I have a willys power drifter 'alumadrifter' 80s vintage. I have drifted coastal rivers and the santiam. It works ok for drifting. There is more surface in contact with the water so it requires a little more work on the oars.
It excels in tidewater or bays with the motor for crabbing and fishing in the tidewater salmon holes.

Definitely a compromise boat. Not as good as a standard driftboat for drifting. and not as good as a keeled powerboat for motor applications.
I would imagine the clackacraft would have similar performance.
I run a 25hp 2stroke.

 

I have a Aluma-drifter and as mentioned, it’s an awesome compromise boat. I mainly use it for fishing and crabbing in the bays. It’s OK as a drift boat, but with a 20 HP outboard, it is great for running in the tidewater.

 

Never fished in one but I think it's safe to say the oaring aspect of there usefulness is pretty slim, I think they are essentially a fiberglass sled that a guy can get into for a little less money then a aluminum. YouTube has several videos of those boats in action, they are capable of running pretty skinny water.

 

yep they run REALLY skinny water. If you want to see what they'll do, go see Jake at clack. He loves to have an excuse for a demo. I had a ride a couple a weeks ago when the river level was around 11ish, impressive.



The Alumadrifter of years ago is nothing like the power drifter.

 

I owned a 17’ Rogue Marine Stealth for a while. I liked the layout, but it was a pain in the rear to row. It came with a 25hp Merc jet, which got me up and down the Lewis okay, but a 40hp would have been better. For the money they want for “power drifters” these days, I’d opt for a true sled.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Thank you all for the feedback, pretty much what I expected - they're not cheap either, $25,000 "loaded" (I don't know what that means but I'd probably gladly trim from that 25K some anyways) - My first drift boat was a "SMADA" fiberglass, not enough rake to row well but it made me a believer in FG but I bought a 16' x 50" Willie new and still have it, use it often (it shows too) I am gonna take them up on a test run of the power drifter just to see

 

Let us no what you think and ask them squarely what happens to the bottom when the hull hits a rock at 25mph. Good luck with the test drive

 

It scuffs the gel coat. The general idea is to avoid hitting rocks but we all know it isn't a matter if but when.


The performance of the boat speaks for itself. Most of the folks that go for a ride in them, end up owning one.

 

I've had an eye for this style of boat for a while. Looks like fun. What I notice on the Clack is a lack of room for a kicker. Yeah, the small jet might troll ok, but a kicker would save fuel and add safety. Wonder how they track?

 

I dont believe a kicker motor for controlling the drift is possible with that boat because of weight limitations at transom. The boat is designed to be fished as a destination vessel the jet motor gets you there and then you anchor fish or control the drift with oars

 

The price tag wow!! cant imagine that being much more difficult then building a drifter.

 

If a guys spent almost his entire time fishing tribs where motors are allowed (like the Clack0 and tidewater you'd be hard pressed to find a better boat. I've seen Jake run the Clack at levels I wouldn't dream of taking my sled. Running the Clack year around and bringing powerboat fishing into play for coho is huge.

 

here is a PIC of an OLD "magnum" that Clack used to make way back when.
They made 14 and 16 versions. I used both a 15hp and an electric on mine. If I only had one boat, this would be it. This one is for sale. It was more of a drift boat like the alumadrifter.



The comment about trolling motor on the newer magnum just isn't accurate what so ever. I have seen them set up with both a kicker on the transom and a big ole bow mount electric as well. It's all about your budget and the fishing you want to do.

 

Had to share this anglers west episode that showed up in my social media feed. They are running the magnum with 4 people, it has a kicker motor installed, and there is a segment where Josiah is on the sticks.

 

For your eye's:
https://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/bod/d/portland-clackacraft-magnum/7173334058.html

 

Do they have a tunnel hull?

With <50 hp it looks like a great boat for the Kenai!