I was making my idea harder than it should be. How about a sheet of of rubber up to 1/8" thick? I think enough rubber to cover the whole vulnerable area of the craft couldn’t weigh more than 10 lbs. You aren’t going to go backpacking with it probably but it would still be very packable, and relatively light. It is something you would put on to go surfing on the beach or do non wilderness whitewater run. Secure the “rock skirt” at the grab loops.
Hmmmmm. I’ve just come back from a wk in NZ fly-fishing and rafting (rafts being used for downstream travel at the end of each day/trip).
JDFIU - these rafts are unbelievably tough. You don’t need “protectors” on them at all, although you would on a Coleman.
The river was low when we were there, and we scraped (as in “got stuck on and had to push off”) a zillion rocks on the way downstream, and there is really bugger all evidence of wear on the rafts. I am constantly amazed at how tough they are. The whole debate about weights of protective pads etc becomes irrelevant!
As to issues with design:
Supplied tie downs were fine with day pack or full pack. My spray deck design also has 2 “tie downs” on the side to hold the spraydeck out of the way if it is not being used, and we used this for attaching our 4 piece fly rods - worked well, although I am equally happy attaching it to the side of the daypack/rucksack on the front of the raft.
Spent a lot of time pushing myself back in the raft, and up, as I seemed to slide down off the seat in rough water. I’m just under 6ft,and 82kg, and have a yak, but still seem to slide forwards. Most of the need to get back and up is to improve your view of what you are about to raft, however in doing so, you do drop the arse of the raft lower in the water, even with 20kg on the front, and therefore get more water over the back. I’d therefore like more and higher arse floatation, as my overwhelming feeling is that I seem to slump/slide forward in the boat, and sit too low. However, along with this I’d like a back that sits a little higher. Even with a full rucksack at the front, it seems a little too low at the back, and this is exacerbated by having nothing on the front.
We generally paddled without spraydecks, and on our trip found that most of the water comes over the front when you are in standing waves, and some comes over the back when you get stuck on a rock. Presumably this varies according to river levels, however the “raft emptying” wasn’t as irritating this ear as previously, and I’d almost consider taking the deck off…! Particularly as the wader/neoprene top poor man’s dry suit worked so well.
Er’…that about twice the weight of the Packraft just for the hull cover, which is totally NOT needed!
I got spare hull fabric when I bought my Llama, and I’ll be straight with you, you will not damage this material short of stabbing it or setting it on fire!
I’ve worked with high abrasion and tear resistant materials professionally, and I’ve never come across stuff as tough as the Alpacka hull fabric (which incidentally, looks great in yellow!).
Andrew must have thought that I was crazy as I wanted to buy loads of repair kits and spare hull fabric, I (and I think you too!) simply could not believe just how strong, yet light the fabric is.
Fine, all you weight weenies, I capitulate for now. To clarify: While I have not rafted in an alpacka, I have seen one in person. The material is very tough and I agree it is probably more than sufficient for most backpacking trips. When I get an alpacka, I will make a rubber rock skirt and take a bunch of pictures of dragging it across barnacles fully loaded with gear and how it saved me in a knife fight with Somalian pirates 
Feel free to carry what you wish, however please note that the rafts are incredibly tough, and I reckon you’d be hard pushed to puncture one.
I do recall reading somewhere that there had been 2 punctures noted - one when someone ran the raft onto some barnacles whilst using it in the surf, and the other when a rafter caught a “spiny rockfish” and put it in the boat.
Therefore, if you wish to raft near barnacles, or catch “spiny rockfish”, by all means cover the thing with 2" rubber matting!
For the rest of us, being proactive and avoiding these obstacles saves us weight, and we’re happy to take that risk, which is why we lashed out and bought such amazing rafts in the first instance. Believe me, NOTHING COMPARES with them.
A
Something on each side tube (more towards the outside) which will allow the attachment of long, slender items such as skies, trekkking poles, fishing poles, and/or paddle. As I fish down the river, I often beach the raft by backing onto the beach and cast directly from the raft while sitting in the normal rafting/sitting position, spray deck and all. It would be nice to be able to secure the paddle on one side and retrieve the fishing pole from the other side.
A simple velcro strap or a velcro tab attached to a bungie would suffice. It would need to be designed with minimal “fiddle factor” as it would be continuously fastened and unfastened.
Thanks for the forum.
Reg
This is not so much a custom mod, as I would love to see it become a new standard.
Regarding alpackas with spray decks - I would like to see another style of Velcro closure used.
Please check out Velcro brand Omni-tape. It is an asexual form of standard velcro.
(There is no male hook-side, that must be mated to the female loop side). You get
the exact same performance and resistance characteristics of the current Velcro tape
being used on 08 spray decks, while solving several problems typical of field use.
Omni-tape by Velcro, is MUCH friendlier to sand and grit. It resists build-up and catching of lint,
and foreign particles way better than standard velcro. A quick rinse in the river and omni-tape
easily washes out any sand or river bottom muck that may have collected between the weaves
omni-tape. It is great stuff, and is catching on like wildfire in the cottage gear industry.
JacksRBetter - a manufacturer of camping hammock accessories has been using omni-tape as
door closures for their ultra-light silnylon hammock tents, and on their quilts with fantastic success
and reviews.
For a very minute difference in material costs, I think this would be a great improvement to Alpacka
spray decks and increase the longevity of the spray deck closures by many years.
I would love to see some kind of lightweight carry handle option. this would be advantageous
for those short portages when you just want to throw the inflated boat up on your shoulder, or
for those with packs that don’t easily accomodate carrying the raft still attached via the pack.
I would think for a few ounces, this would be a good accessory.
