Sawyer was started by Ralph Sawyer, a champion canoe racer from Michigan. His first company was Sawyer Canoes, among the best. He eventually moved to the Northwest where he began making excellent canoe paddles. That has obviously evolved into manufacturing all sorts of paddles and oars.

Very very nice!!!! Looks very cool and comfy!

Your videos are fun; this one talked me right into buying another canoe. Maine is like that. Seriously, you're making some great videos; carry on.

Informative video! One thing I’d like to know is how heavy your setup is? Can you load and drag to the river by yourself? For instance at a spot with a bad launch or no launch at all. Thanks!

Awesome boat! Congrats ✌️

Nice Ride! I have the same oars and they are top notch!

I never thought about putting floors in my raft, what a great idea!

Hey Ben, Great video. Your anchor system is super slick. How did you hide the rope? Congrats on the new boat. Thanks for the tour!

Great boat! Tighten up that chicken line!

That's a really cool Fly Craft!

@HugeFlyFisherman

10 ай бұрын

Shut up!

Grab a beer? It’s 8:30 in the morning….well OK. Congratulations on the new ride. Super keen! I used non-skid HDPE on my seat decks on my old Lund. For flooring, it might be the ticket. 54”X96” at 1/2” is $500 ish, so expensive. But it will never wear out. Cheers!

Fantastic tips, my friend. I’m running a 13 foot NRS which has been a process of trial and error to put together. I’d suggest telling people to put a strap or a rope through three forward D rings to even out the stress on the boat when winching it back on to the trailer. I saw a guy recently rip the front ring off his craft with predictable results.

Ooh, like the 'glove box' idea. Thanks!

Nice boat !!!

Nice!!! I’m a drift boat guy. I’m not far from the biggest rivers in my state and only have a little more time paying for kids college and I’m smitten with the idea of putting in and going up river so I’m giving a serious look into a power drifter.

thanks for the floor idea, I will make one for the rear. I've the same cooler brand. ITs awesome, heavy especially when stocked lol but its perfect.

I also can appreciate a good oar. Oars were put on earth for us guys to use.

@fishfoolishness4222

10 ай бұрын

OK, that made me laugh. I guess we're both terrible people.

Really informative video ! Well Done Hugelings

Great Vid Ben! As someione whos just starting to do more boat stuff these vids are super helpful.

Those carbon oars are fancy! Jealous of the boat Ben.

I have a 16' Aire Lion Cataraft with a Down River Colorado 5 Bay frame. It's a dream to row and I've even taken it on a 30 day Grand Canyon trip.

RE: 14:15 You can add non-skid grit in your varnish.

@HugeFlyFisherman

6 ай бұрын

I thought about that but I want the bottom side of the floors to be smooth in case of rubbing, and I didn’t want to paint the top and bottom sides separately.

That brown NRS at Down River is a special order called the Hot Carl

How secure do you find you’re homemade floors being? Do they swing around at all by the straps, and would an older angler have anywhere near as easy a time standing on them as they would standing on the floor of a drifter?

Thanks for showing us your new boat. By the way, I just listened to one of Tom Rosenbauer’s podcasts where you were featured in it- great stuff. Questions: how tight do your wooden floors fit into the boat? Do you not worry about friction points or splinters?

@HugeFlyFisherman

9 ай бұрын

Mine are fitted tight. The edges are smooth enough that I don’t worry about it.

@williammitchell8612

8 ай бұрын

An idea for floor edging is that foam pipe insulation. It's light, cheap, and has an open edge to just push right on there. I use it for lot's of stuff, even ladders to keep them from slipping on hard surfaces. Hope this helps.

Nice, some really good ideas .I especially like the lean bars with no horns. Rod storage is always a challenge on rafts especially if you have kids or dogs but even clients can step on them . I used to live in Coal Creek Canyon so when ever I needed raft stuff Down River were the people you went to see . If I needed something like a dog platform they would make it , great people to work with . I had a raft and sold it but still have to Northfork outdoors pontoon boats which I use on especially skinny water . Also have a Clakacraft Eddy that’s my go to boat . There is no doubt rafts have there place and the one your running 13’ is perfect for three people and gear and very maneuverable . Stay Hugh and watch out for rocks .

Any info on where you got your winch rope? How long of a dyneema rope and what thickness?

Another great reason to suspend the floors...If you run over top of a shallow rock with weight on the floor, there's a higher likelihood of a puncture. When the floor is free-floating, there's more give to allow the boat to ride over the top. Yes, I'm speaking from experience...fat dog on the rear floor and a rock pinched the raft floor against the wood floor.

@HugeFlyFisherman Do you instal the foot anchor release yourself or is that an custom option from DRE? What brand is that? Thanks

Funny, I didn't hear you mention the auxiliary fried chicken storage compartment.

@BN-lm4fz

10 ай бұрын

Yes, that's what it's missing. And I expected to see some cup holders. 😂

I need that

Nice boat Ben! Congratulations

Pros of building your own floor vs using a boat with drop stitch floors?

Does the frame company make pre built floors?

Very nice ..good info.

I stay mini-huge in a 12' kayak😊

Perfect timing, I just put a down payment on a new raft and am brand new to it all so I'm pumped on this video, so muchos gracias senior Ben 🙏

My friend used plastic gutters for rod storage. works great!

@donotrobme9295

10 ай бұрын

Is it possible to send a pic of that. I’m very interested. My drift boat has no rod storage and the pvc conduit didn’t work

@MikeMouradian

10 ай бұрын

@@donotrobme9295 I dont have a picture but its just a plastic k gutter straped to each side of the frame. Cheap but works. Its open all the way.

