Draft on Duroboat and other aluminum boats?

[bedell]

I'm thinking about buying a 15'-17' aluminum boat, hopefully one that can run in or at least be pulled over pretty shallow water. I'm curious what the minimum draft is for various makes of boats. (There doesn't seem to be an easy way to get this information.) Assume a mid-size motor, some gear but nothing terribly heavy, and one person in the boat.

I'm especially interested to hear about the draft on modified/shallow v-hulls like Duroboat because these balance between stability and ability to take some chop. But, in general, I'm interested in as much information on the minimum draft of boats as I can find.

Thanks!
-bdel

[boone]

I had a 15' SS Duroboat with a 30hp Suzuki. Spent most of my time in salt water. It would handle the chop and slop very well. I have had it out of Neah Bay near Duncan Rock but mostly in the Puget Sound. It served me well in Lake Washington, the Potholes and the Columbia River above Vernita Bridge. It had a longshaft on it so I was limited to about 2' of depth before I had to worry about the prop hitting the bottom.

[Deadliest Catch]

I had a 15' SS Duroboat with a 30hp Suzuki. Spent most of my time in salt water. It would handle the chop and slop very well. I have had it out of Neah Bay near Duncan Rock but mostly in the Puget Sound. It served me well in Lake Washington, the Potholes and the Columbia River above Vernita Bridge. It had a longshaft on it so I was limited to about 2' of depth before I had to worry about the prop hitting the bottom.

How did the long shaft work on the short shaft transom? Any complications other then draft?
Im looking for a new motor for my 14 sea nymph short shaft transom, I been shopping for either one but wondered if I buy a long if I would need to block it up for it to work.

[boone]

Never had any issues what so ever. It came set up like that from the dealer when I bought it. It was bolted on sitting right on the transom lip so the shaft did hang down there. I would imagine it probably impacted the top end speed some but I could do 28-30 mph with two guys and gear aboard. It ran all day on 6 gallons of fuel.

[Deadliest Catch]

Never had any issues what so ever. It came set up like that from the dealer when I bought it. It was bolted on sitting right on the transom lip so the shaft did hang down there. I would imagine it probably impacted the top end speed some but I could do 28-30 mph with two guys and gear aboard. It ran all day on 6 gallons of fuel.

Thanks for the info. I dont know what I will end up with but if its a long shaft ill give it a try before i build a gap for the transom.

[bedell]

Thanks Boone. That gave me an estimate...maybe a foot and a half without the extra length on the motor. I should probably go with a flat or near-flat bottom boat for what I want to do (run in sand lake estuary! I have a house down that way). I'd like to run in 8-10 inches with a prop.

[fishkisser]

For skinny water I have a 10 ft jon with a 40 lb thrust electric that will take 1 person under 200 lbs in 4-6 " of water ...
I use it in the Lagoons down here and in estuaries and sloughs ...