Drift boat questions

[capblack]

i didn't say it was 5 days, i said there were 5 floats between stayton and the willamette, stayton to shelburn, shelburn to greens bridge, greens bridge to jefferson, jefferson to i5, and i5 to buena vista. but yes, there are a lot of river miles to cover there. Brian

 

[SantiamDrifter]

Stay away from the shelburn to greens bridge drift. You will sink your boat. And until you get better on the sticks anything above stayton as well. Now the Nestucca and Alsea have some nice water to learn on.

 

[JeepsAreBuilt]

Ok gotcha.. when you say 5 different floats, this means theres a boat ramp to mark the end/start of a float correct ? And likely is at park for camping as well ?

SantiamDrifter, thanks for the tip. I have never seen the Alsea river before myself, but know where it is and would definitely like to go there someday.

 

[capblack]

i dont think any of these ramps have camping, but most of the ones above mehama do.

 

[GDBrown]

Fiberglass or aluminum?

Fiberglass or aluminum?

In your original post you mentioned that you were looking at a fiberglass boat. Why? The reason I ask it this way is because new drifters will have two problems. The first is learning to control the boat and make it go where they think it should go. The other seems to be repairing the damage when the first problem becomes the second problem. :shock:

Aluminum boats will have a sharper chine than a fiberglass boat and that sharper chine will help with control. (you can Google boat chine for what they look like) That is as far as keeping the boat from rotating while you are actively rowing. It will slow your rotation when you want to rotate though! You asked if wider is better, depends on your definition of better. Wider is more stable when you lean over the side, but wider is also more difficult to turn in a tight spot. (shorter oars will help that)

If at all possible ask the selling party if you can put the boat on a lake and get a feel for it. Tell them you want to check for leaks, whatever. Or ask them to take you on a short river float. You will be able to tell the difference and that should help you in your decision.

One final thought. Most of us can do a half A$% job of fiberglass repair but Aluminum takes skill and expensive equipment to fix. I prefer fiberglass my self and am kicking myself for letting my "Little Blue Drifter" go last year. I rebuilt it from a junked hull a few years ago.

GD

 

[halibuthitman]

well I might as well start the fires... I rent 3 or 4 aluminum boats every year... and the second I step back in my wood boat I smile like that corki kid from life goes on when it doesn't make a god awfull noise, then I put my hand on the alive feeling warm rails and once again I explode with delight... glass is close to that feeling, Aluminum boats are tough, well built, reliable and great investments... but they have no heart and I freaking hate just about everything about them- especially when its 23 degrees out.. but then again if its cold enough to make bare skin stick to aluminum... you probably should be watching football anyway-

 

[FISHHEADMAFIA]

16x48 is old school . 16x54 or 60-66 is the new(for several tears) trend . a wider bottom creates a much more stable platform .
wood is naturally buoyant and warm . But requires a lot more maintenance . and it looks really cool .
glass is also warmer than aluminum , and requires less maintenance than wood . you can repair glass with simple hand tools and common sense .
aluminum is cold , noisy , loud , and very tough . take it to a shop and pay shop prices to get it repaired unless you have a metal fab shop at home .
i have fished and rowed all 3 . i would like to buy my own and i would go either glass or tin . with at least a 54 inch bottom .

willie has a brand new 16x54 package ready to fish for 4995$ .
watershed boats has a brand new glass package ready to fish for 5295$ .
rb boats has the package for 4295$ .
craigs list has a ton of used any where from 950$ to 6500$ .
hope that helps .

 

[Irishrover]

This is a classic debate umong drift boat fisherman, glass/metal/wood! The real answer is what ever floats your boat! For pure beauty and tradition you can not beat wood. I love it when I'm somewhere like the upper Deschutes near Lapine and see someone in there home made drifter coming down the river, it's post card beauty at it's best and you can see the pride of ownership.

Metal boats are rugged easy to clean and you can strapp a heater in on and not worry too much. Lot of them out there to choose from.

Glass boats are light weight easy to row and quiet. They are easy to clean and I have never regretted buying my 16x54 Clackacraft in the 11 years I've had it.

I think each boat has it's advantages and disadvantages.....it's what fits the owner that is important......and of course having one of them is better than not have any of them.

One thing I would suggest is a good set of oars. I'm going to switch to wood oars.....they float! Swayers makes good drift boat oars and I'd like to get my hands on a set.

The boat picture is to show how those poly oars (paddles sections) do not float. It's not that big of a thing but if you are just drifting and the paddle section is not out of the water it can reach down there where the rocks live and smack one!:shock: Not a good thing.

 

[Mad dog]

I have an Alumaweld 16x55 guide model and couldn't imagine wanting a smaller drift boat. I wish I had the 17ft. model at times! I like my Alumaweld, pretty tough in the rocks of the North Umpqua. One thing to consider is getting a boat with the anchor system set up so you can run an outboard motor, nice to have for plugging or side drifting.

