Water Strider Anchor System:

• 1 Heavy Duty Bucket holds 3 gallons
• 50 foot solid braid anchor Rope with HD Clip that hooks to the bucket
• 1 plastic HD clip to attach to the D-ring
• 1 Red and White Plastic Float
   

Item Name: Water Strider Anchor System
Shipping weight: 3 lb.
Price: $69.95

Larger image

Item Name: Rock Anchor
Shipping weight: 1 lb.
Price: $22.95

Rope cleat clips are sold in pairs.

Note: Anchor Rope Cleats are NOT designed to work with the Rock Anchor System described above.  Works with 3/8 inch rope only.

  

DINK'S TIPS:  Most Water Strider users have 4 piece 9 foot fly rods. When packing up for your trip just put the butt section of the rod into the oar handle and the other 3 pieces into the other oar handle and place them in the oar bag to keep your rod safe. For long trips your extra dry socks can act as a cushion or can be placed over the top of the oar handle to hold the sections in place. Dave

Our Expedition Waterproof Dry Bag Backpack is a true waterproof dry bag that will seal water out.  Roll the bag top three times to close, clip and tighten the straps and you are ready to go. The bag has padded back pack straps so you can hike in to your favorite river or lake. Compression straps on the sides compress the bag's contents. Constructed from 8 ounce PVC with welded seams and ribbed top closure.  Clips and straps are rust and rot proof.

Note: You can attach the oar bag to the outside of your Expedition Dry Bag.   When you're flying someplace you need to store the oars on the inside to prevent them from catching on conveyor belts at the airport.

The bag has approximately 6 cubic feet of capacity to carry your gear: waders, wading shoes, fishing vest, fins, tent, sleeping bag, food, you name it.

Our Expedition Dry Bag Backpack design makes an oval shape.  When you load your dry bag on the front of the kickboat two things happen:

• One - When placed on the front of the boat the oval design provides more visibility over the top.
• Two - Adding weight to the bow of your Water Strider allows you to float through white water rapids better. Extra weight on the bow holds the Water Strider's bow down better and actually makes the boat easier to maneuver in fast water.

weight=2 3/4 lbs., size=42" x 20"x 12" Holds approximately 6 cubic feet of gear.

Item Name: Expedition Waterproof Dry Bag
Shipping weight: 4 lbs.
Price: $135.00

March 2007

Hi, John & team,

Thought I would let you know about the Rangitikei trip I did recently. I flew in with Brian (Goodwin) to the Otama Stream on Saturday (3 March) with the plan to raft down the river back to where my Vitara was parked by the bridge on the Taihape – Napier road. I allowed myself four days for the trip but was happy if I needed another day. I hadn’t done that stretch before and flying up the valley with Brian many of the rapids sure looked lumpy with a lot of boulders showing because of the very low river level.

Fortunately as it happened, I had decided to take my Water Strider floatboat instead of my Incept W33S raft, which turned out to be the right decision because with the river so low I had to portage a few of the rapids and I would never have got the 33 down through the boulders, and being by myself I wouldn’t have been able to lift it over them.

Prior to this trip I have used the Strider floatboat a lot, fishing in the central lakes and rivers that feed them. It’s a great bit of equipment, so good in fact that I have never used my W33, actually its never even been in the water, just gathers dust in the shed!

I set up camp by the Otama then fished later on the Saturday getting a couple of decent size trout that were returned.

After packing up camp on Sunday I finally hit the river about 10.00am. The weather was beautiful, so hot my wet suit and life jacket got to be uncomfortable, with regular splashes of river water keeping me reasonably cool.

I must admit I was a bit surprised at the size of some of the rapids, the low water made them into very long rock strewn obstacles with the water rushing through the gaps changing the direction of the runs dramatically. The maneuverability of the Strider is wonderful and it wasn’t too difficult to line up the runs most every time. Not every time I have to admit, and I got it wrong quite a few times. In most cases if I got stuck on the rocks it was just a matter of sticking my legs down into the water and pushing off the rocks, then I was away again. 

As you know there are some really long rapids with fairly steep gradients and because of the low water level quite a few had too many boulders to let even the Strider get through and so I would drag it across the top and around the side of the rocks, it seems really hard on it but thankfully in most cases the fabric stayed wet so for all the bumping across stones, dragging over and ricocheting off boulders the boat never had a serious mark on the fabric at the end of the four days. I was really impressed - seriously impressed, because it took some big knocks.  I had taken the repair kit, but thankfully it wasn’t needed.

