Boats allow for many options.
All of these factors make it very popular to view a river from the perspective of a floating boat, and rafts and drift boats are two of the most popular watercraft for this purpose. Know your watercraft and how to use it. Modern rafts became popular after the World War II era as a means to travel rivers that could not be navigated in any other craft. Where wooden boats were once eaten up by large rocks and boulders, canvas and rubber rafts could travel without significant risk of serious damage, many times just bouncing off rocks that would shatter a wooden boat. Rafts also have the advantage of being able to be transported deflated.