How to Maintain a River Raft

With proper care, a river raft should last for many years. Follow these procedures to lengthen the life of a raft and reduce the number of repairs needed.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• River Raft First Aid Kits
• Life Vests
• River Raft Oars
• River Raft Paddles
• River Raft Repair Kits
• River Rafts

1. Pad the frame area. Abrasion of the frame on the raft is the most common area of wear. A little foam padding glued to the frame can dramatically reduce this wear.

2. Avoid dragging or standing on a deflated raft.

3. Never overinflate a buoyancy chamber on your raft. Test the air pressure. It should be around 2 lbs. PSI.

4. Wash off the entire raft with buckets of water before deflating it at the end of a trip. Use only mild soap to wash dirt from the raft. Harsh detergent is corrosive to the raft material.

5. Remove any small rocks or twigs from the raft before deflating.

6. Air raft out and dry completely before storing it away after a trip.

7. Leave air pressure valves open and roll the raft loosely when storing it to prevent rot. A light sprinkling of talcum powder sometimes helps, too.

8. Store your raft in a cool, dry place free of rodents.

Tips & Warnings

• Check all gear before any rafting trip. Do not start a trip with faulty gear.
• Always recheck your first-aid kit and survival kit before each trip.
• River rafting is an inherently dangerous activity that can result in serious injury or death. We recommend that you seek proper training and equipment before attempting this activity.

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on 8/30/2006 You should always have a UV protectant on your raft to prevent the sun's rays from breaking down the material on your raft. When season is done, make sure you have all sand out from around the tubes. Sand is a major contributor to raft leaks. Also, make sure all sand has been rinsed out of the valves when you deflate. Try to use a deflator instead of just letting the air come out on it's own. You will have some water in the tubes, this is natural, but needs to be removed so it will not freeze in the winter months and crack your tubes. Make sure to apply a good coating of UV dressing, then roll or lay flat for storage. I personally prefer to leave the raft flat as rolling creates creases that are hard to inflate in the spring. Make sure that you store it where no rodents can get to it. A rodent is a rafts #2 enemy. #1 would be anything sharp!