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Dimpled drift boat bottoms fact or fiction

7K views 27 replies 22 participants last post by  Tight Lines 
#1 Ā·
Dimpled drift boat bottoms, Are they really usefull or just a marketing gimmick.

Please do not turn this into a Manufacture war!! I just would like to know if this dimpled bottom realy works or not.
 
#3 Ā·
There was a period of time when dimples were used in sailboards to promote early planing and better tracking in the waves and chop. It came and went. The bottom patterns of today include some channel variations as well as a flat or flat to spiral V pattern and the rails of the board also help depending on if used for flat out speed (sharp rails that go upwind well) or wave, chop and freestyle (more rounded to promote easy turning). The tail of the board also plays in. Squared off for speed and clean release, rounded and swallow tail for sharp turns on waves while still giving good speed.
 
#4 Ā·
Prediction on this thread:

1. Everyone who owns a dimpled bottomed glass boat will tell you it is a benefit.

2. Everyone who owns a Willie boat will tell you it's marketing.

I've rowed both, and find that it's hard to tell if it's a benefit or not because the distinction is utterly buried under many other more important factors, like how the weight is distributed in the boat, where the seats are placed, the length of oars used, and the skill of the rower.

Fish on...

Todd
 
#5 Ā· (Edited)
From my experience owning a fiberglass boat with dimpled bottom,

Pro: glides effortlessly, makes side drifting and general rowing easy.

Con: Not tailored towards pulling plugs. It can be done of coarse, but not as steady as a flat surfaced type of aluminum boat. Combine light weight and a gliding surface that is created with the dimples, equals a boat that's a little squirlly when trying to follow a straight path.

I say it's a fact that it makes rowing easier, but somewhat at the expense of a little loss of controll in backtrolling/flatlining situations.
 
#6 Ā·
My Clackacraft hass the dimpled bottom. I used to row an older Clackacraft of the exact same dimensions, but without the dimples. I honestly have noticed a pretty big difference in the two, with the dimpled boat being much easier to row, as well as being more responsive. I really don't think it's all in my head.
 
#16 Ā·
It should work if the dimples are small enough, I just don't know how big of a difference you would actually feel. The dimples create less surface area of the bottom of the drift boat therefore reducing friction between the water and the bottom of the boat. If the dimples were too big then it should make it worse, creating additional surface area for the water to interact with therefore increasing the frictional forces between the hull and water.

There are a lot of variables here that would either make or break the less drag theory for drift boats and I would like to think that the manufacturers of the boats with dimpled bottoms did their research and hired someone to test their hulls with and without the dimples. I can't speak for any of them, but I am sure if anyone was really interested and called Bruce at Clackacraft he would be more than willing to let you know if they did their homework.

Or if you were really feeling motivated you could fab up your own "dimpled" and non-dimpled surfaces of equal size and weight, take them down to the river and attach a spring to the surface and something anchored. If it works the dimpled one should not stretch the string as much as the non-dimpled.
 
#18 Ā·
I agree with what most of you have said, But I still dont get the Relation from a golf ball to a drift boat bottom. When you hit a golf ball it is going to spin in the air and the dimples are going to create turbulance which will give the ball lift and make it carry further. You dont get that in a drift boat. I do think that the dimples will create turbulance under a drift boat but I'm not sold that is a positive yet.
 
#24 Ā·
On the Clac we had we noticed a lot less drag when motoring with a kicker. Much less wake and the boat sat much flatter in the water and was faster when under power than the aluminum.
We also have a Aluminum drifter and under power it plows water with bow up much higher in the aluminum boat.
Look at shallow water riffles in the rivers/streams. Rocky bottom creates a much different effect than a sandy smooth bottom, that can be seem on the surface.
By owning both I know the dimpled glass bottom glides much smoother that the flat aluminim.
 
#25 Ā·
On the Colac we had we noticed a lot less drag when motoring with a kicker. Much less wake and the boat sat much flatter in the water and was faster when under power than the aluminum.
We also have a Aluminum drifter and under power it plows water with bow up much higher in the aluminum boat.
Look at shallow water riffles in the rivers/streams. Rocky bottom creates a much different effect than a sandy smooth bottom, that can be seem on the surface.
By owning both I know the dimpled glass bottom glides much smoother that the flat aluminum.

Plowing is a factor of rocker, not bottom surface.
Compare your two boats and see which one has the most rocker, it will also be the one that plow's the most.
 
#26 Ā·
Speed makes the theory work.

Driftboats do not travel in water with enough velocity.

If a driftboat has dimples in the surface and handles well.....maybe it is a well designed hull, and not the dimples that make it a success.
 
#27 Ā·
If your goal is to have a plane drop from the sky then dimpling would work. That plane that crashed due to ice in NY is an example. Ice on the leading edge created roughness. the roughness created turbulence and loss of lift, the plane crashed.[/quote]

Not to steel this thread, but the Q400 that crashed in Buffalo was not do to ice build up. It was do to crew failure (as much as I hate to say that). The crew let the plane get slow and then pulled back on the yoke when they got the stick shaker. You don't pull back on the yoke when your slow.. If you do it will induce a stall and the plane will loose lift. Thats what happened with this crew...... I have no idea if dimples work on boats....
 
#28 Ā·
have rowed three manufactures aluminum without and Clackacrafts with. All boats are perfect for some application and work fair to good in most other situations. On coastal streams with easy water no chop and once in awhile a gravel bar to push over in low water condition the Dimpled Clack is amazing easyest to row. Does not track as well as other in say dropping oars doing something and still tracking straight in mostly straight water.

Did row a glass boat Slide Rite in early 80's first boat did not row as well as clack so I think dimples have an effect.

The alum. boats are better in bigger water, water with lots of eddy's boils hold much better when fishing boil lines/seems as far as pitching side to side. In this water have to be on the oars more with Clack but still doable.

As with everything else we need a heavy tough alum. drift boat a Clackacraft a large pontoon. Then a small river/lake/duck boat a tillamook bay sled a columbia sled and a offshore tuna/halibut/salmon boat.

Just add lottery and your there
 
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