Small CataraftA cataraft is stable, lightweight, easy to control, easy to haul, and bails water almost instantly. This makes it great for many whitewater uses. Their design is simple. There is no floor. You have a long inflatable tube on each side. The tubes are connected at two or three points. These connections also serve as a seat. "Cats" come in a variety of sizes. "Cats" don't have a built in place for gear, but you can use D rings and carry lots of gear. Check out some of the photos on Jack's Plastic Welding's site. They give you an idea of how much gear you can carry. Two catarafts I'll tell you about are small enough to be grouped with inflatable kayaks. Custom Inflatables and Jack's Plastic Welding both make great small "cats." Cats are popular with fishermen. The boats allow the fishermen to fish in moving current from a stable platform and without concerns about swamping the boat. ThrillcatsThrillcats are great. They are lightweight, tough and stable. We use them in our rafting operation. The one person Thrillcats are great for kids age 10 and up on introductory whitewater.You can see them a tseeker.com
Pack Cat, Jack's Plastic WeldingJack's "Pack Cat" is the smallest boat he makes. It's light enough and can be packed up small enough to pack it into the backcountry. And, it's tough enough to handle the backcountry. The link to the Pack Cat website is at the end of this page.Some Final ThoughtsCatarafts are a great way to run whitewater with an added measure of confidence. No floor means nearly instant self-bailing. They are also one of the most stable boats on the river. Small "cats" are great for fishing and for running introductory whitewater with inexperienced paddlers.
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