Drift boat advise

[Benjo]

I'm a fan of driftboats, but for what you want to do, there may be a better option. Pretty much every manyfacturer is making a "skiff" and they have really caught on on the Henrey's fork and other places. You can put a short shafted motor on them which is really nice, they also track better under power. Here is one from Ro boats:




The drawbacks to a traditional driftboat are:
1. Won't track well with a motor
2. Catch the wind like a sail
3. Noisy
4. Need a long shafted motor

I feel like the new breed of skiffs is a good compromise, though not as whitewater capable.

[flyfishmt]

I have a 16' 8" Hyde combo high side driftboat. It is predominately used on rivers, but since we have a great bass, bluegill and pike 150 acre pond in town, I thought I would buy and electric motor for it.

I purchased a motor adapter from Hyde and purchased a long shafted Minnkota trolling motor for it. It works just great. Wind is a bit of a problem with mine, becuase it is high sided, but I prefer it over the low sided boats. It is so much better than a canoe, jon boat or regular aluminum, because you can stand up and cast from it, because it is so stable.

It is a pretty hefty investment for a lake boat though unless you are getting some good river time with it. I would wager that you are look at 6K plus for a new boat and used ones are gobbled up as quickly as they go on hte market.

Good luck on your decision.

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[Rich Ward]

They work Great You will need to put an off-set kit on the anchor mast so you can mount the motor center Hyde is a pretty fare boat it is the owner of the company is a REEL JERK! I live in Idaho Falls also his port of call The RO boats are good and he is a geat guy (built in ST. Anthony) and Clacka Craft The best in my opinion but I did work for them and have a slanted view. Bruce Bells the owner and I are very good friends. you do want to stay with the low side boats who's ever you go with. I am pretty up on most of the drift boats that are glass and some of the Alu. boats if you have any questions about models.

Rich

[Benjo]

I haven't met the owner but I think Hyde boats have a better thought out interior than Clackacraft. The storage compartments are in better places and more accessable. They are both noisy boats though I think Clakas are a little less. I wouldn't buy glass or aluminum muself, either a classy wood boat or one of the newer HDPE plastic boats from Boulder Boatworks or Hog Bay. I have rowed Koffler aluminum boats and they are very cool and kind of like a skiff. They track great and it's like trout fishing from a flats skiff on the river, you are very high off the water.

Driftboats were designed for fishing big coastal rivers and unless you're going to do that there is no reason to buy one with high sides.