Considering I had all my camping gear, food, clothes, boots, fishing gear and rifle it had a hefty load on it, maybe that helped it in the bigger rapids, I’m not sure, it would be interesting to have done them empty to see if there was any difference in its performance. Irrespective it was brilliant and I can’t speak highly enough of its capability.

For the whole trip I ended up only flipping it twice, once with me in it, and once as I was lowering it down a nasty rapid. I had all my gear in two of your Incept 80 litre dry bags and nothing go wet at any time, even after being submerged on the two occasions, a great set up all round.

The weather stayed perfect for the four days and I got back to the road bridge about 3.00pm Tuesday so that worked out about 17 hours on the water to complete the trip. Working it out on my electronic map it looks to be about 36km and I must admit it was a bit tougher than I thought it would be, much of it I think was caused by the low river level. Nevertheless it was a great trip and that the Water Strider is brilliant.

Kind regards,

B. Grice

I designed Water Strider Kickboat Fins to operate the Water Strider raft while you are floating and fishing. They are light, strong and have several features that make them the best kickboat fins you can use.

Width 15"x 9" blades.

In case you need a replacement patch kit they're available here.

Item Name: 303 Protectant Spray - 16 oz.
Shipping weight: 2 lbs.
Price: $15.95

Note:  303 Protectant Spray makes the Water Strider raft material really slick.  Dave recommends NOT spraying your air ride seat or backrest.  We don't want you sliding out of your Water Strider!

Simply spray on and wipe off. Light rubbing might be necessary. The perfect system to clean your Water Strider before you use the 303 Protective Spray. A clean boat handles easier and floats faster.

A 303 colloid cleaner product is completely people-safe. With it, there are no effects from over exposure. There are no special storage requirements. 303 colloid cleaners are non-hazardous, non-flammable, non-toxic, non-explosive, non-fuming, non-caustic and 99% biodegradable.

303's colloid cleaners clean: Walls, wall coverings, tile, floors, sports equipment, doors, desks, counters, tables chairs, office equipment, railings, woodwork, bathroom walls, sinks, tubs, light fixtures, plastics, cars, trucks, boats, planes, degreases motors, bilge's, machinery, equipment, ovens, stovetops, hoods, filters, refrigerators, freezers, garage floors, fabrics, upholstery, carpets. It is a hand cleaner, it deodorizes and cleans pet stains from carpets and it is safe for anything water will not damage.

Item Name: 303 Boat Cleaner
Shipping weight: 2 lbs.
Price: $9.95

• Holds air under pressure even when stretched

• See-thru patch works with all colors

• Conforms to irregular surfaces

• Won't turn gummy in high heat

• UV resistance inhibits discoloring

• Cuts easily to any size with scissors

• Won't pull off when stretched

Great for raft repair, waders, tents, air mattresses, tarps, you name it!  Dave says" This is the best all around patch kit I have ever used."

Each TEAR-AID^® Repair Patch Kit contains one 3 inch x 12 inch patch (cuts with scissors to any size), one 7/8 inch x 7/8 inch patch, one 1 3/8 inch x 1 3/8 inch patch, 36 inches reinforcement filament and two alcohol prep pads.

Type A is for repairs on most fabrics:  Canvas, Rubber & Neoprene, Most Plastics, Nylon, Fiberglass, Stainless Steel, Aluminum, Polyethylene, Polypropylene, Polyurethane, Non-Oiled Leather, Sunbrella®.  Use Type A for raft repair.

Type B is for repairs on Vinyl and Vinyl-Coated
Materials only.

See the complete instructions here in Adobe Acrobat PDF.

Benefits:
Clear
Varied of thickness available
Ultra Violet resistant
Abrasive resistive
Flexible
No cure time
No messy liquid adhesive to dry up
Minimum surface prep
No shelf life
Excellent adhesive strength

Repairable Materials:
Urethane
Polyvinyl
Kevlar
Polyurethane
Polyethylene
Nylon
Hypalon
Fiberglass
Mylar

Kirch's Kwik Patch Emergency Repair Kit includes:

• 10"X3” patch material.
• 2 alcohol cleaning pads
• 1 plastic tool.
• 1 Instruction sheet
• Waterproof container for storage

Item Name: Kirch's Kwik Patch Repair Kit
Shipping Weight: 1 pound
Price: $8.95

Click here for Instructions for Patch-N-Go Repairs.