13' raft on Nelson area rivers

Hello local experts. I'm kicking around the idea of getting a raft for exploring local rivers, I'm thinking some easy adventures with the wife and two small kids and some badass trips with forum folks where we make horrible decisions and bite off more than we can chew. These things float in 5cm of water and can pretty easily be pushed downriver in 1cm or so. I was thinking a set up much like the one pictured that's sorted for fishing but could easily be modified for a few mates and backpacks and some dead deer stacked in it if need be :) I welcome all of your thoughts on this matter folks...feel free to tell me that I'm an idiot or reserve your fishing/hunting raft trip, either way is fine with me!!
Attachment 222026

Maruia River.Launch @ Boundary Rd bridge public access.short grade one 3-4 mile run down ,pull out on private land on T.R.
.@ northern foot off Shenandoah saddle.Good fishing for Browns & easy hunting for reds,pigs on T.L.on DOC block with good suitable river terraces for o/nite tent camping.A good trip as a newbie for the family.Once gaining experience then upper Matakitaki grade two @ Murch.Launch @ Glenroy confluence down to 'The Six Mile ' below the earthquake rapid.No Doc hunting but,access to private land hunting goats and reds and fishing for Browns.Then the 3-6 day grade 3 Clarence Rvr.Launch Acheron junction,pull out @ Wai Toa bridge,both public access,with Doc huts located @ one day intervals along the route on river bank.Hunting Doc goats,reds,pigs,chammy,trout.flow needs to be above 18 cumecs @ the Jollies gauge when departing.All the above require the logistics of vehicle/trailer retrieval & relocation to the pull out spot

Those elevated high seats are unsuitable for steep NZ mtn rivers over grade 1,you'll get spat out.The whole set up looks like for gentleman drifting on a placid bayioux.That construction won't handle our typical conditions of sharp rocks puncturing that lightweight looking Chinese fabric.Talk to the local Murch commercial guides to see about what robust kit they run the rivers with that can handle the jandle.The alloy wrap around frame will get bent on the first rapid,so guite unsuitable.the raft needs to flex when negotiating a rapib.You won't see one setup like that in NZ.Pay for a 1/2 day Murch commercial charter on the Buller to get your head around NZ rafting conditions before you commit to buying a useless piece of unsuitable Chinese junk

The Clarence isn't a trip for newbies either, had a group I know of very experienced rafters lose a raft sunk last year on the run, they have don it at least a dozen times before. Also talk to the Clarence rafting company.

Clarence river flow. Its currently showing 8cumecs considering we had very heavy rain in the night.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by bluebaiter222

Those elevated high seats are unsuitable for steep NZ mtn rivers over grade 1,you'll get spat out.The whole set up looks like for gentleman drifting on a placid bayioux.That construction won't handle our typical conditions of sharp rocks puncturing that lightweight looking Chinese fabric.Talk to the local Murch commercial guides to see about what robust kit they run the rivers with that can handle the jandle.The alloy wrap around frame will get bent on the first rapid,so guite unsuitable.the raft needs to flex when negotiating a rapib.You won't see one setup like that in NZ.Pay for a 1/2 day Murch commercial charter on the Buller to get your head around NZ rafting conditions before you commit to buying a useless piece of unsuitable Chinese junk

---

You seem pretty angry about Chinese junk...also seem unfamiliar with NRS...also...you run your raft into boulders on every run as to bend the frame?? >>>I thought I was supposed to avoid boulders, you're right, you guys do things differently. Thanks for the input.

You'll find our rivers are full of rocks, with some water in them and can be quite tight, whereas most of your rivers are full of water with some rocks in them.

Youtube some of the named rivers the others have suggested, and you'll see what works and what doesn't over here in our conditions:)

I did a rafting/hunting trip down the Grey years ago. Was a good trip looking back but we did flip the rafting and nearly drowned the dog. Was pretty hectic.
I did a rafting course and a bit of guiding 25 years ago so have got a reasonable idea of what works.
Looking at that rafting I would say if you flipped it you would probably bend frames and smash those seats off pretty quickly.
Looks like a good raft for a mellow river or lake.
Could be worth looking for an ex commercial set up from one of the local operators...
If I was doing it I would loose the frame and oars and get the family involved in paddling. Also a bigger rafting would be more suitable as I think you said 4 people? Plus gear and the odd animal.
NRS gear is top notch btw

I guess you could always remove the frame if you wanted too. Would be worth putting the kids in wetsuits as well as life jackets outside of mid summer.

