I've been thinking of upgrading my 14' Smokercraft and saw a 16' Klamath for sale. I'd never heard of them, but it looks like a great boat. Anyone have any information, pros and cons of these boats? thanks

I have the Klamath Alaskan 16. Probably the only con I can think of is weight, and it's not really a problem. The hull's so light for its size it hardly draws anything, and the wind can be a pain trolling slow. More so if you put a top on it. That's really all there is for negatives. It's a great all around boat. Super easy to tow, launches better than just about anything. It has wide and tall gunnels, huge beam for a 16. It's a well kept secret of a boat, you don't see many for sale because of it, and new boats aren't cheap. Great foul weather driver, just post the bow and plow through anything. The 16 also lets you put what, a 60 or 70 hp motor on it? I have a 60, and can tell you nobody in a 16 pulls me out of the hole, that's real handy around here. It pulls a skier or tube great, nice wake for all that stuff. Mine's a 7 passenger, does very well weighted down. Anything else you can think of just ask. Hair.

http://www.klamathboats.com/


*EDIT*: Some of the boats have double hulls, a very comforting feature. The only way to confirm whether your boat is a double hull is by serial number from the factory, you cant tell by looking at it.

Good upgrade. The Klamath's have a high bow and tall gunnels, good bay boats.

I had the 18 foot klamath with a 40 hp suzuki. Unreal fuel economy and would plane out just fine with 4 guys in it. Didn't like the rails for mounting downriggers but with the 40hp I could run at 30knots all day on 10 gallons of gas and they have no problem eating water in rips. Good luck don't go overkill on the motor you don't need it.

As good as these boats seem to be, and with everyone I have known with one who likes it, why are they not better known? This has been my standard of a good bay boat for awhile now. Am I missing something?

Thanks for the positive comments (and if there are any negative ones). The problem might be that it appears these boats are made in California and only sold in California and one or two places in Oregon.

Des Moines Boats was a dealer, they had a few in stock end of last year.

We had Klamath 18 foot center console boats with 50 Honda motors on them in our self guided fleet in SE Alaska. They are a good protected water boat and very sea worthy. After years of hard use and abuse the rivet holes can begin to leak, but the use they get at a lodge is nothing like personal use.

I liked them for what they were. The 50 Honda was plenty of power for a fishing boat, and you could run them all day long on 4 or 5 gallons of gas - really.

They apparently have changed, as they are all welded now.

I have a really old Klamath Trailorboat 12 footer and your thread got me searching for more info....here's what I came up with.....

#2 November 25th, 2005, 06:42 PM
Boatist
Rear Admiral
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Sacramento, California
Posts: 4,229

Re: 1955 Trailorboat aluminum runabout

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The Aluminum boat called Klamath had it beginning in 1947. The Trailorboat Company using knowledge gathered from from the aircraft industry durning World War II began construction in San Rafael Calfiornia. Durning the first several years, the Klamath was designed with a flat bottom while riveting the internal supports to the bottom and the sides.Klamath boats were sold to customers in the Western U.S. and through the Montgomery Wards Catalog Stores.In 1970, production moved to Sonoma, California to a larger facilities. The Klamath product and name bacame the industry standard. California and West Fisherman specified the Klamath as their first choice for a fishing boat. 1978 Marked the first year Klamath began welding their boats. Klamath developed a chine that woulds accept both the bottom and the side panels for interior welds. The chine provided stability and ease of planning. It planes faster and with less HP than the competitors. It is also faster and the driest ride available.Klamath's name became so popular that the company reincorporated as the Klamath Boat Company, inc.Klamath moved it manufacturing facilities to brand new building in American Canyon, Napa County, CaliforniaI don't know that I can add much but I have owned both. First thing you will find that it is only a West Coast boat. Most east of California have never herd of either. Older Trailorboats had wood gunnels and transoms were also wood. All the boats used Rivets and were light and somewhat narrow. Klamath changed the boats over time to have aluminum Gunnels then the transom changed over. Hulls became wider and they started welding. After that they started molding the hull to have a formed hull and shapes to support the hull. Older boats used cross members to support the hull. Today Klamth is one of the best small boats and the hulls have a modified V in the front then flatten out near the stern. They ride good and are all welded. I think the best Aluminum boats under under 20 feet, but then today there are lots of good small aluminum boats. I am pretty sure Klamth was the very first to weld the hulls. I would not buy one with rivets.

Interesting. Thanks. Finding one and finding one at a reasonable price will now be my challenge.

I've had a 19' GTX Klamath w/50 HP E-tec since 2008.Bought boat motor and trailer new for $21K out the door.The 50 E-tec makes the boat legal for hp restrictions on the Kenai River (only 2 miles from home). The hull only weighs 800 pounds and the motor adds 235 lbs.This package will flat out move.My Garmin gps has it going 42 mph @ 4800 rpm with quite a bit of throttle left if I need it.( I don't)
I take this out on the Kenai River ,halibut fishing out of Homer,silver fishing out of Seward,and any of the local lakes here on the Kenai Peninsula.It's been a great unit for my needs.With an 18 gallon in floor tank I've spent 15 hours out of Homer fishing--trolling drifting and running out and in and come back to port with 3/4 of a tank left onboard.I wish my F150 would get that kind of mileage.
The only negative things I would say about this rig :it feels a little small when the weather kicks up out in the salt so I keep a good eye on the weather.And the x-100 oil costs $50 a gallon.However I still have a quarter gallon from 2008 so the engine really doesn't burn much oil at all.The engine has only had one problem in 2 seasons when it sucked some seaweed into the water intake and wouldn't pee.Very easy fix .
Though there is no boat that is the perfect all-around boat for every application this comes about as close as possible for my applications.Reasonably priced,sound rig,and sometimes they come up for sale.Good luck in your own search.

What is the quick fix for the outboard not peeing? My 15 horse kicker did that as I was flushing the last time I had it out. I read the manual and it said stick it in reverse and it will clear. It did the first time, not the second time. I have mechanical tools but limited mechanical brains. any tips?

Motor not peeing ??????????????
All I had to do when my E-tec sucked in some seaweed was to lift the motor and clean out the intake port with a piece of wire.Like I said an easy fix.

Pop the top, not sure what year your kicker is, but if it hasn't been run in awhile perhaps was not flushed last time it was run.

Sometimes the line will clog with salt, right where it comes out of the housing. You could try pulling the hose inside te case , and see if the hose is clogged.

How about a make and year of engine?

My motor started pissing less and less on a trip out of town last year and it had me concerned. The guy at a marina suggested back flushing it with compressed air (blow air into the outlet hole with the engine shut down). It worked great. I have since replaced the water pump as it was overdue but I think salt/corrosion was the problem even though I religiously flush the thing after use in saltwater. I used a compressed air tank and it didn't take much. Don't put a hundred psi in there or who knows what you'll blow out.

My 2 cents

15 horse Johnson, late 80's