Maxxon has created a new high performance whitewater raft, the Maxxon XSB-390 Whitewater Raft self-bailer. This whitewater raft has an integral 6” thick drop stitch floor, creating a smooth bottom that allows currents to slide underneath with minimal effect on the boat. The measurements are 12’9” long, 6’3” wide, with big 21” tubes for the shallowest possible draft and the best possible handling. The XSB-390 comes with three thwarts out of the box, so this is a very worthy choice in a great priced six person whitewater raft. With the high rocker it is also a fine angler’s driftboat, and the drop stitch floor provides a smooth surface for passengers to cast from even if you don’t use a fishing frame with decks.
Maxxon XSB-390 Whitewater Raft Self-Bailing – rear view
Maxxon XSB-390 Whitewater Raft Features
Other performance features include a full wrap floor, Leafield C-7 valves, batten mounted removable thwarts, six lift handles, and fourteen stainless steel D-rings. Ten of the fourteen D-s are mounted at the mid point on the tubes, but the other four are mounted up higher near the bow and stern. This configuration, among other possibilities, allows for easy attachment of a suspended rear cargo deck. Cargo decks would be important for multi-day trips since the fairly high rocker on this XSB-390 model precludes even shorter two-bay frames (unless you sit on the cooler). A standard 68” Bighorn I frame will fit fine, and you should probably not plan on going any longer than 72”.
This model is built with the drop-stitch pad fully adhered to a “sub-floor”, not with a few spindly attachments between the sub-floor and drop stitch pad like a couple other competitors. We know the inevitable questions will come up about a comparison between this one and the NRS 13’ Outlaw, so we will point out the main differences. On the plus side for the Outlaw, it is welded, whereas the Maxxon is glued, and this should provide some extra years of service for the NRS. That said, the warranty on the Maxxon is five years – two years more than the Outlaw.
In general the bottom chafers on the Outlaws tend to be smoother and more free of wrinkles or bubbles than the Maxxon rafts have been in the past. The NRS floor inflates to a slightly higher pressure than the Maxxon floor, however, this is offset by another important factor in the Maxxon’s favor. Whereas the Outlaw floor is only 4 inches thick, the Maxxon XSB-390 drop-stitch floor is 6 inches thick. Bending any air chamber, whether it is a round side tube or inflatable floor, becomes harder with increased volume and cross-section. In this case, the Maxxon six inch floor at 6 p.s.i. provides the same resistance to bending as the four inch thick NRS floor at 8 or 9 p.s.i. More importantly, the Maxxon floor thickness, combined with it’s much larger side tubes – 21 inches as opposed to the Outlaw’s 18 inch tubes – allow a far higher load capacity without swamping (though those bigger side tubes also mean the inside width is narrower on the XSB-390). The fully adhered floor is also far superior to the partially secured designs of the Outlaw and Saturn floors. Water will not pool underneath the drop-stitch pad on the Maxxon as it will on the other two, nor will the self bailing feature be defeated by overloading as it can on models with 4 inch thick floors.
Advantages of Maxxon XSB-390 Whitewater Raft
Other benefits of the Maxxon include the standard third thwart, and a smoother transition where the bow and stern start to rise, compared to the more angular Outlaw bow/stern rocker. Overall, for equal money, the Maxxon pretty well blows away other rafts in the $2K price range and it will out-handle the majority of the other thirteen footers regardless of price. This factory has been producing high volumes of marine inflatables for Maxxon for some time, so although this raft is new, the production facility has been at it for a long time.
We will be stocking this model in an attractive orange/medium gray two tone, and solid grays are also available for the time being. Blue may or may not be a third choice depending what Maxxon decides in the next few months. This boat can be shipped by UPS, however due to it’s large girth there is a $58 UPS upcharge on top of the regular fees. Please phone your order in.
⚠️ Warning: These products are made of PVC and can expose you to chemicals including Di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP) which are known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm. For more information go to www.P65Warnings.ca.gov