 

[JeannaJigs]

I have a 15' x 52 glass boat, it's about 15 years old. It's my first drift boat, and I bought it a little over a year ago. Oh the adventures it has taken me on! I've been in aluminum boats, and pretty much hate them. As stated above, they're noisy and cold. My glass boat handles like a dream, It's very easy to maneuver and I've taken it down some tight runs. Lake creek put it to the test, but it handled well. This last summer while campining, I had a cooler loaded with beer put a hole in it behind the rowing seat, while traveling down a very rough road. Lesson learned. I was freaking out about getting it fixed, but did some research and patched it myself. If I can do a glass repair, anyone can. It's solid now, and aside from some new paint, doesn't need much done. I will definitely stick with glass boats.

 

[halibuthitman]

I was wondering how you put a hole in it! my son set a 25# lead anchor in the stern of mine and pretty much wiped out the whole stern raised deck... roads are harder on these boats than the water!!

 

[JeannaJigs]

Seriously, roads can be drift boat death! I've always been paranoid about the anchor, 'cause I have a 35# pyramid back there, but it was the cooler that killed 'er. I refuse to say the beer did it though. I have put in a rubber floor so the anchor pretty much stays put, but after the cooler incident...I've been weary. So far it hasn't caused any problems sitting in the middle of the floor, where there's support from the trailer...

 

[Irishrover]

I alway put that 35lbs pyramid anchor in the back of my vehicle. Don't want that thing to bounce and do any damage. Soooo I take the 35lbs piece of lead drop it into the back of my vehicle right onto the top portion of my 5wt St Croix:shock:. Nice St Croix folks sent me a new rod.

 

[GDBrown]

What I liked most about my Little drifter was the combination of Glass and Wood. The best of both worlds as far as I'm concerned.
I notice there is a guy on craigslist who is advertising wood rails installed on glass drift boats.
Mine came that way I just had fun making it look nice. I always put the anchor in the truck for travel! I saw what it did to an aluminum boat and didn't want that to happen to me.

GD

 

[JeepsAreBuilt]

Thank you all for you input. Good info and good advice ! I would like to try out boats first.. thats a good idea. Another question I had is will Fiberglass more likely get a hole if the boat hit a rock or something ? Not that I'm thinking I may run something real rough.. just like if I didn't see the rock. I also thought that with Fiberglass a emergency patch job could be done easily if equipped well enough to do so. I also thought I could tow the boat to wherever I go camping and just load up the boat with all my camping gear.. but sounds like its not a good idea.. or would it be ok if strapped down well ?

 

[SantiamDrifter]

Thank you all for you input. Good info and good advice ! I would like to try out boats first.. thats a good idea. Another question I had is will Fiberglass more likely get a hole if the boat hit a rock or something ? Not that I'm thinking I may run something real rough.. just like if I didn't see the rock. I also thought that with Fiberglass a emergency patch job could be done easily if equipped well enough to do so. I also thought I could tow the boat to wherever I go camping and just load up the boat with all my camping gear.. but sounds like its not a good idea.. or would it be ok if strapped down well ?

With the way the newer fiberglass boats are made, they can take any hit a metal boat can and more. The difference? You can patch your fiberglass boat yourself. You can load your boat with your camping gear no problem. Its just when a heavy object catches air then lands it displaces all its energy into one small area. Like the corner of a cooler or anchor. Thats usually how that happens. But it never hurts to strap things down. I would say no smaller then 16, becuz once you fall in love with using your boat, You will want more and more room. I have a 16ft'er right now, But my next one will be an 18ft'er

 

[DirectDrive]

A 48 wide boat can be hard to trim with two adult frontseaters.
"Trim" in boat lingo means level side-to-side and front-to-back.
I would look for a 54 wide boat.

 

[JeepsAreBuilt]

Update:

I have been watching craigslist for a fiberglass drift boat at least 16' and am willing to try a 48" wide bottom as I have not seen any wider ones other than ones for over $4,000. I have only seen a few older ones pop up and they go pretty quick. a lot of aluminum boats have been listed lately.. Anyone know when people usually sell their boats ? Also I have seen those Hyde drift boats and they sure do look nice !

 

[capblack]

yehh, people usually sell there boats when they need money. on a more serious note, the better question would be when is a good time to buy a boat. and the answer is now, unless you want to wait until next winter for a good buy. once spring hits the price is going to go up if it hasnt already. late fall a lot of people put there boats away until spring time, and thats when the good prices pop up. if i were you, and i wanted to find a good deal before spring, i would be looking at glass and aluminum. good luck, Brian

 

[GDBrown]

yehh, people usually sell there boats when they need money. on a more serious note, the better question would be when is a good time to buy a boat. and the answer is now, unless you want to wait until next winter for a good buy. once spring hits the price is going to go up if it hasnt already. late fall a lot of people put there boats away until spring time, and thats when the good prices pop up. if i were you, and i wanted to find a good deal before spring, i would be looking at glass and aluminum. good luck, Brian

Why would they put them away? Winter can be the best and sometimes the only time to use them especially on coastal rivers. I found the lowest prices are in the middle of the summer. That's when I found mine.