- All of the Water Strider's metal parts are made of stainless steel including all 12 D-rings, oar lock screws and the springs in the air valves.
- Oar Shafts are made of high-grade aluminum for lightness and completely anodized for corrosion prevention.
- Oars and the Oar Locks are designed to handle rough use and Class III rivers with ease. An experienced white water rafter can handle more difficult water depending on his or her ability.
- The two-inch wide Foot Strap is made out of seat belt material and is designed to hold your feet up out of the water when rowing. It's strong enough to sit on when floating and you want to have a lower profile to stay out of view of rising fish that are up close by.
- The coated mesh Stripping Apron with integral two-inch lip is primarily designed to keep fly line from dropping in to the water around your legs. When not in use it is easily rolled up to the side and is locked onto the raft by the oar shaft and the cord that holds the oar nut in place. The stripping apron also has four large Velcro tabs on each corner to hold it in place while fishing or eating lunch. It is designed to break away instantly when you have to stand up quickly.
- The 3 piece oars comes packed in a nylon bag large enough to carry a 3rd oar for extended trips.
The Water Strider Heavy Duty Waterproof Dry Bag Backpack (one included with every new boat) is actually a waterproof PVC dry bag that is large enough to carry the Water Strider kickboat and all of your gear. The backpack has padded straps for easy carrying and compression straps to help compact the internal load when carrying on your back. The bag attaches to the back of the Kickboat with clips when floating and thereby does double duty in carrying your other gear, lunch and any other gear you want to bring along. The dry bag pack is large enough to hold a four-piece rod tube large enough for two or more rods.
NOTE: An extra day bag is available as an accessory for multi-day expedition floats. It can be attached to the front of the Water Strider raft to carry food, your tent, sleeping bag and anything else you need for an extended float camping trip! Load Capacity - The Water Strider raft has approximately 17 cubic feet of flotation. This puts it in a class by itself. Most pontoon type rafts have very little actual floatation. Safety is our first concern and function is our second most important consideration. The submerged buoyancy of a Water Strider raft is more than 1000 pounds but that is just at water level and with that much weight on it would be submerged. We recommend that the maximum load is 515 pounds. This much weight would have you float at the 50% level or at the strake on the side. This is called submerged buoyancy factor. You see that you can easily carry a person and all the gear you would want to have with you. We often go on world wide trips and carry everything needed for an extended expedition length trips of more than 30 days and be in total comfort. The Water Strider is the most compact oar and fin driven portable one man or one woman raft there is. The high tech design allows river and lake floating safely. It is easy to carry and has virtually no installation except to add air and put the oars in place. Water Strider raft needs no frame and is rock solid when properly inflated. It takes about 3 to 5 minutes to have it ready for floating. You can also repack it into the dry bag just as easily in 3 to 5 minutes. The compact design allows you to take the Water Strider raft every place you go. You can check it as baggage on any airline without problem. You can put it in a jet boat and be transported up a remote river or float out to a pick up point. Float planes can carry you and all your gear into the wilderness to the drop zone and then pick you up at the bottom. Horse packers can carry you and your Water Strider raft into the back country for great wilderness lake fishing trips. You can even ride a bicycle to a river and float with your bike lashed onto the back. When you're done floating you can ride back to your put-in on your bike by carrying your Water Strider raft on your back in the backpack dry bag "This is the only kick boat that fills all the needs of the fly fisherman whether lakes or rivers, I've tried them all and the Water Strider raft is the only craft on the market worth my money and time. So lightweight you can take it anywhere in the world, with a set up time of just a few minutes." - Dennis Black |
The Water Strider raft will easily fit into the trunk of a small economy car. We travel world wide floating great rivers at very little expense. Air fare and a food is all you need and you can stay as long as you want. When you arrive home the complete Dry Bag Backpack will just hang in the garage or fit in a closet out of the way. Young people and women can handle the Water Strider raft with ease after just a few minutes of training. My wife and I enjoy floating and cooking dinner on the river in the lovely summer evenings on the Montana rivers around our home. The inflatable self-bailing floor and Air Ride inflatable seat and inflatable Back Rest are incredibly comfortable and fully adjustable to fit anyone. The back rest is adjustable for any leg length to fit the foot strap distance with comfort. The front section of the raft is open to the water and allows you to let your legs hang in the water and steer with your feet when you have Kickboat Fins on. When the water gets shallow (less than knee deep) just put your feet up on the foot strap and row into shore. Once there you can then just stand up and lift the Water Strider raft up and walk ashore with virtually no effort. The two heavy duty handles allow you to lift the Water Strider raft with you when you want to stand up and walk out of the water. With no floor in the raft the hydraulics that are caused when a regular raft or boat fill with water and is pulled under is eliminated. The Water Strider raft design prevents this from happening. |