single person raft ??'s

clarkman · May 21, 2023

I'm currently in the "tossing around ideas" stage here. Most who read this kinda already know what type of fishing I do from such a craft but here's what I'm after....

basically, I've been fishing out of mu super old school Outcast Commander. I've gotta either replace or upgrade. This boat is 10+ years old and it's time to move on. Most of my fishing is in stillwaters for tiger muskies, but I like some versatility for light river use (part of why I bought the Commander in the first place. In looking at replacement, I've decided that I HAVE to have an open floor so that I can fish out of it like a float tube with fins (incredibly important for the tiger musky fishing I do).

Boats I'm looking at:

Another Commander (if it ain't broke....)
Catchercraft Freestone (seems like it'd give me far more versatility---but, having never seen one in the flesh....

)
Maxxon XPW-239 (seems like a watermaster knockoff)
Watermaster

lmk if there are any others I should be looking at. or any of the above I should not be looking into....

Dennisoft · May 21, 2023

clarkman said:
I'm currently in the "tossing around ideas" stage here. Most who read this kinda already know what type of fishing I do from such a craft but here's what I'm after....

basically, I've been fishing out of mu super old school Outcast Commander. I've gotta either replace or upgrade. This boat is 10+ years old and it's time to move on. Most of my fishing is in stillwaters for tiger muskies, but I like some versatility for light river use (part of why I bought the Commander in the first place. In looking at replacement, I've decided that I HAVE to have an open floor so that I can fish out of it like a float tube with fins (incredibly important for the tiger musky fishing I do).

Boats I'm looking at:

Another Commander (if it ain't broke....)
Catchercraft Freestone (seems like it'd give me far more versatility---but, having never seen one in the flesh....)
Maxxon XPW-239 (seems like a watermaster knockoff)
Watermaster

lmk if there are any others I should be looking at. or any of the above I should not be looking into....

The frameless pontoon style boats from OSG are worth a look IMO.

What features are you looking for in your next boat, beyond the open floor?

clarkman · May 21, 2023

Dennisoft said:
The frameless pontoon style boats from OSG are worth a look IMO.

What features are you looking for in your next boat, beyond the open floor?

Packability. It's gotta break down enough where I can cram it into the back of my little Prius. Honestly, I'm leaning towards the Commander since that's what I've used for the last 10 years, but may want something even more versatile which is why I threw the Catchercraft up.

Fourbtgait · May 22, 2023

Outcast Clearwater works good for me. Open floor, weighs 35 pounds

Matt B · May 22, 2023

Just curious, is your current commander just beat down, worn out, leaking, or what?

clarkman · May 22, 2023

Matt B said:
Just curious, is your current commander just beat down, worn out, leaking, or what?

yes and yes. I've had it for well over 10 years (probably closer to 15), it has a very slow leak that I know exactly where it is and still can't fix it. Not a huge issue since I always carry a mini K-pump with me but all the little things add up. I've definitely gotten my money's worth with it.

Hobbyranch · May 22, 2023

I really love my Watermaster..

jact55 · May 22, 2023

Depending on how far you live away, I know Dave from catchercraft has met people and let them look at or try his offerings.
Not sure if it's worth your time, but you can ask.

I don't have any other input on these.

mcswny · May 22, 2023

clarkman said:
and still can't fix it

skyriver · May 22, 2023

I've thought about when my Commander is finally done. I'll probably try a Water Master Kodiak. I like the idea of keeping the bottomless boat, but with bigger onboard storage than the Commander. I do like the Commander a lot. It's faster than the Water Masters by a long shot which I think is really only important in lakes, but then again, my buddy had to row mine downstream on the John Day for MILES. The Water Master would have been brutal in that situation. Rare situation? Probably, but something to consider.

The Kodiak looks like a great boat to have for all day solo river trips or even a "team" overnighter. I've done such overnighters where all the camping crap was in my Striker with me and the other guy was in the Commander. At the John Day actually. The Kodiak would be even more comfortable and helpful for trips like that as long as the river is NOT the John Day in the fall.

For any river that actually rolls you down hill it would be awesome.

The Freestone is really nice because of the frame, but I would prefer more storage back there. If it had the same storage as the Kodiak I would go for the Freestone. I understand that when push comes to shove, the Freestone is probably balanced better, but for the water I would hit with either, the Kodiak makes more sense to me. Especially if I drove a Prius.

Good luck. Always fun shopping for a new boat!

Sam Roffe · May 22, 2023

I too am in the Watermaster Camp. They are well built, frameless, and packs down nice.

Evan B · May 22, 2023

You can test drive my Clearwater if you wanna

WonkyWapiti · Jun 25, 2023

Well I've been debating for the last couple of years and the winner is..................................Catchercraft. I picked, this up yesterday. Now I need a day off to get on the water! It even matches my truck. This thing is gonna be all over Wyoming this summer! David and Ken were awesome to deal with!

skyriver · Jun 26, 2023

WonkyWapiti said:
Well I've been debating for the last couple of years and the winner is..................................Catchercraft. I picked, this up yesterday. Now I need a day off to get on the water! It even matches my truck. This thing is gonna be all over Wyoming this summer! David and Ken were awesome to deal with!

View attachment 70139

Congrats! The rod holders are a nice bonus.

Bob Rankin · Jun 26, 2023

Another fan of the Freestone. I absolutely love mine!

cole_p · Jun 26, 2023

Freestone is my vote too. They offer three different frames including an extra packable frame for your Prius.

clarkman · Jun 27, 2023

Almost pulled the trigger on one that popped up over on the other site but for my use it would have been muy overkill.

cole_p · Jun 27, 2023

Btw, this guy did a nice review of a Watermaster and talks about packability.

https://theflyfishingfilmmaker.com/2023/02/07/water-master-bruin-review/

mcswny · Jun 27, 2023

cole_p said:
Btw, this guy did a nice review of a Watermaster and talks about packability.

https://theflyfishingfilmmaker.com/2023/02/07/water-master-bruin-review/

A member here!

BDD · Jun 28, 2023

WonkyWapiti said:
Well I've been debating for the last couple of years and the winner is..................................Catchercraft. I picked, this up yesterday. Now I need a day off to get on the water! It even matches my truck. This thing is gonna be all over Wyoming this summer! David and Ken were awesome to deal with!

View attachment 70139

Wishing you the best in Wyoming with your new toy. It should be good getting you in some prime fishing water. In case you have not figured it out yet (you will soon enough) you may want to move the heel bar closer to the bow to give yourself more leg room...unless you are very height challenged.

Just got back from using my former Freestone, that I recently bought back, on a trip to Fernie. There was a sweeper that I saw ahead but figured I could go over it our walk around it on the gravel bar. But then I got busy playing fish and had to go over it at the last minute. Lucky the log was high enough and the boat light enough that it posed me no problem but with a larger boat, it could have posed problems. I should write up a report on it but probably won't. Be careful out there.