Raft Comfort in Whitewater Rafting

Video Transcript

"You want to think a little bit about outfitting your raft so that’s it comfortable. When you’re out there rafting you tend to be on the water for two to five hours or more, so having a nice sitting position. A lot of the raft guides will sit off the back of the boat so they can see downstream and they can see all the features. The crew tends to sit on the side, on the outside perimeter tubes here so you want to be able to see down the middle. If you’re a little shorter and you need to tuck your foot under the floor then you sit off to the side so that you can still keep yourself braced in the boat and then you turn the boat slowly off to one angle so you can still see downstream. If you’re doing bigger whitewater, you can also consider foot cups, the foot cup is attached to the floor of the raft and you can just tuck a toe in there and that enables you to get a good purchase in the boat so that when you’re paddling you tend to fall out less backwards or toward the side because you have a nice place to brace right here. You can also have a strap that goes across the floor of the raft or a guide save, which essentially does the same thing. You can tuck your foot under that guide saver and that helps keep you in the boat. If you have long legs, then you can just tuck your foot under the floor and that enables you to stay braced within the boat. The thwarts move ever so slightly, about four to six inches, bow or stern, so you can set up your raft so that it’s comfortable for you and so that you’re able to keep yourself in the boat going through the rapids. "