Your packraft has arrived. Before it meets a river, give it an evening at home and an hour on flat water. That is all it takes to learn the valve, the fit and the feel, so your first real trip starts with a packraft you already know.
Unbox and check everything
Lay the box out on a clean floor and check the contents. Every Seeka ships with the packraft, an inflatable seat, an EVA backrest, an air bag, a carry bag, a skeg, tie-down straps and a repair kit. The Duo has two seats and two backrests. Paddles are separate, so if you added one, it arrives alongside.
- Packraft and skeg.
- Inflatable seat and EVA backrest (two of each with the Duo).
- Air bag for inflation.
- Carry bag and tie-down straps.
- Repair kit: self-adhesive patches and adhesive.
Keep the repair kit with the packraft from day one. It lives in your pack, not in a drawer. The carry bag is for storage at home; for walking in, a proper pack carries far better.
Unroll it somewhere soft
Choose a lawn, a carpet or a tarp, away from anything sharp. Unroll the hull and let it relax flat for a few minutes. New fabric has fold lines from the packing, and a little time flat helps the hull take its shape when you fill it.
Find the valve and open it. Work out which way it opens and closes before you need to do it at a cold riverbank. Look over the tubes, the floor and the seams while everything is clean and dry. It is the best look you will ever get at your hull, so enjoy it.
Test inflate at home
Use the air bag. Fit it to the valve, open the bag wide, scoop it full of air, then roll or twist the open end closed and squeeze the air into the hull. A few armfuls fills it. Stop when the tubes hold their shape and push back under a thumb, firm but not drum-tight. Packrafts run at low pressure, so there is no gauge and no number to chase.
Top up by mouth if you want a little more firmness at the end. Then close the valve and fit the seat and backrest so you can see where everything sits.
Now leave it. A few hours, or overnight, tells you it holds air. A packraft brought in from a cold car and left in a warm room will firm up. One taken outside into the cold will soften. That is temperature, not a leak. If a tube goes clearly soft at a steady room temperature, check the valve is closed and seated first.
Sit in it on the lounge room floor
Climb in and sit down. It feels a little strange on carpet, and it is the most useful five minutes of the evening. Feel where your feet reach, how the backrest supports you and where your pack would sit on the bow. Try the paddle, assembled, to get a sense of the length. The Seeka four-piece paddles adjust between 220 and 230 cm.
Practise deflating and rolling
Open the valve and press the air out, working from the far end towards the valve. Fold the hull lengthwise, then roll it tightly towards the valve so the last of the air escapes. Do it twice. The second roll is always neater than the first, and on the day you will do it with wet hands.
Try packing the rolled hull into the pack you plan to use, with the paddle sections beside it. Better to find out now how it all fits than at the car park.
First session on flat water
Choose a small, sheltered lake or a calm inlet with an easy bank, on a warm day with little wind. Bring a friend if you can. Wear your PFD, then inflate at the bank the way you practised at home.
Step in from the side, sit, and get both hands on the paddle before you push off. Then spend the session on basics:
- Paddle forward in a straight line, with short strokes close to the hull.
- Turn on the spot with a sweep stroke, both ways.
- Stop, reverse and hold position.
- Paddle into a light breeze and feel how the bow wants to swing.
- Come back in, climb out onto the bank and get back in again.
If the water is warm and shallow, finish by tipping out on purpose close to shore and climbing back in. It is a skill you want before you need it, and it is much easier to learn in a swimming spot than in a river.
After the first paddle
Rinse the hull with fresh water, especially after salt or muddy water, and dry it fully before you roll it for storage. Check the floor for anything caught against it. Store it somewhere cool and out of the sun. Then choose your first proper trip, knowing the packraft as well as you know your pack.
Every Seeka self-bails and carries a two-year warranty on materials and welding. Or hire one for a weekend first.