In this videos, Max talks about perimeter lines on packrafts. Also, I forgot to mention that a thicker rope is easier to grab and hold on to. If you have comments or suggestions about perimeter lines, leave a comment so we can all learn !
One scenario where you definitely don't want any lines on the sides of the boat is during wet reentry. Keep all lines to an absolute minimum. If you have a bow bag, you don't need a bow line. Good talk!
Hi Max, good to see you again and awesome video. Agree with all you say. But maybe as a small add on to your comments: On my own boats I also make a not at the intermediate tie down points (assuming there are more than two, like on the front of your boat). In this way the rope will have will have a shorter length between knots, which results in less play and thus less entrapment risk.
Hi Remi !Great to hear from you ! And Thank you for your constructive comment. Yes, you are correct, if they are more knots, the line might be tighter since, the "extra length" will stop at the following knot. However with one knot on each end only, If I get entrapped I can cut the rope anywhere and it will come loose. Also, less knots means less bulk when you fold your boat. I am using 8.2 mm line so it gets bulky very quickly...
I have more like universal touring packraft (MRS Adventure X2) with no internal storage system (thought it will be more reliable and simple) and I have just two ropes on bow (both going from left side to right side) and they are little bit loose. I use them to fit backpack on bow (using one luggage strap) when using boat as two-person packraft (canoe style) on easy rivers. When I use it as solo packraft (kayak style) I put my backpack in front of me into the boat. I sometimes run some small creecks which are not really white water, it has like max. class 2 sections, but they can be full of fallen trees so I did not fit any rope on stern. I thought I do not need rope there and it just adds danger of being stuck somewhere.
Hi Max, nice and helpfull first Video. I've to check my perimeter lines asap. looking forward to see more tutorial videos from you. (It's a good Idea to use a small microphone like yours, so you barrly can't hear the river noise in the background). Cheers Tom
That backband is the biggest hazard on your boat, kokopelli should be ashamed of designing something so completely unsafe that serves no purpose beyond being to cheap to put on a d-ring in the correct place.
I agree. The straps at the back of the backband are a bit long and represent an entrpment hazard. It could be improved. It is not a worse entrapment hasard than thigh straps on any packraft though. The risk is there, we must aknowledge it and do our best to mitigate it. That's the reason why Alpacka did not want to install thigh straps some years ago. "kokopelli should be ashamed " is a statement way to strong though. I really enjoyed this boat and did not feel less safe than in any other boat I have used.
