Looking for Rescue Boat (Raft) Options.

I had to put this here, because the specialized rescue forum won't take a new thread. WT can always move it if they like.

Anyway, I am beginning to investigate the purchase of a rescue raft for our Swiftwater team, and I am looking for some ideas.

Historically, be have borrowed rafts from the local whitewater operation whenever we needed them, but we now have the opportunity to pick up a boat of our own. The primary roles of the boat will be shuttling personnel and cargo across a class 2-4+ river, assisting G-SAR ops, and of course rescue of occupants from the water/vehicles/rocks, etc.

I have looked at units like the Oceanid, but feel they are too specialized and limited for our role. The local distributor carries the Zumro IRB, but it is powered, and we could only run a motor for 2 or so months of the year. I also wonder how a transom IRB performs unpowered, or rigged with a zip-line/tyrolean traverse.

What are the other SRT groups using for river work, and what are your thoughts?

Zodiac and Demaree are two Boat builders in our area, Zodiac in Stevensville, Md, and Demaree in Friendsville, Md. I'll try to find urls for them. We have a 10ft Avon inflatable that has done OK so far.

Here you are:
www.zodiacmarineusa.com
www.dibboats.com

We have a small inflatable Avon to be used for shuttling... I don't think I'd be too keen on using it in true whitewater.

We also have a Zumro IRB... I don't think we could have purchased a poorer choice. It is unstable when it gets to cruising speed, the tubes shift, the tubes leak, the thing takes swells and chop very poorly, there is not enough room, it is too heavy to carry if you want something you can lug in somewhere...

I can't comment on whitewater use, since we run it in the cool waters of the Atlantic. But I would never want another one of these contraptions. If you want a rigid hull inflatable, buy one... not one of these look-alikes. For whitewater use, though, you're probably not going to want a rigid hull.

The OceanID/Fortuna "banana boat" looks great for low-head damn rescues, and it is a great tool for surface ice rescue as well. I was surprised at how well it performed in this respect. Quick to deploy, light, very stable... it's on my list of "wants." I recommend getting one to demo, or finding one in your area to play with.