Since the newer imporved larger 17' driftboats have become a great alternative to the standard 16' models for fishing 3 people, and maybe extra gear, while being just as easy or easier to row, I'm curious just how big are they going to get. And at what point is getting too big? The 17's biggest advantage over the 16' is that with more bottom area it floats higher in the water per given load; thus making it easier to row and get thru shallows. The bonus is more room inside to put things and move around. Now recently I've heard of driftboats as large as 20 ft.?!? And with room for 4 passengers for a guide to row around in (the guide being the 5th person). Wow! Is this true? And how hard is it to row such a monster d-boat. I do have specific knowledge of 18' d-boats but haven't ever been in one. Since motors aren't allowed on the Kasilof in AK, maybe if Bob sees this he can answer about this. Anyone else heard of or seen these monster driftboats?

RT

There all over the Kasilof! Theres even one in Forks in a parking lot. A brand new Wild Hair. Hmmmmm, I wonder if that guy Knows Bob?It does have AK numbers on it though.
As far as size, the restriction is the rivers you fish. If you fish big rivers like the Sky or Skagit or even the lower Sauk then you could get one down. I dont however think it would pay to try to fill one to guide out of for Steelies and such because we dont get the numbers of fish they do up in AK. Then Theres places at low water were these wont fit like some of the Forks area rivers. I wouldent want to row a 20 down the Hatchery drift or the lower end of the Duc at 3 to 5 boards. And this season that was average! If not the high side. Its not the depth of water always and how high does the boat float, its the spacing of the rocks!

Bob D

I know Willie is making them all the way to 20' the picture on thier brochure shows a guy rowing and 4 passengers up front. No thanks. I just ordered a 17' willie really looking forward to it's arrival.

I have a new 19' 4 seater Willie Drift Boat and it is great if you are just going to drift fish. I had to pull plugs 3 times this season and it does row a bit harder that my 16'er. I haven't tried it with 4 clients yet but that's coming up soon.

When you are in rocky rapids you must set up very early to move. Ya just can't stop them like the little ones. With the 66" bottom it floats a bit higher.

There is a 24' Willie Drift Boat on the Kenai/Kasilof. Man, it is big. Don't know how it rows.

I tried to load a picture of it on the new visitors picture page but it wouldn't load for me. "HELP" I would also load a picture of Bob rowing 4 clients on the Kasilof of I can figure how to do it.

fp

I own an 18' Eastside. We call it a Driftabago. Heater, Motor, Refrigerator etc.
Next winter I am planning to put a satellite dish on it

As to drifting the Hatchery stretch at 3 to 5 boards, well, I tried that. We lived. It was questionable a couple of times. I can't wait to try again.

GutZ

The second biggest boat in operation up north ... they're not very nimble, but they row okay. A lot of work in sliding tails when the flow picks up, but once you get them stopped, they hold their line very well!

A little over 20 feet along the gunwhale ... 72 inches wide.

The other big Wild Hair in Forks belongs to Mike Price ... it rows very, very well as it came with a very simple layout and is quite light.

You can see a Willie's 19' x 66" on the gallery page belonging to fp ...

And to this day, motors are allowed on the Kasilof, it's just very rare to see a powerboat down there ... kinda like the north coast rivers


[ 04-26-2001: Message edited by: Bob ]

Hey, I saw that 4 passenger + rower on the Upper Hoh a couple weeks ago. Shocked the crap out of me. I've seen pics of them from AK, but not down here.

Yeah, I can see the future now, 35 ft driftboat, 120 inch wide, 14 ft long oars. It'll have one statesroom, a head, complete heater system PLUS air conditioning (for those hot summer days), automatic pilot that redirects oars in case you hit a slot wrong, a GPS system that has small electric downriggers that drop your plug rods into the water EXACTLY when you hit head of a slot and pulls them up when you approach a snag. What more could you ask for? (I'm sure the list could go on and on). I guess the size will go up as long as someone will pay for them.

I'll stick with my 16ft cat, but hey they do have an 18ft cataraft. Hell, I can splurge. There is a 20 ft wide and 40 feet long cataraft that's made for multi people to safely run a class V rapid. I've seen it, mostly for the Colorado but why the heck not. THE RIVER WILL BE MINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This post has my wheels turning a bit. Which d-boat would work best for traveling the fastest to a location? Would about an 18' lighter version get on a semi-plane with a 10 hp or 15 hp OB? I could clear an extra slot in our garage if I sold both my sled and cataraft and got a large semi-planning driftboat. Probably regret that though.

RT;
The only problem with a 10 or 15 horse on a drift boat is that the nose tends to come up so all of the fat guys have to sit in front. I don't expect that you are one to let someone else drive your boat, so ... ;)(neither am I for that matter!)
GutZ

Geez, you've got a lot of Gutz saying that. :p ... jk. I think you are probably right.