Alpacka Raft.

• Author: Peterson, Eric
• Position: SMALL biz

A lifelong boater and professional sewer, Sheri Tingey was dissatisfied with the quality of the packrafts--packable rafts--on the market, so she took matters into her own hands and launched Alpacka Raft in 2000.

"Those boats are made for floating on a lake," she says. "I wanted a river boat." Made from heavy-duty, double-coated urethane, Alpacka Rafts are designed to withstand the rigors of Whitewater, but weigh only about 5 pounds and roll up to the size of a small tent.

"I'm a stickler about the boats being...