Birth of the Shredder

Birth of the Shredder

a Carolina Paddler Article

by Alton Chewning

∞ Shredder can mean different things to different people. Most of us picture a paper shredder, the device that turns confidential papers into confetti. Others know Shredder is the nickname of the arch-enemy of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Oruku Saki. For river people, Shredder has become the catchword for a frameless cataraft, an inflatable boat with two long side tubes and two or more cross tubes, the tubes providing the buoyancy and structure to hold the vessel together in rough water.

While the word shredder is sometimes used to signify this entire class of rafts, much like Kleenex suggests tissue, the original Shredder was introduced by the company, Airtight Inflatables, in Pennsylvania. The birthplace of the Shredder is one of America’s meccas for whitewater paddling, Ohiopyle, on the Youghiogheny River, affectionately known as the Yough, pronounced “Yock.”

The origin story goes like this. Tom Love was a raft repair guy in Ohiopyle, well respected for his knowledge of rubber and water and the confluence of both. In 1986, an Australian paddler-photographer, Tommy Clark, contacted Love to make a small, durable raft suitable for use as a photographic platform on the famed Tully River in Queensland, Australia. Love was charged with making the inflatable side tubes, or pontoons, the rubber part of the custom raft. Someone else would make the frame, the metal part, to hold the side tubes together. With a deadline nearing and no frame appearing, Love added some inflatable cross tubes, called thwarts, to his long tubes. The Shredder was born. To Love, this arrangement “seemed right.”

All that was missing was a name. Tom came up with the first choice, “Split Tail.” Shortly after, Deb Pepper tried the cataraft on the Upper Yough and said it shredded the river. “Shredder” sounded a lot better than Split Tail and the name and boat became a part of boating history.

Shredders quickly birthed a following. Their agility and reliability were soon appreciated by paddlers. Here was a vessel that could handle big water but still be nimble on smaller creeks. Shredders could be paddled R1 or R2, a single person or two people, paddling together. The R1 version could be outfitted with frames and oars for a more challenging, big water expedition. Tom and the team of builders at Airtight continued refining the design and making it better until they settled on the modern rockered design based on the curvature Tom saw on a banana.

Today, short hull versions, models with more rocker and even a four-person Shredder are now offered.  One of the attractions of Shredders, aside from their river-worthiness, is their portability. We’ll use a current model, the Rocker Shredder above, as an example.  The raft is 12 feet long with a width of 5′ 2″. The pontoon size can be customized but the largest diameter is 20″.

With this, you get a Class V worthy boat weighing less than 50 lbs. and folding into a tidy bundle, about the size of a modest backpack. When inflated they also stack well.

After Tom Love crossed the big river, Airtight Inflatables was purchased in 2020 by two of Tom’s employees, Danielle Glover and Travis Cowles. They have continued the tradition of reliable construction and custom fabrication in nearby Confluence, PA, also the home of Immersion Research. Airtight prides itself on durable, high-performance products and a willingness to customize their designs to meet customers’ unique requests.

With Airtight’s popularity came competition. Other players in the frameless cataraft market are Aire, HiSide, NRS and RMR (Rocky Mountain Rafts), Saturn and many others. Each have their proponents, price points and varying features.

While the term shredder is frequently used to describe many of these different companies’ watercraft, another brand-specific term is also employed, paddlecat.

Hyside makes a Paddlecat model and since the term is sometimes used for the whole inflatable cataraft spectrum, like Shredder, it can all be a little confusing.

Travis Cowles of Airtight isn’t fond of this usage. He feels the Shredder has earned the right to be considered unique. The terms, inflatable cataraft or frameless cataraft, are more appropriate, as is using the manufacturer’s model name when referring to a specific vessel. It’s hard to think of a parallel with kayaks. RPM or Antix aren’t names used for all half slices.

Most paddle rafts can be used by one paddler (R1 for raft one) or two paddlers (R2). Metal frames can be added to a cataraft, enabling the use of oars. A single boater using oars can have greater power and maneuverability than a paddler, and can accommodate heavier payloads and more turbulent big water.  Paddle catarafts are preferred for smaller, creekier water. While one strong, experienced paddler can negotiate a Shredder, two people, working together smoothly, can provide more power and dexterity on difficult rivers. Much like two person canoes or double kayaks, a two-person cataraft soon reveals the compatibility of its paddlers. A beautiful experience or a divorce boat.

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Many thanks to the people who contributed to this article, particularly Danielle Glover and Travis Cowles of Airtight Inflatables.

We hope you’ll enjoy the entire Gauley Trilogy.

Carolina Paddler’s Gauley Trilogy

Birth of a Shredder  by Alton Chewning

How a missing part created a new type of boat.

My First Time Shredding the Gauley By Dennis Huntley

The Upper Gauley was a good test run for Dennis, Ann and a Shredder.

Gauley Grandeur  By Ann Berry Somers

Balls, bottoms and a black boat. The Gauley delivers.