Packraft
A Packraft (from the American) is a light but stable inflatable boat , which, thanks to its low weight and pack size, can also be carried when hiking, cycling or in public transport. Synonyms are the terms trailboat, backpack boat, pocket boat or ultralight inflatable boat . Packrafts are typically driven as a single with a double paddle .
classification
Strictly speaking, the categorization as a raft is technically incorrect. A raft , that raft , differs from the boat by the missing body and receives its buoyancy after the Archimedes principle not by the displacement of the open-topped hollow form, but by the buoyancy material itself. It typically has a flat bottom. Although basically unsinkable, packrafts are only built as self- bailers in exceptional cases , the displacement and buoyancy typically also take place through the closed shape.
The categorization as a raft is also the application side misleading because especially in German-speaking countries, the raft with river rafting therefore rather heavy and white water is associated in multi-person use. Packrafts are not pure white water canoes , but travel boats which are used on rivers, fjords, bays and mountain lakes. Provided with a splash guard , they can also be used to a certain extent on heavier white water ( IV + ), but not in multi-person use.
Packrafts differ from bathing boats or PVC boats by being more durable due to the more resistant material and from considerably heavier inflatable canoes due to their low weight at around 3 kg.
construction
Modern Packrafts made of urethane -coated nylon , which is very abrasion-resistant due to a special surface treatment. A packraft commonly used today consists of an outer, all-round hose in a single-chamber design and a loose (non-inflatable) floor pan. Further design features are an optional (removable) spray cover and the inflatable seat, the inflatable backrest and, if necessary, a floor mat and a luggage zipper (ISS). When inflating, the boat receives its basic volume through the use of an inflatable bag made of lightweight nylon. The final internal pressure is achieved by inflating with the mouth.
history
The development of packrafts goes back with the history of the inflatable boat to the year 1844 (Halkett Boot). The commercial foundation stone was laid in 1913 by the Berlin-based Hermann Meyer, who had "a double-sided, inflatable watercraft" protected by patent. Even if this did not yet meet today's portability criteria, it was a portable watercraft. The further development to compact forms ultimately led to use in civil aviation (lifeboat) and military use (survival boat). The first use of such devices in the hobby and leisure area is difficult to determine. Use after the Second World War in North America and Australia is guaranteed. The first documented use is Dick Griffith's trip in Copper Canyon in Mexico in 1952, from which the packrafting idea developed, but only spread in the 1980s with the first products from the leisure sector by Sherpa and Curtis Design. These were the first to produce boats from urethane-coated nylon, but they were advertised for hunters and anglers. Nevertheless, they have been used regularly at the Wilderness Classic race in Alaska since 1982. The 1990s brought extensive tours in the American north, also in combination with mountain bikes .
At the same time, amazingly similar designs of modern packrafts (type designation B73) can be found in production in the GDR in the 1980s. Pack size and weight as well as the current operational capability speak for equivalent portability and robustness.
The increased use as water sports equipment took place after the year 2000 through the appearance of new materials, processing and constructions (spraydeck and fit). The last few years in particular have seen a change in the understanding of these boats.
Possible uses
Packrafts are originally wilderness boats for trekking in mixed terrain. The gradation of the proportion of use on the water is fluid. It can serve as a pure backup or just to cross bodies of water, it can have a balanced proportion (classic packrafting) or make up the majority (ascent to the entrance) or can be used as a pure white water canoe .
With the lack of real wilderness areas, from this point of view there should be no application in (Central) Europe. With a good range of local and long-distance public transport, however, packrafts open up the possibility of a true mix of different transports. Portability, versatility and reliability are characteristic of the application. The combination of hiking or trekking and navigation is the classic area of application.
Variations
- Bikerafting (packrafts and bicycles)
- Ski paddling (packrafts and cross-country skiing)
- Boat tobogganing (as a sledge or pulka )
- Rollerboating (roller skate and boat)
- Transport when fishing and hunting
- as access to inaccessible climbing rocks
- for backpackers by bus, train and plane
equipment
The boat equipment includes a paddle that can be divided and adjusted in length and angle. Depending on the application, there are also helmets, life jackets, safety items such as a throw bag and cold protection clothing.
See also
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ On foot to paddle. Kanu Magazin, accessed September 5, 2019 .
- ↑ Schellin, Sven: Fat, but underweight. New trend sport packrafting? Ed .: KANUmagazin. 03/2010 edition.
- ↑ a b c Hennemann, Michael: Packrafts, canoes for the backpack . Ed .: kajak magazine. 02/2017 edition. S. 46-51 .
- ↑ Packrafting comparison table. Retrieved September 5, 2018 .
- ↑ a b History of packrafting. Retrieved September 5, 2018 .
- ↑ Dial, Roman: Packrafting! An Introduction and How-to Guide. Beartooth Mountain Press . Ed .: Bozeman, MT. 2008.
- ↑ Packrafting test in Styria. Leisure Heroes, accessed September 5, 2018 .
- ↑ a b Out! Magazine: Packrafting. Retrieved September 5, 2018 .
- ↑ Steffl, ahoy! With Packraft to downtown Vienna. Leisure Heroes, accessed September 5, 2018 .
- ↑ Packrafting Trips. Retrieved September 5, 2018 .
- ↑ Packrafting - water sports out of your handbag. Pulstreiber Magazin, accessed on September 5, 2018 .
- ↑ Steve Graepel: Gear Junkie Packraft Test. Gear Junkie, accessed September 5, 2018 .