Inflatable Kayak Blog

Some of the best videos of PakBoat folding kayaks in action have been posted online by a group of paddlers from Thailand. I fetaured one of the videos a few weeks ago that showed how to assemble a PakBoat Saco. This video shows three PakBoats (a Puffin Saranac, Puffin Saco and PakCanoe) traveling down one of Thailand’s most scenic rivers, the Mae Ngow river.

In an excerpt from the PakBoat Blog, one of the paddlers, Tatrawee, summarized the trip …

“Our Canoe trip started in the deep jungle of Northern Thailand. From a small village called Sobkhong, we paddled along Mae Ngow river (translate to river of reflection from its crystal clear water). There some rapids up to level 2-3 on the first day. We paddled for 3 days and camped along the river for 2 nights.”

“We had one PakCanoe 150T, 1 Puffin Saranac and 1 Puffin Saco carry 5 people, our gear and food. These boats performed extremely well both in rough water at the beginning and calm water toward the end of the journey. We are planning a few more trip in Thailand’s rivers with these boats very soon.”

The video features the music of Billy Joel and shows how well PakBoat folding kayaks perform. The scenery’s not bad either!

by Candace Clayton

Looking for a new destination for kayaking or canoeing? How about a trip down the Rio Grande?  Explore miles of canyons up to 1,500 feet deep, take clear detailed photographs with the cobalt sky as your backdrop, fish until your heart’s content, and explore the vast array of flora and fauna that call the canyons home.

For those who love to document their trips through photographs, you may see local people fishing, farming, and engaging in other traditional activities. These quiet stretches of the river offer breath taking views of the colorful buttes, mesas, and mountains in both the U.S. and in Mexico.

If solitude is what you crave, fewer people float the open water between the canyons, so you could go days without seeing another boater. Sounds echo throughout the magnificent canyons, amplifying the noise of rapids to make them seem much larger than they actually are. The constant hiss is caused by silt in the water brushing against the bottom of your boat. The geologic history of the canyon walls is laid bare by eons of carving by the river, making canyon trips perfect for family history lessons.

For the wildlife enthusiast, the canyon and river provide natural habitats. Canyon wrens call down from the high cliffs, and cliff swallows make their homes in mud nests. You may spy beavers crawling through the brush or sliding down the riverbank for a quick swim. Turtles, especially red-eared sliders, often sun themselves on rocks and logs just above the waterline.

Near the river lives an ancient example of geographic isolation—the Big Bend Mosquito Fish (Gambusia gaigei). Not only is this creature’s range restricted to the park, but it is also restricted to a single pond. First identified in 1928 in Boquillas spring, it was rediscovered in 1954 near Rio Grande Village. Conservationists and biologists have helped the species survive. The Big Bend Mosquito Fish gives birth to live offspring and has been around as a species since the time of the mastodons. They feed largely on mosquito larvae.

With many more interesting places to explore, the Rio Grande is must see destination for the traveling kayaker. Make sure to add it to your “bucket list”!

The author, Candace Clayton, lives in Granbury, Texas with her Husband and family, spending as much time in the outdoors as she can.

Editor’s Note: There are several launch sites along the river as listed on this Department of the Interior web site. Considering the recent political border turmoil, it would probably be best not to launch just anywhere, even though that’s possible with an inflatable or folding kayak. Speaking of ‘border issues’, you may also want to check out this journalists account of his kayaking trip on the Rio Grande.

Two Sea Eagle 380 Inflatable Kayaks are co-starring in an independent film (documentary) about a kayaking trip down America’s great river, the Mississippi. The movie is titled “The River is Life”. Ryan Jeanes and Phillip Hullquist were filmed as they paddled two inflatable Sea Eagle kayaks from Lake Itasca, Minnesota (the source of the Mississippi) to New Orleans, Louisiana. They stayed in people’s homes, camped along the riverbanks, and had to contend with wind-swollen lakes, barge traffic, and massive boat wakes.

The documentary is a fun-filled journey with lots of surprises and unique encounters with real people, some a bit on the unusual side. You’ll find a more detailed story here at 11Visions.com.

The movie is initially being presented in a 42 stop movie tour down the same route as they adventurers paddled. It began August 4th and will end in New Orleans on Halloween night. You can check out the schedule and see the movie trailer at TheRiverIsLife.com, where they are also offering a chance to win a Sea Eagle 380 Inflatable Kayak just like the ones they paddled on the trip.

Jeanes and Hullquist have filmed other documentaries through their production company, 11 Visions, including “The Hitchhiking Movie” where Ryan hitchhikes across the entire United States. Click here to visit 11 Visions.

It’s always great to hear from customers about their experiences with their inflatable kayaks. Recently, Chuck R. from Texas e-mailed me his inflatable kayak review and a video with these comments … “Just had the kayak out yesterday for the first time on the Guadalupe River in Gruene (“Green”) Texas. It performed beyond my expectations and we had a fantastic time with it. My 2 daughters and their friend occupied it for the most part with 3 adults in inner tubes alongside. During rapids, as in this video, I climbed aboard and guided them safely down the river. I love the kayak, and will probably reach for this one first over either of my 2 sit-on-tops. Great boat!”

Just click this link Sea Eagle 385 Fast Track on Guadalupe River in Texas and the video will open.

Enjoy the video and if you have any questions about the Sea Eagle Fast Track 385, feel free to give me a call at PortableKayaks.com.

by Thomas Alan Gray

As spring snowmelt and rainfall contribute to the watershed, many area streams suddenly become navigable and interesting.

The Sturgeon River in Alberta, which runs from north of Edmonton into the North Saskatchewan River, is a great example. Normally sluggish at best, and even dried out in late summer, during spring the river becomes a popular spot with local paddlers. (NOTE: Sturgeon River picture courtesy of AlbertaFirst.com)

“The most popular spring training run on the Sturgeon,” reports Mark Lund, author of Mark’s Guide for Edmonton Paddlers, “is the run between Bon Accord and Gibbons”. Specifically, the access is on the right bank on Range Road 240, south of Bon Accord, and the egress is at the Gibbons Bridge (12.2 km) or at other points downstream. It is possible to continue down to the North Saskatchewan River for a 36 km trip. Both the start and finish of these runs are within an hour’s drive of Edmonton.

The Sturgeon is generally considered to best between late April and early May each year, though Mark notes that “Local paddlers have also reported good paddling after some long and heavy rainstorms.”

The Sturgeon is Grade 1 to 1+ overall, with some Class 1 to 2 rapids during high water.  Novice paddlers with basic strokes and some knowledge of and skill with basic river maneuvers (eddie turns, ferries) will find it a good run.

Mark describes the river as having sections “very pretty with heavy growths of spruce along the banks, other sections wind through willow and oxbow flats where poplar, birch and rose bushes line the banks.”   Hazards include barbed wire fences, log jams, plugged culverts, and beaver dams. The latter, Mark says, can provide enough of a drop for a little surfing below the dam.

Mark’s Guide is now in its seventh edition and has expanded to include the entire province of Alberta. The guide is a great resource for picking out places to paddle whatever type of kayak you have, a hard shell, a folding kayak or an inflatable.

(About the Author: Thomas Alan Gray has done whitewater kayaking in Germany and both flatwater and whitewater canoeing in Canada. He was a certified recreational canoe instructor while serving as a leader with Scouts Canada. He’s camped in all four seasons for more years than he cares to admit.)