I’m planning on doing a ski/packraft trip and am trying to decide what size boat to get. I’m a heavy 5’8" with a 32" inseam so am thinking of the Alpaca. Weight will be a serious consideration. But when loaded with a heavy pack, glacier equipment and skis, I’m wondering if I should go slightly bigger. Maybe to the Yukon Yak. Anyone have experience doing these kinds of trips? It will be two to four weeks depending on the route and well be pulling our boats as pulks for the glacier sections.
Probably too late to be useful but I only just saw your post. I think you might actually need to go to a Lama if you are carrying that much gear although it does depend on whether you are going for the Cargo Fly as this will make a huge difference to how you carry your gear and your centre of gravity.
I am 5"10 inseam 30. I have only carried skis and snow gear on my Yak on an overnight trip once so have limited experience but with skis, boots, etc, etc my gear was much heavier (approximately 28kg+) than on week long trips that I would normally do with 20kg or less. I had the pack on the front and with so much weight in the boat high up it made paddling very awkward and challenging. With skis sticking out my Yukon Yak almost wanted to flip over unless I was sitting in it.
It does sounds like you can store a huge amount of gear and weight inside the Cargo Fly but whether this will work okay when you are pulling them as pulks I am unsure. With 2-4 weeks of food plus full ski/glacier gear you are obviously looking at a considerable total weight. You might even like to consider going for a Feathercraft Baylee perhaps with the inflatable floor as this might work better as a pulk with heavier gear loaded in it. That said Erin and Hig have always made it look easy in an Alpacka.
No doubt others with far more experience than I can comment better.