Wooden Boat People

By McKenzieDriftBoat.com

Boat Sizing

Hi all,

I'm new to boat building and have a few questions. I will be primarily fishing in Montana, Idaho (Clearwater) and Washington (all rivers with some lakes as well). Mostly I will be fishing in Montana. I've been reading a lot about Spira International's mid-Western design. I'm thinking that might be the best design for my fishing needs but I don't know.

What designs work best for fishing fast water and lakes? Is there an ideal design to do both?

What is the best size to use for fishing 3 people (one rower and two fisherman)?

Any ideas is greatly appreciated. I'm planning on buying plans and building it myself. This boat will be a fishing vessel not a show piece. Thanks!

Cheers,

Joe Gill

Townsend, MT

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Roger Fletcher on July 6, 2011 at 10:54pm

Chapter 11 is designed to help the reader understand how the traditional drift boats hang together and I use the McKenzie double-ender with transom for illustrative purposes. The lines and construction detail of ten of the 13 boats I have "recovered" appear in chapters 14 -21and are self-explanatory. The plans as they appear in the book have been reduced 45% from my scaled plans. All the measurements are presented in the traditional format of feet, inches and one-eighth inches. So if you look at the plans for the Rapid Robert on pages 225 - 227 and the half-breadth bottom frame measurement, for example, for frame # 5 (p 226) you note the numbers 1 - 9 - 1. That measurement translates to a measurement from the centerline of the boat to the inside panel as 1 foot plus 9 inches plus 1/8th inch. Where you see a ( + ) or a ( - ) sign after that last number, add or subtract 1/16 inch. If you send an email to me I can send to you a materials list for the boat. However, you will also find it instructive to take the time to develop your own list based on your interpretation of ther plans. Building a boat from scratch can be a very rewarding experience.