It's rare to see american style rafts and guide boat setups used here.
That is probably to do with the type of rivers we have, typically short in the scheme of things with large water volume changes and can go from placid to grade 4 rapids and back again in short distances.

If you are moving here like I think you are planning too then it won't hurt to stick one in a container with the rest of your gear. Some one will buy it here if/when it doesn't suit.

Yeah… I’ve done a fair bit of rafting, canoeing and kayaking in NZ and you wound not catch me getting into something with a metal frame like that for a river trip. Expect to get thrown against the sides or have the raft land on you when it flips.

You can lash some barrels into the centre of a normal NZ raft but the weight does make them pretty hard to drag through shallow rapids.

Consider a Canadian canoe. They stay manoeuvrable when loaded up and are quicker over lakes etc.

I'm thinking that would possibly be ok down the motueka river and Appleby in lowish flows to fish from....mostly surrounded by private land tho so not really hunting options other than Ducks?
But yeah it certainly looks like a calm water only vessel.

you guys are no fun I want to see what happens first rapid

with a set up like that perhaps jhe coul;d offer an alternative to cook strait ferries./..just sayin like.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by kotuku

with a set up like that perhaps jhe coul;d offer an alternative to cook strait ferries./..just sayin like.

---

I can just see it now budget crossings 4.5 seagull and a umbrella for shade

I see a rowable maimai with attachment points for camo nets...and hear banjos playing (even though Kevin Bacon was baddie that rowed one of them in different movie) please dont be offended by our harsh Kiwi way of saying its dumb idea....have a utube look at rafting in NZ and you will see why..sometimes rafts bend almost in half......a few years back fibreglass kayaks were prefered over plastic,even though the plastic ones are awesome and hardy BECAUSE a glass boat might snap and release you where a plastic will fold up with you in it it you get pinned between two boulders....

Dwelling bangoes.Once that alloy frame is removed all lateral rigidity is gone and it becomes a tractor inner tube that you can get buckshee out of the beaurepairs rubbish skip.A kiwi river raft has lateral stability cells (seats) keeping the centre of g low,and is paddled not rowed.Cash it up fot $US dollars over there where there is a market for that type of craft & use the green backs on arrival to purchase the right tool for the job.

Yeh I think the best advice is to sell it there. You can't really just look at flow rates on rivers here to try and compare. If you think about the topography here it's a long skinny country. The rivers lose altitude quickly and pretty straight and confined rather than wide huge river plains and meandering water ways. I just can't think of many rivers here you'd use such a set up and certainly none where you'd be hunting.

Sent from my SM-A528B using Tapatalk

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ned

Yeh I think the best advice is to sell it there. You can't really just look at flow rates on rivers here to try and compare. If you think about the topography here it's a long skinny country. The rivers lose altitude quickly and pretty straight and confined rather than wide huge river plains and meandering water ways. I just can't think of many rivers here you'd use such a set up and certainly none where you'd be hunting.

Sent from my SM-A528B using Tapatalk

---

Good point re our topography.

I think I am right in saying that nowhere in NZ is more than 100km (62 miles) from the sea. Yet the mountains can go to 12000 ft in that distance.

