Drift Boats

[Nick F - Gaucho Fly]

Sitting at home with too much time to think and not enough time to fish, my thoughts have turned toward what watercraft I should eventually buy to fish the upper potomac and nearby rivers.  After thinking about a canoe, kayak, pontoon or a raft, I am slowly convincing myself that what I really want is a drift boat.  I know that the general wisdom is that a raft (or a jet boat) is a much better choice for the upper potomac, but to me there is nothing quite as pretty and fun as rowing a drift boat down a big river, and I am willing to sacrifice a bit on versatility, even if it means that I can't float as many sections of the river and may have to take more care not to damage it. My conclusion (and hopefully not just wishful thinking) is that in the drift boat, I will be able to float the Upper Potomac when its a bit higher, and when its not, I can focus on certain deeper sections, lakes, trips to western MD, or of course, the lower Potomac.  I even saw a bunch of drift boats on the Susquehanna flats this Spring, so I know at least a few guys are using them within an hour or two drive.

 

With all that in mind, I am hoping that someone who has a drift boat or real exeperience in one around this area can either set me at ease or tell me if they think going this route will be a mistake, in either practical or safety terms.   

 

 

[Jeffrey Silvan]

Nick - 

There was a post a little while back where someone found one on Craigslist and sent it out to the group. The post itself was of course deleted, but Dan Davala's advice related to the boat still lives on. Here's what he wrote:

"There's a good reason most Upper Potomac guides use rafts instead of drift boats.  The rafts bounce off or flex over the big rocks that make up a lot of the Potomac bottom, especially through the sections with "rapids".  We just drifted through Seneca Breaks yesterday in our kayaks, and even with the River still a bit high I would not want to run that section in a hard-hull drift boat.  Additionally, when motoring in a drift boat, the front end pops a pretty significant "wheelie" making it pretty difficult to see rocks up ahead, so motoring up river in an unfamiliar section can be treacherous."

On Tue, Oct 8, 2013 at 9:50 AM, Nick F - Gaucho Fly <nfran...@gmail.com> wrote:

Sitting at home with too much time to think and not enough time to fish, my thoughts have turned toward what watercraft I should eventually buy to fish the upper potomac and nearby rivers.  After thinking about a canoe, kayak, pontoon or a raft, I am slowly convincing myself that what I really want is a drift boat.  I know that the general wisdom is that a raft (or a jet boat) is a much better choice for the upper potomac, but to me there is nothing quite as pretty and fun as rowing a drift boat down a big river, and I am willing to sacrifice a bit on versatility, even if it means that I can't float as many sections of the river and may have to take more care not to damage it. My conclusion (and hopefully not just wishful thinking) is that in the drift boat, I will be able to float the Upper Potomac when its a bit higher, and when its not, I can focus on certain deeper sections, lakes, trips to western MD, or of course, the lower Potomac.  I even saw a bunch of drift boats on the Susquehanna flats this Spring, so I know at least a few guys are using them within an hour or two drive.

 

With all that in mind, I am hoping that someone who has a drift boat or real exeperience in one around this area can either set me at ease or tell me if they think going this route will be a mistake, in either practical or safety terms.   

 

 

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[Rob Snowhite]

Hopefully when you get one a drunk driver won't t-bone it going 65 mph and destroy it when it's parked. 

Sent from my iPhone

On Oct 8, 2013, at 9:50 AM, Nick F - Gaucho Fly <nfran...@gmail.com> wrote:

Sitting at home with too much time to think and not enough time to fish, my thoughts have turned toward what watercraft I should eventually buy to fish the upper potomac and nearby rivers.  After thinking about a canoe, kayak, pontoon or a raft, I am slowly convincing myself that what I really want is a drift boat.  I know that the general wisdom is that a raft (or a jet boat) is a much better choice for the upper potomac, but to me there is nothing quite as pretty and fun as rowing a drift boat down a big river, and I am willing to sacrifice a bit on versatility, even if it means that I can't float as many sections of the river and may have to take more care not to damage it. My conclusion (and hopefully not just wishful thinking) is that in the drift boat, I will be able to float the Upper Potomac when its a bit higher, and when its not, I can focus on certain deeper sections, lakes, trips to western MD, or of course, the lower Potomac.  I even saw a bunch of drift boats on the Susquehanna flats this Spring, so I know at least a few guys are using them within an hour or two drive.