Secondly I would like to see some way of securing spray decked boats fully open. On steep
drops people often sit on top of their spray deck or have it tucked to the side in anticipation
of a quick wet exit. It would be really great if we had some kind of fastening system to roll
the spray deck up and secure the roll to the right side tube. Too many times have I seen
spray decks flop open and snag on something either on a good bail, or on short portage.
Also in really warm weather, its nice to get out from under your deck and kick back with,
your feet up. Im sure this could be acomplished for under an ounce. Loads of easy fasteners
out there, or something as simple as ties like on tarps and tents to roll the doors back.
A tidy raft and tidy gear makes for happy and safe paddling.
Firstly, thanks to everyone for keeping the ideas flowing! We like hearing it all 
A couple thoughts spring to mind…
"Boat Shoes" and Durability. This is a fun conversation. Our main line is definitely tough, as our kind boaters have pointed out. But we’d also like to give JDFIU a shout for thinking boldly. JDFIU, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised. However, it’s true that - for a very small minority of users doing really aggressive water, they may want a tougher boat. In fact, for that level of challenge & stress, specialized craft itself might be in order - a “creek boat” of sorts…
Securable Spraydeck. Conveniently enough, this has been an ongoing project for us. We’re getting closer to our goal of having a “convertable” boat.
Omni Tape. This bears looking into. Thanks for the heads-up, turk.
Equipment Attachments. Great idea - and one we’ve had in parallel development too! We’re looking to a have a quick method to ‘customize’ your alpacka with various grab loops, strap-attachments, etc., either by pre-selecting a package (ex: “ski carrying rig”) or custom-requesting it (the current only method). Right now, it’s mostly a matter of getting our organization system figured out for it.
Thanks everyone for all the other ideas I haven’t specifically mentioned. We’re reading them & thinking. Hopefully, this spring will see a lot of new development come to fruition. Sheri has been tinkering up a storm. (Me… I’m just breathing right now… was doing some training, and a friend fell on my floating ribs. Great guy, also a 250-lb. Irishman. oooooo… hurts to breath…)
Cheers, Everyone! Keep posting!
I’ve never actually used a packraft nor seen one in person. I only came upon this site because I dreamed up some idea of hikng in the wilderness with some sort of watercraft on my back.
What I had hoped to find was a raft/kayak which would be light enough to carry and which would have a second use as a shelter (or part of a shelter). The material used for a packraft could be used as part of a tent; a ground sheet maybe?
So that’s the custom boat I’d like to have - a raft/tent hybrid. A packraftent?
I don’t know that you need a custom mod for that. I’ve slept on the packraft as a groundcloth several times and Hig and Erin have used them as shelters/groundcloths for years.
They make a fine ground cloth, and inflated a packraft makes a great bed for one person. I’ve used them that way both out in the field and once in the Bangkok airport… you can put your pack inside the overturned raft and don’t have to worry about anyone walking off with your stuff while you sleep.
The next step is to make a tent structure that takes advantage of the raft as a structural floor… I’ve experimented a little, but what I came up with sucked. I’ve seen other approaches that looked promising…
I was wondering if they would make a good ground sheet; aren’t they a bit lumpy if deflated or a bit narrow if inflated?
Because the material is so waterproof (obviously) then the best place for the deflated raft within a tent structure would be at the apex. Rolls of extra material could be attached to the raft sides in order to complete the structure. I’d draw a picture except I’m a terrible artist!
The new Alpacka ‘Bivvy’ undergoes testing at a secret facility!
Oooooooh, AeroNautiCal has SO outed our secret Skunk Works! AeroNautiCal, your claim of political asylum in Great Britain protects you… but why, man, why? Why did you have to reveale our secret line of fashion apparel to the world?
Aren’t those the new HoverPonchos I’ve been hearing about, designed for 24/7 habitation in wet conditions, land or sea?
I have a Denali without the spraydeck. I would like to see a detachable bow skirt to use as a table for fishing, as in Fly fishing. It would just cover the bow or 1/3 of the raft. It could be installed with the current tiedowns. I don’t like to be wrapped up in a cover, but this would allow some comfort and be useful to lay a camera on or a GPS, small fishfinder or lunch! I don’t plan on running the ravege rivers of America, but I do like my Packraft! It’s the ultimate backwater cruiser. It could be reinforced with a plastic sail batton that would give one a solid table. 
Andrew and Sheri,
First off, kudos on the 2009 boat, which I posted on in the “In Search of a Dry Boat” discussion.
There are two related ideas that I’ve seen repeated in many of the responses to your initial query about boat modifications. Every packrafter I have watched run whitewater does the “Butt Boat Squirm” after a big drop, which involves pushing yourself up and back onto your seat. It’s annoying and distracting and I think it results from two things: the shape of the seat, and the fit of the boat.
Part of the problem could be solved by contouring the seat slightly so that it cupped your butt, making it less likely that you would slide forward. Another part of the solution is better foot bracing, which could be achieved with a small, inflatable pillow or thwart that fits at the front of the boat. I’ve had some success with mylar wine skins, but I can’t find any glue that will adhere to the mylar. (I want to attach velcro to the wine skin so that it doesn’t come out every time I dump water out of my boat.)
I am 6’2" and drive a Llama. I also have a Yak, which is a tighter fit, and I do less squirming in it, but I do more swimming because it is less stable than my Yak. Since it is impossible to have a perfect fit for everybody when you only have 3 boat sizes, it would be nice to some way for everybody to customize the fit of their boat.
Brad, out of curiousity, have you tried putting the wineskin behind your butt instead of at your feet? It’d mess up the back-rest support, but it might allow you to lock your feet against the bow and also move your center of mass more to the center of the boat. (I’m 5’ 9.5" and drive an Alpaca, which means I can lock my feet nicely against the bow.)
I would like to see some mesh zipper bags attached inside the boat.