So many rivers here not so much meander, rather plummet to the sea:omg:

I do `t think that can fit these rivers. I only been to Nelson area twice, but all the river I experienced all with strong current and sand fly:omg:

Attachment 222082Attachment 222083

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by bluebaiter222

Those elevated high seats are unsuitable for steep NZ mtn rivers over grade 1,you'll get spat out.The whole set up looks like for gentleman drifting on a placid bayioux.That construction won't handle our typical conditions of sharp rocks puncturing that lightweight looking Chinese fabric.Talk to the local Murch commercial guides to see about what robust kit they run the rivers with that can handle the jandle.The alloy wrap around frame will get bent on the first rapid,so guite unsuitable.the raft needs to flex when negotiating a rapib.You won't see one setup like that in NZ.Pay for a 1/2 day Murch commercial charter on the Buller to get your head around NZ rafting conditions before you commit to buying a useless piece of unsuitable Chinese junk

---

I am from China, and I agree with you on this point for the product and user experience, and I am sorry, no joking really. In the ccp `s economy, there is no creation, only copy but those factories in China they have the capability to make good stuffs in low price. But....their business model is make to order, it means overseas buyers gave them what to make, and they will make it for them. No Chinese manufacturing owner will think about these three words: mission vision and values because they are struggling to survive from high taxes.Say, 30% net from their operation incomes, and another 10% for bribery.

Go back to your poor user experience, the source is not factories in China, is the importers of NZ, like you, a citizen of NZ and those who have PR. Quick money, who will care about you will feel. One time deal.

It would go well in the Wanganui river up north.....

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

It would go well in the Wanganui river up north.....

---

no - having been on the Wanganui river a no of times in jet boats if it rains overnight the center of gravity sitting up so high in that boat not good at all - there are rapids there that would throw one out if river was up a bit - looking at it well might be useful for a duck shooter to pick up ducks on a very calm piece of water

Yep, done the Wanganui a number of times in high flows, where whirlpools are formed at the foot of rapids on a bend. The centre of the whirlpool can be a meter lower than the surrounding water level. Quite scary and not where you want to tip out.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by XR500

Good point re our topography.

I think I am right in saying that nowhere in NZ is more than 100km (62 miles) from the sea. Yet the mountains can go to 12000 ft in that distance.

So many rivers here not so much meander, rather plummet to the sea:omg:

---

I had always thought it was 90 miles from the sea so I found this here and I was wrong but we are both roughly right about the general principle

https://teara.govt.nz/en/natural-environment/page-2

"All roads lead to the coast. There is no location in New Zealand that is more than 130 km from the sea. It is a very long coastline: estimates range from 15,000 to 18,000 km. Precise measurement is impractical because of the countless twists and turns around inlets, headlands, spits, bays, harbours, fiords, sounds and estuaries. Although the North Island is smaller than the South Island, it has a longer coastline."

This is why I like threads like this as I never knew that about the coastline

If OP is still reading, I am used to seeing rafts that look more like this

Attachment 222115

Lest we forget the earliest documented trip down the Motu was some blokes on tractor tubes wearing rain coats. High tech indeed. A frame on a raft is not the best for NZ rivers. Rafting is a unique and exciting way to see the back country. Also avoid rafting in the pitch black darkness. Done that down the Rangitikei and Ngaruroro.Life is for living. Do it.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by TeRei

Lest we forget the earliest documented trip down the Motu was some blokes on tractor tubes wearing rain coats. High tech indeed. A frame on a raft is not the best for NZ rivers. Rafting is a unique and exciting way to see the back country. Also avoid rafting in the pitch black darkness. Done that down the Rangitikei and Ngaruroro.Life is for living. Do it.

---

ahhh the old Motu - done it several times - exciting nahhh bloody terrifying in places - but the thing I really remember is the last 5 km with the wind coming up the Motu and the river running really slow for the last 5 km it turned into a back aching paddle - but rapids with names like Bullivants cascade and the helicopter in upper end to be respected - incidentally Kahu Bullivant was one of the early ones down the river as TeRei says

Its a double edged sword re Enzed.Not only our topography as pointed out above, but our geology.So young just out of nappies.The gradients havnt had millenial eons to erode down to a lazy flat meandering course.Our jagged young rocks ideal for puncturing rafts without a protective rand havnt been smoothed ,then finally weathered away to silt/clay with the passage of millions of years.The steep grades result in the fines immediately washed away every fresh, continuily exposing more raw rock.You would be deluded to believe you wont hit a rock (and not bend an alloy frame) on any river in the Nelson region.The only place in Nelson you could use that craft for fishing/hunting on would be the Cobb reservour or Lake Rotoiti and only on a windless day.Happy rowing

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Barefoot

It's rare to see american style rafts and guide boat setups used here.
If you are moving here like I think you are planning too then it won't hurt to stick one in a container with the rest of your gear. Some one will buy it here if/when it doesn't suit.

