Tips and Technique

Alpacka rafts are whitewater-capable boats, designed to handle whatever conditions one might reasonably encounter on a remote backcountry river - including rapids.  Although expert packrafters have negotiated Class V creeks, the majority of "whitewater packrafters" run Class III "fun water."

The Top 5 Tips for Whitewater

1. Learn to Read the River.  "Reading the river" and understanding whitewater dynamics is an important skill.  Training and paddling with experienced boaters is the best way to learn this.

2. Practice Swimming and the Self-Rescue.  The self rescue is the art, when flipped, of righting your boat and climbing back into it, mid-stream.  It's the "packraft roll."  See a video of it here.

3. Paddle with Experienced Boaters.  Packrafting on calm water is intuitive and straightforward.  For whitewater, however, it's best to seek either classes or learn by paddling with other experienced whitewater boaters. 

4. Wear a PFD.  A personal flotation device can be a life-saver.

5. Don't Get in Over Your Head.  As tough our boats are, they can puncture - so don't paddle it if you can't swim it out.  For that matter, don't let anyone push you into running something you're not comfortable with.  It's not a competition :-)

 Roman Dial has fun on Hazel Creek, North Carolina

Whitewater can be a lot of fun, but it's also potentially quite dangerous.  The packraft gives you tremendous access to places which were once very difficult to boat, but doesn't itself convey the skills necessary for high-stakes water.  Fortunately, the paddling community as a whole has accumulated a wealth of knowledge about whitewater of the years.  Don't be shy about talking to big rafters, kayakers, and other river runners, not just packrafters.  In fact "hybrid trips" on whitewater with packrafts, kayaks, and IKs can be a lot of fun for the right mix of paddlers.

Packraft-Specific Whitewater Info

Some of the basic whitewater techniques include ferrying, catching eddies, running waves & drops, and swimming a rapid, as well as understanding hazards like foot entrapment and strainers.  These are some skills you can expect to learn in paddling classes or with experienced boaters.  What we'll highlight here is some packraft specific characteristics and techniques.

Body Position: Leaning Forward

• Lean Forward into Waves & Landing Drops.   For normal paddling, you can sit with your spine in a comfortable neutral or slightly-forward position.  When hitting waves or going over drops, lean forward into the obstacle.  This prevents you from doing a back flip over the stern - a maneuver colorfuly named "the Bandersnatch."
• Alpacka rafts are highly buoyant, and "float" over hydraulics and eddy lines. Unless heavily loaded, Alpacka rafts have low draft and high buoyancy. Combined with their smooth, slick bottom, this means the water doesn't have much "pull" on them. Often, our users find sharp eddy lines, whirlpools, and recirculating hydraulic holes are easier to negotiate than in a kayak. In essence, you skim over these treacherous features instead of fighting through them. Practice this in a controlled environment, before taking it into dangerous water.
• Alpacka rafts accelerate and turn quickly. Although your Alpacka is slower at maximum speed than a kayak, it can turn and accelerate much faster. Especially in confined waters, you've find it exceedingly maneuverable.
• Alpacka rafts are fast-in / fast-out, easy-portage boats. Alpacka rafts are highly versatile. Our boats are designed so that you can bail inand out quickly, even in small eddies, and portage easily around sections you don't want to boat. In fact, you can literally toss your boat over obstacles. Rapid entry and exit to shore in swift rivers is a trained skill. Like any other skill, it must be practiced in safe conditions if you want to perform it flawlessly in a time of need.
• Alpacka rafts can be re-entered mid-stream, even in swift water. This is the Alpacka "Self Rescue"  It's both practical and fun: if you get dumped out of your raft in mid-stream, just flip the boat right-side up and enter over the side. The most challenging part is keeping track of your paddle. Re-entry is easy with practice. Diving out of your tiny raft into a river may be unnerving the first time you do it, but then you realize it's fun! In extreme conditions, such as Class V drop-filled creeks, some boaters actually prefer open (non-spraydecked) boats, since they are so fast to exit, hand-flip, and re-enter.
• Alpacka spray decks are "spray decks," not immersion decks. Our decks are designed to keep the paddler warmer and drier, not to keep the river completely out. You will ship water through your spray deck, just much less than you otherwise would. Periodically beaching to dump water is currently a part whitewater packrafting.
• Open boats ship water like canoes. Packrafting in whitewater without a spray deck is a lot like using an open canoe.
• You can also see technique commentary in the captions of our Tricks & Techniques Gallery.
  

In Contrast to Kayaks...

On the edge of the world.

Kayaks are the predominant hard whitewater vehicle today... which makes sense; they're admirably designed for it.  We've written the Whitewater FAQ for experienced whitewater paddlers, particularly kayakers, looking to learn a little more about packrafting.

A key thing to remember is that kayaking skill does not carry over 100% to packrafts. The nature of a kayak is fundamentally different from that of a packraft. Kayaks are wonderful, high-performance specialized vehicles. Alpackas are mobile, general-purpose vehicles with comparatively high buoyancy.  The packraft is a different animal.

Advanced Whitewater

The Whitewater FAQ is our best website article for Advanced Whitewater running information.