 

With all that in mind, I am hoping that someone who has a drift boat or real exeperience in one around this area can either set me at ease or tell me if they think going this route will be a mistake, in either practical or safety terms.   

 

 

--

[Terry C]

On Tuesday, October 8, 2013 12:23:39 PM UTC-4, Rob Snowhite wrote:
> Hopefully when you get one a drunk driver won't t-bone it going 65 mph and destroy it when it's parked. 
>

Nick, I fish the upper Potomac often out of my kayak. One of the things I like about it is That I can paddle up river then drift back to the launch spot. Also it's easy to load and unload from car. Using a drift boat will require down river trips with a pick up vehicle . I would think twice. In my opinion for what it's worth you would get more use from a kayak . If you are looking for a drift boat Fletcher's had 3 of them last year, don't know what happened to them. I think they wanted to sell.

[Rob Snowhite]

Terry,

If you head up to the Salmon River you might see the last of the Fletcher's boats. One of the guides up there bought it.

Nick, give me a shout if you want to talk drift boats with out me boring everyone here.

Sent from my iPhone

> To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tidal-potomac-fly-rodders/855d1523-cc0e-43a9-97c6-28212ec539ad%40googlegroups.com.

[Nick F - Gaucho Fly]

Thanks guys for the feedback. I realize it would be a bit of a labor of love, and probably not ideal in some ways but will see how I feel about it come spring. Rob I will give you a shout to get your thoughts. Sorry to hear about your boat!

[Carl Z.]

On Tue, Oct 8, 2013 at 9:50 AM, Nick F - Gaucho Fly <nfran...@gmail.com> wrote:

 I am slowly convincing myself that what I really want is a drift boat.  

<snip> 

My conclusion (and hopefully not just wishful thinking) is that in the drift boat, I will be able to float the Upper Potomac when its a bit higher, and when its not, I can focus on certain deeper sections, lakes, trips to western MD, or of course, the lower Potomac.  

I am convinced that with a drift boat, you will suddenly acquire new friends.  I'm first in line.

The drift boat is good for floats.  You need at least two people and one has to be at the oars.  It is a great boat for guides who know their stretch of the river and who have the whole "drop off and pick up" thing down.  I floated Harpers Ferry with Butch Murphy in his drift boat and it was great, but I think having two or three people who share the boat (and time behind the oars) would make it more fun than being the sole owner and having to train new people to oar every time, but you have that problem with any boat.

Carl 

[Brad]

It is possible to single hand a boat and still fish. The great thing about the Potomac is you can self shuttle with a bicycle using the tow path and therefore only need one vehicle and one person. Sine you will have a trailer, buy a small motorcycle for the shuttle. What's another $1000.....River and Trail Outfitters in MD runs shuttles as well for the stuff around Harpers Ferry and downstream. 

A great way to rotate oar time and fishing time is to play baseball - three strikes and you are out (landed fish or missed). It really puts the incentive on the guy on the oars to keep you missing fish....

[Barracuda]

Brad,

How do you self shuttle with a bicycle? Doesn't that mean leaving the bicycle at the take-out -- and don't you worry about theft?

[Brad]

I never worry about theft and have never had anything stolen.

Last trip I did, I dropped the canoe at the put in. I put all my rods, cooler and other gear under the canoe and locked the canoe to a post with a long chain. I drove down to the take out and left the truck and got on the bike. Biked the 4 miles back up to the canoe, put the canoe in the water and locked up the bike. Came back with the truck to pick up the canoe after the float. 

It is ever easier if you would rather do the ride after the float (I typically don't). Stop at the take out first and drop the bike. Lock it up. Drive to the put-in. Put-in. Float. Lock canoe at takeout and ride back up to the put-in to get the truck. 

[Brad]

Ooops. I meant "Came back with the truck to pick up the bike....."

[TurbineBlade]

Brad, do you remember that 6th grade logic puzzle where you have a man, a wolf, a head of cabbage and a lamb that you have to ferry across the river with a canoe....and you can only transport "X" amount of weight, etc.  Plus the wolf can't be left on the bank with the lamb because the lamb will get eaten, and you can't trust the lamb and the cabbage....

Anyone remember that?  Your solo canoe technique reminds me of that.  

Gene