Im looking to purchase a drift boat in the near future. Does anyone know where I can find a dealer in the Seattle to Everett area? Does anyone have any preferences between fiberglass (lavro) vs. Aluminum? Any info would be much appreciated.

- Cameron

check out Willieboats.com. give them a call and ask questions. ask them what makes their products better than the others (Lavro. Aulumaweld or what ever) they make a great boat. They are not local in Seattle but they are worth at least checking out. I figured If I was going to spend money on a boat I wanted one that was going to hold up for many years and I didn't mind the drive to pick it up.


dcrzfitter

Bank Walker, Do your self a big favor and dilligently look for a used drift boat there are thousands of them laying around the northwest alot of willie and woolworths and valcos that were built in the early 70's are still ready to go anywhere you want to row them. Old boats don't look as fancy but they get the job done for 95% of what you are looking for anyway. Then do your self and even bigger favor and put the difference you just saved in a tax deferred retirement account. By the time you are old enough to draw on it it will be large enough through growth to pay for all your fishing every year after you retire. Its called planning and you at your age should not delay getting started. If you do this sometime 40 years or so from now you will wonder who that guy was!

Thanks for the info 'drifter, and Native son. I checked out the Willie boats website, look like great boats. Definetely worth the effort of finding out were the nearest dealer is. Wouldnt want to spend retirement any other way Native <><

- B.W

BW

I think the nearest dealer is in Oregon. I went right to the factory. they are kinda their own dealer. you can go down and test them from the factory. I personally would go right to them. They gave me a good deal. they called it the guides dicount. They are in Medford Or. and e-z to find. If you descide to order one let me know. I will give you some pointers in what to get and what do yerself. and save some money by doing simple things yerself that they charge alot for.

I also agree with what Native son said about maybe finding a used one. there have been several on this board for sale and if you look around and don't get in a big hury you will be able to find a really great boat for a better price. but if you want a new one then that is cool.

Bank Walker, if you look at a used aluminum boat, check the bottom to see how concave it is. This happens to aluminum boats over the years, from banging rocks in steep shallow drops. It makes them noiser from water slopping around in the hollow, and they don't track as well as a flat bottom. I purchased a boat from Willie, 7 years ago, to replace my old Eastside, it still fishes like new.As one who has owned glass and metal boats, my observations are that glass is slipperier, quieter, and warmer, aluminum is lighter, better tracking,and more durable. By the way, I live in Puget sound area, and willie delivered my boat for me. If I remember right, the guy I dealt with, was Jim Biddle,

You've looked at Willie, take a drive to Monroe and look at Lavro, Ron will give you a tour of the plant. They make glass boats. Doug's Inboard Boats in Woodinville sells Aluminum drift boats, I believe they're Alumaweld's. Take a look yourself to see the difference. I thought I would save myself a bunch of money and built a wood boat. It is pretty, but ended up costing a lot. It has a 1/4 inch plastic sheet on the bottom so it will take some abuse, but not like an aluminum will. I agree you should look at some used boats. You'll be surprised at some of the deals out there. Good luck!

Keep an eye on the various classifieds (Seattle papers, little nickel, etc., this site) and you'll come across lots of decent deals, especially during the lull between winter and summer steelhead. If you check in on http://www.virtualclassifieds.net you can customize it to show all the listings for little nickle type papers in your area.

Bruce

I used to own a fiberglass claka craft drift boat. Bought it right from the factory in Oregon. Some thoughts on which boat to by...

Do you own a 4x4? If not, you might want to consider fiberglass for ease of launching/pull-out. Are you planning on fishing in low/smaller water? Fiberglass slides over rocks and makes less noise. If you have a 4x4 and fish mainly larger rivers either type of boat will work. Talk to as many drift boat owners as you can for their preference in boats. Just my .02

One other lil note. If you wanan fish the low water or the biger stuff for that matter look into gettign a Cataraft. I am really considering getting one. (someday) there are a few guys on this BB that have them and would probably point you in the right direction to loo kat them. I know Osprey has done allot of research and knows allot of good info about them. you ca nfish jus tas many from them as a drift boat abd go in smaller water.

Claka craft is a nice boat to. my first steelie was from one. I learned to row in one. but I will keap my Willie and for low water I will one day get a CAT.

dcrzfitter

If this is your first boat, get a used alum one. You can put lots of dents in in and modify it the way you want it and not feel bad about drilling more holes when you realize that it's not a good idea to put your heater on the same side as your rod holder (I learned this lesson and many others on my first boat) After you get an idea of what you want and can't think of anything else you'd change then order yourself up an new one and have everything done just the way you want it. Everyone has their own opinion on how to best set up a boat, but in the end it's up to you. It is a lot less painful to be redrilling holes in a "cheap" used boat than in a brand new one.
I'll always go alum. If you can find one with a UHMW bottom, get it, espicially if you like to row the skinny stuff. The UHMW will also save your @#! on occasion. Good luck and have fun

if ya' want a cheap boat, used wood boats are cheap. they will break easier though.

if ya' goin' to fish rivers like the sky, a fiberglas boat will see ya' through but really watch the rocks. fiberglas may slide over them, but my friend dave found that banging sideways into a rock at the top of the island at two bit will put a nasty gouge through the gel coat and into the glass.

if ya' want to float a peninsula river, aluminum is the best. it may dent, but it won't break. as for which one? ford vs chevy: willy vs. alumaweld, etc.

my advice is to buy a used aluminum boat. you'll end up with one in the end anyways (or else a new aluminum boat).

