guy with a boat
Guru
Hippo, sounds like you are leaning towards the valise raft, but consider that a mounted canister has some benefits, including that weight limitations are much less important. You also don’t have to remember which cabinet its in and if stuff got stored on top of it.
Our canister is built into the upper deck railing. It is out of the way, easy to find, and easily launched if needed. There is a retaining cord that can be manually released, or cut in a hurry. Then a push on the canister and its overboard. Easy enough (compared to alternatives) for anyone with only basic instructions. As TT said, they inflate when the painter is pulled.
The canisters are made for this, and there shouldn’t be any issues with moisture entry etc if mounted correctly (quality brand, drain holes down). We have had our last two boats setup this way and prefer it for many reasons over the alternatives.
Up to you, but it does somewhat mitigate the weight limitations when choosing a raft. We have gone with Viking in recent years btw.
The only downside that I can see is that the cost of buying or fabricating the mount is probably higher than the cost of the valise.
Our canister is built into the upper deck railing. It is out of the way, easy to find, and easily launched if needed. There is a retaining cord that can be manually released, or cut in a hurry. Then a push on the canister and its overboard. Easy enough (compared to alternatives) for anyone with only basic instructions. As TT said, they inflate when the painter is pulled.
The canisters are made for this, and there shouldn’t be any issues with moisture entry etc if mounted correctly (quality brand, drain holes down). We have had our last two boats setup this way and prefer it for many reasons over the alternatives.
Up to you, but it does somewhat mitigate the weight limitations when choosing a raft. We have gone with Viking in recent years btw.
The only downside that I can see is that the cost of buying or fabricating the mount is probably higher than the cost of the valise.