---

Exactly what I'm thinkin!!

Thanks folks. Ok...I took offense to calling one of the top raft brands in the world a cheap piece of junk. It's not. Period. However a few things...
1. I'm not as dumb as some...more than most. BUT, I would plan on scouting/hiking rivers/drifts LONG before taking the family with me for an "easy trip"
2. Yeah, dammed good points about gradient and the years of water eroding rocks and the differences between our countries.
3. Hence my original post eluding to easy (for the family) and doable (for me and Stingray) within a few hours of Nelson or so??

Thanks again...I don't take offense to being called an idiot, I was asking if there were places that an idiot could plausibly take a raft down a river:thumbsup:

PS: Also, I'm kinda heartbroken about all this as I was pretty stoked about this idea :/

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Joe Schmo

Thanks folks. Ok...I took offense to calling one of the top raft brands in the world a cheap piece of junk. It's not. Period. However a few things...
1. I'm not as dumb as some...more than most. BUT, I would plan on scouting/hiking rivers/drifts LONG before taking the family with me for an "easy trip"
2. Yeah, dammed good points about gradient and the years of water eroding rocks and the differences between our countries.
3. Hence my original post eluding to easy (for the family) and doable (for me and Stingray) within a few hours of Nelson or so??

Thanks again...I don't take offense to being called an idiot, I was asking if there were places that an idiot could plausibly take a raft down a river:thumbsup:

PS: Also, I'm kinda heartbroken about all this as I was pretty stoked about this idea :/

---

As I said earlier It would be ok on the lower Mot and Appleby rivers.
I stopped in to a pullover on the Mot yesterday, midday and immediately spotted 2 separate trout feeding off the surface. Went for a closer look and promptly slipped in my sneakers fell on my arse and narrowly avoided having a swim!:D

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Joe Schmo

Thanks folks. Ok...I took offense to calling one of the top raft brands in the world a cheap piece of junk. It's not. Period. However a few things...
1. I'm not as dumb as some...more than most. BUT, I would plan on scouting/hiking rivers/drifts LONG before taking the family with me for an "easy trip"
2. Yeah, dammed good points about gradient and the years of water eroding rocks and the differences between our countries.
3. Hence my original post eluding to easy (for the family) and doable (for me and Stingray) within a few hours of Nelson or so??

Thanks again...I don't take offense to being called an idiot, I was asking if there were places that an idiot could plausibly take a raft down a river:thumbsup:

PS: Also, I'm kinda heartbroken about all this as I was pretty stoked about this idea :/

---

all okay mate - it was the seats that made it a no go for our rivers - way way to high a center of gravity - think low and mold to raft - become one with it - hang on - not sit up high on top enjoying ride from arm chair seat cause thats only going to last until first set of rapids and then life jackets and some swim swim ability and a bloody helmet

Try this party trick by Mike Horn down the Amazon. Amazing dude.

https://www.raftingrepublic.com/insi...speed/?lang=en

While many rivers would be pretty rough in the middle reaches the lower tidal sections of many rivers at least here in the lower south would be a lot easier to negotiate with that set up and also offer some fishing opportunities like softbaiting for sea run brown trout

In the Nelson area you might get down the Pelorus River if it had just the right amount of water in it . . .

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Tentman

In the Nelson area you might get down the Pelorus River if it had just the right amount of water in it . . .

---

Yeah from the St hwy bridge down to sea should be ok I would think.
But that's Marlborough area not Nelson.
Tho closer than lots of Nelson spots

hers an idea -when youi get out here popup on here with riovers youre interested in or are proposing to raft .theres always some bugger been there done that ,who'llgive you some valuable advice on the thing or if youre lucky you could end up in a kiwi jetboat on these rivers .tip -might pay to empty boweld/bladder firdst and some of our jetboaters could give top guns "maverick" a run for his money when theyre in action on difficult water.