Hey, thanks everyone for all the input. Since I live in Monroe, i will Check out Lavro first. I called and i guess they are on a "employee vacation." I will also check out Dougs'. I really like the 14' Willie. Im looking for something in the $2-3000 range, because i also have to save for College. I figure if i can get one by October/Nov, the Chums will be a good fish to practice on =)

- BW

I bought a new Fishrite in 1982 and still run that boat.....it's an excellent boat. I also had a 14' Clackacraft I bought in 1994 and sold recently that was a nice little boat but didn't see much use, decided to go to a cataraft for smaller rivers.

Bank Walker,

You cannot go wrong with a Lavro. We have taped most of our driftboat TV shows out a Lavro boat and the stability and sturdiness is excellent. Because it's glass, it's much lighter than the metal tugboats (I mean driftboats) which is ideal for fishing the low waters we get around here at times.

Ron Lavigueure is a very personable fellow and if you go visit his factory, I guarantee that you won't get out of there in less than an hour because he'll get to talking about fish with you and...well..you know how that goes.
He'll also be at the Trout Unlimited Booth at the Monroe Fair A LOT starting on Aug 24 so you can catch him there too.

Kevin Erickson
Fisherman's Heaven TV http://www.fishermansheaven.com

buy used, then after you use it for a while, buy a new boat & trailer exactly the way you want it.

I just had a wheel bearing blowout on the way back from the Klickitat, luckily I was only 5 miles from Goldendale and the Napa was still open.

Used equipment will have less of a lifespan on it, especially if it has a lot of moving parts.

I bought a used glass boat 3 years ago and had Ron @ Lavro reinforce the hull (the boat was a kit boat that I thought was a Lavro). Verify that the boat is what the owners says it is!

Buy a newer used boat and re-pack the bearings with marine grease and install bearing buddies or else you will be SOL one day in the middle of nowhere.

Just my opinions.

------------------

Bank Walker, Ron from Lavro is back in town, you can call him at 360-794-5525 or visit his shop which is across the street from the big state run hotel for bad boys. Like Kevin said Ron will be at the TU booth at the fair a lot or you can talk with whoever is there. I might be prejudiced cuz I own a Lavro however you can't beat a glass boat, they'll hold up to anything a tin boat will. Besides, being from Monroe, it's always good to support a locale merchant when you can. Good Luck.

Bankwalker,

Aren't you about 18 years old or so? I was about your age when I started rowing a just few years ago. My first driftboat was a 14' Lavro and it was easy to row and a great boat to learn with. I bought it used with trailer for about $1,500. Used driftboats are not easy to find. If you plan on pulling plugs a lot like I do then an aluminum boat will be what you want eventually. They track awesome. I don't know how strong you are but a 16' foot aluminum boat is a lot of boat to row especially all day long. I have no problem rowing my 16' Thor now but I'm glad I learned on the 14' Lavro first. I'm also a lot bigger and stronger now mostly from rowing my old Willie(16' with two heavy-ass buddies in the front seat all the time) I fish the Sky, Snoqualamie, and the Snohomish all the time so if you want to try rowing let me know I have access to my old Lavro if you want to try a small fiberglass first.

Life is short...fish hard!!

Come on now Breezer, If glass boats are so durable, why then do 95% of the river guides fish in aluminum. Sure aluminum dents, but you scrape the gelcoat off the bottom of your glass boat and it will soak up water like a sponge. It takes quite a while to dry properly, and you can use acetone to break the water molecules down, and shorten the drying time. If you don't do this and re-apply gelcoat, you have just sealed all that water into your glass, and over time , it will dryrot, just like wood.When I say gelcoat, I'm talking about the shiny finish on your boat, before you apply a bottom coat. I have previously worked in the boat building and repair business, for over 20 years, and I can't begin to count the number of boats, and yachts that have come in for repair of rotten glass. Commercial guides who fish 200 to 300 days a year value durability in their boats, and they make their choices accordingly. Me I'm just a sportsman, my "tin boat" by willie is 7 or 8 years old now, and 20 years from now, god willing, it will still be running the lower solduc, can you say the same for your glass boat??

Dan O, I hope the kid, and anybody else that didn't know the info you posted here, pays attention to what you just posted. I like you have seen a lot of delamination of skiffs and also large work boats that could never be fixed. The cause was usually attributed to cracks caused by minor scrapes and collisions these open the glass to entry by water and then at some point the water will freeze making the gaps larger and letting in more water which will again freeze and on and on.
I still like a lot of the reasons that have been posted here for glass boats but I notice that after owning a lot of different craft the ones I have now are either wood or aluminum or inflatible I must have developed a "personal preference".
Sold my first Alumaweld that I bought in 1969 from Willie Illingsworth to friend who sold it ten years later to his brother in law who is still using it. I went out to his place the other day after this post started and took a good look. The damn thing is still ready to go and the biggest dents are still the ones I put in launching it back when there were no launches.