@donotrobme9295

10 ай бұрын

@@MikeMouradian ok. Great. Thx!!!

@donotrobme9295

10 ай бұрын

@@MikeMouradian do u have a raft or drift boat

Question: what’s the advantage of a wood floor over a drop-stitch- it adds considerable weight

@HugeFlyFisherman

10 ай бұрын

Did you watch the video? I explained it.

Ben Beautiful boat and looks like you really put some serious thought into that purchase. I not really familiar with rafts. How much does the boat weigh?Approximately

Been rocking a 16’ fish rite since 1992, but as the years go by I think I’d love to switch it up. This is a really really nice boat, I’m impressed 👍😉🏆

Ask the company that made your cooler topper to make some for your wooden floors.

five gallon bucket work great for keeping the anchor line out of the way.

Love it😉

Nothing better than a dirty oar.

Does the wood floor touch or wedge again side of raft? This ok?

@HugeFlyFisherman

8 ай бұрын

A little touch is ok. Rubbing is not good.

Hey man, what brand fishing vest is that. Do you like it?

@HugeFlyFisherman

10 ай бұрын

Stohlquist. Yes.

The treated plywood may be lowere quality, hole pockets in the layers.

Nice raft. Have you considered Marine grade plywood? Cypress?

Never fly fished from a raft but, I always felt like getting a good drift with a fly would be difficult on faster moving rivers like the Rio grande and Arkansas. 20+ years ago I finished the Rio grande with my grandpa on a raft and we used an anchor to slow down but there are so many rocks, we had to cut the anchor because it got stuck. Lure fishing from a raft seems easier, but I hate tearing up their soft mouths with a treble hook 😢. Is the solution to just fly fish wider and calmer waters?

@chrismottola7415

10 ай бұрын

boats are tiny fly fishermen. he is no longer huge.

$$BLING$$ No spinning rims?

Nice boat. The only pulley that provides a mechanical advantage is the one attached to the anchor, the rest of them just eliminate friction and redirect the tight lines.

@HugeFlyFisherman

10 ай бұрын

Thank you Dr. Scientist.

@fireguy7004

4 ай бұрын

Yup you're right.

Should check out epiphanes boat varnish, they have a low slip spar varnish. It works awesome

Chuck a bunch of sand in the spar varnish. I do it for my enclosed box trailer ramps and deck steps. It’s like a tennis court

I'm going to "stay small" and buy bonds instead of a raft after viewing this video.

Why not just stick foam between the plywood and raft bottom? Seams easier and will give you more flotation that won't pop

@HugeFlyFisherman

10 ай бұрын

You might want to watch the video again.

I love the personalization of your new raft - built and engineered for ripping some lips! FISH-ON!!

What is the weight of the tornado?

@HugeFlyFisherman

10 ай бұрын

35

How to Christen a new raft. Find a train pull your pants down. Now wave to the nice folks traveling today. Proceed to fish.

Needs a foghorn.

Nice set up. I was apprehensive about an inflatable at first but have now had guided trips in a "raft" a couple of times and enjoyed it. I also appreciate what you mean about bouncing off rocks and boulders. Much better in an inflatable. One thing I wish you'd mention they use and importance of a Personal Inflatable Device. PFD's are mandatory in a lot of rivers and rightfully so, especially for kids and old men (like me) but really for anyone. I can't remember any clips where you've been wearing one. Explain please.

@davidstineman5572

10 ай бұрын

If you go back to the video where they floated, the Black Canyon, you’ll see that Ben was wearing a PFD and that he was adamant that people wear them

@Jerflyfisher

10 ай бұрын

Yeah he's definitely been clear about PFDs being important.

@HugeFlyFisherman

10 ай бұрын

Yeah that’s not Black Canyon.

@davidstineman5572

10 ай бұрын

@@HugeFlyFisherman OK. We’ll just call it the dark Canyon.

@HugeFlyFisherman

10 ай бұрын

Call it whatever you want but it’s not Black Canyon.

Hey Ben, could you please tell me how long and wide your trailer deck has to be for the new raft? 🙏 I just started making payments on one and I'm pumped. I know it's a 13ft long raft and the guy who's kindly making me the frame thinks my little trailer will be fine but I don't think it will be and feel like I need to make a frame before pick up day comes.... But saving the money and work would be nice too

Is that bulky vest because there isn't anywhere handy to store fly boxes, pliers, Ketchum releases, fly floatant, tippet, extra leaders, weights, bobbers or anything else that will go flying off the boat when you hit a rock because you are rowing an unwieldy bag of gas? I'll take my 16 ft. Lavro any day and row circles around you. And if you really need to put your thumbs on the end of the oar grip buy Cataracts, they put a little butt crack on the end of their's for you guys that like that feel.

@HugeFlyFisherman

9 ай бұрын

At first I thought you were being serious, but then you started bragging about your Lavro so I knew it was sarcasm. Good one. Went right over my head.

@stephensmith5856

9 ай бұрын

@@HugeFlyFisherman yeah, I've never popped the Lavro. We all love our boats.

Bear feet..?

Why don't you just use plastic pipe for ror tube

@HugeFlyFisherman

10 ай бұрын

Because I don’t like them.

U forgot to mention that u r on the Mississippi River. It was obvious from the cliff jumping at the end. Just wanted the viewers to know where to fish😊

Huge commercial

@HugeFlyFisherman

10 ай бұрын

Just as I said it would be at the beginning of the video. Congrats on your comprehension skills and thanks for watching.

Rod dog by Montana Raft frames has been great for us with rod storage. You can take the front tubes to an aluminum bender to have them shaped to your raft if they aren't perfect. We have 2 facing opposite directions for front and back seat storage.