driftboats?

[CHUMSALMON]

I'm looking for some opinions on what would be a good one to two man drift boat? brands would be fine but, what i'm really interested in is length and width. I'll more than likely be fishing by myself. so should i bother even looking for a drift boat or should i look more toward pontoon boats? Just curious to what people think?

[Master Baiter]

Shuttling could be tough alot of times with just one person.

[SSPey]

yr gonna have to shuttle with a drift boat or a pontoon boat either way. It is easy for one person to handle a drift boat (ramp stuff) so no difference there. A pontoon boat is best reserved for those places where you can't take a drift boat because too shallow, or where you can't launch a driftboat (escape the boat ramps), or if you just want to "get to the other side" like some people do on the Deschutes. The plus also is that you can car top it, if it is small enough, but then you'll get others breathing down your neck that it isn't a safe or sturdy boat if it is easily cartopped.

I'd say drift boat, you'll work out the bike shuttles as I have or pay the $10 for shuttle service.

[Vinny]

I'm guessing here, . . . but if you buy a drift boat that will easily handle two people, you'll make lots of friends. Shuttling might not be a problem at all.
Then again, $10 is not too high a price on those days when you're looking for some solitude.

[Pete]

I have a 16 foot, 54 inch wide Willie that I've fished alone and with one or two others. It's very shallow draft and handles like a dream! I mainly fish alone and find the boat easy to handle on a wide variety of water. I'd hesitate to go smaller for my needs since I often do overnights and like to take some "furniture" along. I really haven't found much water that's too shallow ... the 2 or 3 inch draft and relatively light weight allow me to drag it over gravel bars when necessary.

I've done a lot of the bike-shuttle thing. The 16 is nice since my bike fits neatly inside. The storage box is big enough for my rods and gear and I lock it up, then lock the boat to a tree with a cable lock. In 15 years I've never had a problem with vandalism or theft. I think it's important to decide whether the put in or take out is more secure and do your shuttle so that you leave the boat at the more secure site while biking.

I've also done plenty of paid shuttles. On the coast the $7 or $10 is nothing for the convenience of having your rig at the take out when you get there. On the Deschutes or John Day the $40 or $50 or $60 gets to be real money if you plan to go more than a few times a year. ... but if you're out for 2 or 3 days and you're looking at a 40 or 50 mile bike ride, the shuttle starts looking pretty handy.

[CHUMSALMON]

pete,
you made a lot of good points there, actually you've all made valid points that i have thought about. pete, after what you said about the 16' and being able to get your bike in there and still have lots of room, you may have sold me on a 16. I used to own a 14' barker drift boat in high school, it was wood with a fiberglass shell over the outside, was a GREAT boat, i actually sold it to my dad who has really fixed it up. The thing is when the two of us fish in it, it almost seems a little small, so i've really been thinking about a 16'. well, once i get my house remodeling done, i think i'll have the kitchen pass to really start looking in earnest, but for now i just wanted to get some ideas.
thanx images/icons/grin.gif images/icons/grin.gif

[SSPey]

Hey Pete

It sounds like we have the same boat and the same strategy (including furniture, shuttles). My locking storage area is held in with those black plastic wing nuts. Did you replace the wing nuts with regular hex nuts to prevent an easy removal and theft of the entire seat/storage area? This worries me the most, since stealing a boat is a felony (and deters some people), but stealing the seat isn't, and the seat also holds the valued goods.