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Re: McKenzie River Drift Boat questions
Posted: Mon Feb 20, 2017 5:06 pm
by jacquesmm
I visited a well know builder of those boats during a vacation in North Carolina and understand the requirements of the program enough. Plus, I have a bunch of drawings from classic designs in that style that I can work from. The rivers and the fishing has not changed for centuries, I think we can trust well proven classic lines.
I put it on my list, close to the top.
There isn't much above it on the list: a re-engineering of the Atkins River Belle and some renderings of the GT23 with extended cabin.
Re: McKenzie River Drift Boat questions
Posted: Mon Feb 20, 2017 9:48 pm
by Fuzz
Sounds good Jacques. I will be surprised if they do not turn out to be very popular plans.
Re: McKenzie River Drift Boat questions
Posted: Tue Feb 21, 2017 2:11 am
by BrianC
There is a shop out here in Colorado (where I am right now) that builds them by welding HDPE. Given that, I would think that stitch and glue would work just fine. Here is a link
https://boulderboatworks.com/pro-guide/
Re: McKenzie River Drift Boat questions
Posted: Tue Feb 21, 2017 11:45 am
by jacquesmm
I have doubts about the longevity of those HDPE boats.
Re: McKenzie River Drift Boat questions
Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2017 11:10 am
by tcason
The rope seats look interesting on the Boat works website
did search and seems pretty common in drift style boats
Re: McKenzie River Drift Boat questions
Posted: Fri Jun 09, 2017 5:54 pm
by BB Sig
Maybe Jacques vacation spot will bring this back to life!
Re: McKenzie River Drift Boat questions
Posted: Wed Jul 26, 2017 9:05 pm
by BB Sig
Any talk about working on this project? I figured your trip to Montana might have given you a push.
Re: McKenzie River Drift Boat questions
Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2018 10:37 am
by propgun
Bump. Same question as above.
S&G drift boat with minimal framing would be a fun little project.
Re: McKenzie River Drift Boat questions
Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2018 11:22 pm
by Fuzz
Could be wrong but I think one would be a big seller. The problem with the traditional wood drift boats is all the framing. When it comes time to do maintenance it seems like working around all those corners keeps it from happening. I have seen a bunch of them that looked great when new but a few years later not so much.
Re: McKenzie River Drift Boat questions
Posted: Sat Apr 21, 2018 7:32 am
by Browndog
Paul Butler, a frequent past contributor to Outdoor Life, has been a proponent of Plywood, Epoxy and Fiberglass for decades and has had several plans for stitch and glue drift boats printed over the years. I think you will be pleasantly surprised what a search for he and his wife Marya might turn up. His website Butlerprojects.com has lots of interesting things. He and his wife are the author of several books on yacht finishes that have become the go to reference book for the industry and DIYers.