Best multi-purpose boat?

J
JustMe
I plan on getting a 16 to 20 foot aluminum boat to use in the rivers, on the lakes, and possibly on the bays. My question to those of you with way more experience in this area than me is: would a drift boat or "regular" boat be better suited for all around multiple use? Obviously, the only purpose to have this boat is for fishing. Thanks in advance for any advice/recommendations/experiences given.
 
Casting Call
Casting Call
Hi JM! Welcome to the fourm. It's the best around with members of the young and old, innovative and traditional. I fall in the area of old, traditional, with a touch of innovative. Years ago I asked myself the same question. For the rivers a flat-bottom boat,for lakes and bays a semi-V hull. Here is what I have, a Zodiac with a semi-V HIGH PRESSURE BOTTOM (HPV series) that has a floor and a bottom that is hard as a rock with a very durable thick plastic/rubber coating like a bumper rail stuff. When I float the rivers I run low pressure, the V goes away and acts like a raft with sticks. Eighteen to twenty feet depending how many people you fish with and how much stuff you want to have on board. Hope some of this helps. Good luck Tony
 
E
eugene1
drift boat with a kicker is the most versatile. If you have never rowed a db before, or not sure how much whitewater you'll do, I'd try one out first. They do work on a bay or big river, but they are slow.

Best,
 
bass
bass
Nice try guys, but you all know in your hearts that the answer is kayak :)
 
S
seekanddestory
I like the Hewes craft boats
 
Irishrover
Irishrover
That is a hard question. I guess it depends on the percentage of time you spend doing which type of fishing. I like my drift boat for what it is designed for, drifting rivers. I also like it on the lakes if it's not windy. The lack of a keel really makes a difference. I have a 9.9 kicker I run on it from time to time and that puts a lot of weight on the stern. I can't open the motor up to full speed because it sucks the stern down and water comes in. So I stand in the middle of the boat with a tiller arm to steer. It's not the best of circumstances, but when I'm drifting the Sandy or other river you can't beat them. I have my other boat for the big water and the ocean. If someone where to tell me I could only have one boat I suspect I would go with a 18 to 20 Kalamath, or Alumaweld something along thoses lines. I could still fish the lakes and do the Columbia.
 
Casting Call
Casting Call
bass said:
Nice try guys, but you all know in your hearts that the answer is kayak :)
Nice shot John! Well played, don't you agree sean? Tony
 
J
JustMe
Wow, thanks for all the replies. I guess I have a lot of thinking to do on this, and maybe get out on a lake in a db and on a small river in a vee bottom and see for myself what the advantages/disadvantages of each is. Maybe the best scenario is to have lots of friends with boats and just bum rides:D And of course always have extra beer and $$ for gas.
 
E
eugene1
Yeah, that's a good comback!

To be honest Irish has it right. Decide what kind of fishing you like and pick a boat that can do that well while perhaps another type of fishing just "ok".

I see drift boats in lots of kinds of water just because that's what people have.

I don't like rowing down rivers myself since I need to think about the shuttle or bike/whatever. Also, I have friends with dbs.

I like my flat bottom sled, good for skinny water, bays, and even outside the jetty tips a few miles if there's good weather.

Best,

Casting Call said:
Nice shot John! Well played, don't you agree sean? Tony
 
C
capblack
decide where you plan to fish the most, and get a boat that is designed for that kind of fishing. if you will be fishing smaller rivers, get a driftboat, sled or a powerdrifter. if you plan on fishing the bigger rivers and lakes and bays the most, by an 18 or 20 ft aluminum v hull. no boat is good on both types of water, if you can't afford two boats, you will need to compromise. decent glass and aluminum drifters can be found for under $3000, so getting both if you have the room isn't that far out of reach
 
M
mosd
ive got a 16' riverhawk pro v with a 50hp and 8hp, love love the boat.. ive taken it out on the ocean up to five miles out, awesome in the bays
 
S
seekanddestory
Bigger the boat the better
 
D
DrTheopolis
The Great Fishing Dilemma rears its head again.

The unfortunate answer is that no boat is good at everything. And the answer is different for everyone.

Smaller rivers, or "mountain streams" with rapids and skinny water, nothing beats a driftboat. While sleds can do the larger ones at higher levels, they have big limitations, and the ones suitable for a broader range of river levels have little-to-no vee, which makes them less stable in the big choppy water.

In the northern reaches of the state, many anglers like to fish the Willamette and Columbia. Flat bottom sleds work, but get bounced around a bit (not so much on the Willy, the Creek gets all kinds of choppy). On the big water, the bigger and deeper the boat, the better -- but those don't do any sort of small water (and the bigger the boat, the tougher smaller launches get to use). A 6-10 horse on a driftboat works (generally isn't much difference in top speed between those sizes on a DB), but these's all kinds of limitations: as mentioned, they're slow. Most drift boats are lucky to see more than about 6-7 MPH, which means you're not fishing too far from the ramp (and ramps are few and far between on the Columbia, and to an extent, the Willy). They're also flat bottom to the extreme, and are a handful in choppy windy conditions (good luck trolling in those conditions).

Casting Call has a compromise with the inflatable, and the inflatable will do everything. But the compromises are great. A bit of an all-around comfort issue, you're getting wet, and in heavy chop, you'll take a beating. But as far as going anywhere, they pretty much rule. Fire right up through rapids that most sleds won't.

So, another vote for figuring out where you will be fishing most, and pick the most appropriate compromise. Everything in fishing boats is a compromise, from the basic boat design, to the motor, to the type of seats, to the storage boxes, and every last detail of everything.

Myself, I like to fish the smaller streams like the Clack. If I was buying a boat, I'd buy a driftboat... except my best fishing buddy has a nice DB with an electric, so maybe I'd buy something bigger. We have long range plans to fish the Willy a bit in OC or Milwaukie in it, but the compromise will be fishing near the ramps and may or may not be able to troll (probably depend on wind and how crowded it is -- bad form to take a boat that's hard to steer through the common trolling lanes). We've used it on the bays for crabbing and trolling, and it's OK, but a long way from ideal, and much better suited to the upper bays than near the jaws. On the other hand, it's a mean machine in upper tidewater, where no sleds can go.
 
S
seekanddestory
The river boat has there places and the bigger boats has there place. But i find my self in mybig boat more often then my river boat..we find are self eating more bottom fish and tuna
 
J
JustMe
Thanks again everyone for all the information. Right now I'm thinking I'll mostly be on the Clack and Sandy so a DB would be the right choice for those. I've owned a few boats over the years and been on countless others, but never a DB.
 

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