slide over the rocks with less friction with no straps impeding the bottom the tubes.
Check out our RIVER-READY PACKAGES and PRICING or call today at at the number below to discuss your particular watercraft needs.
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