surffish,

Welcome to the board. Something you may not have pondered would be giving a cataraft a try. Extremely underrated, versatile boats. Lightweight (depending on size of tubes and frame material), durable, and they pack easier.

I have been most pleased with my Outcast Pac1200. It's a 2-man or a 1-man. Pick you up some good tubes and have Osprey (handle here on the board) custom-build you a frame.

There's a growing number of catters out there, and I'll leave the rest up to the more experienced guys to pick up and help ya out.