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Permalink Reply by Jonathan Clarke on February 17, 2009 at 9:53am

As defined, none yet. The roughest water my boat has seen here in the Midwest is maybe class 2 and that could be stretching it. There are whitewater rivers around, but I'm an angler, not a river tourer, so I've never sought out whitewater for the purpose of putting the boat through its paces. I have to say that I am very impressed with the photos that you Oregonians have posted. The pictures have shown me that I'm the limitation, not the boat.

My challenge has been in finding decent put ins and takeouts a reasonable distance apart on the rivers around here. The reasonable distance part arises because of another challenge: Fairly long stretches of flat water that require rowing through due to a lack of current. Another challenge is just plain bony water. The rivers around here have been unusually low, even for late summer, due to fairly dry conditions the last few years. However, the boat is great fun to row and provides an incomparable fishing platform

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Permalink Reply by Mike Dearing on February 17, 2009 at 11:10am

Jonathan,

Thanks for your reply this is exactly the type of answer I am looking for. I should have titled this thread What kind of water do you use your boat in and why.

I didn't start this thread to brag about what kind of water I run, because I know there are guys on here like Herb, Larry and the Helfriches that run water that is just as tough as the stuff I do, and maybe even more so. Because when I run what I consider tough water I use a raft of cat for the most part, where these guys use driftboat/dory's exclusively if I am not mistaken. So even though I have greatly enjoyed hearing what kind of water everybody runs and why, I am also very curious about how the "average" guy uses his driftboat.

Mike

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Permalink Reply by lhedrick on February 17, 2009 at 9:32pm

Being an average guy, why do I do this and why do I do this in a dory.

You can't really fish from a raft.

I can't build a hypalon raft.

Building a dory is great fun.

While running a piece of big water is huge fun, it's not the main reason. Sitting in Camp on the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon is as good as it gets. The place is beyond description. Three foot long nautiloid fossils, water falls which most people would think were in the South Pacific if they saw them in a photo. How can a person explain what it's like to stand at the back of Redwall Cavern and look up at the ceiling which over hangs 300 feet back to the river. 21 days and 220 miles of the greatest camping there is. Food, beer, friends and 21 days which will never be forgotten. Do I have the skill set to make it? Sometimes I wonder but, it's the only way down river that I know of and I don't have a raft. Each season I manage to get my ass kicked but, I usually learn something from it and that's all one can ask. How else can you learn anything but by taking on a bit more then you did the last time. Would I recommend someone take a dory or raft down the colorado with no experience? Never, but find the people who can help you learn so you can one day give it a shot.

This past fall we had a 7 day trip down Deso on the Green. One day after a late start we tried to make camp which was at the top of rattle snake rapid. It was dark a mile before we got there. I was in no mood to keep rowing in the dark. I saw a sand bar and pulled over while the rest of the group floated on down to the camp above Rattle Snake IN THE DARK. I put up my tent then sat in a chair for an hour looking at the stars before going to sleep. In a country of 300,000,000 people you don't get that many opportunities for such a night. The next morning I got up with the sun and joined the group just in time for coffee and breakfast.

I often put in on the Green at Little Hole and float down to a camp above Red Creek rapid and stay for 2 days and nights by myself. Red Creek rapid is loaded with good size browns. There is a 1/3 mile section of killer fishing. In a boat it's too fast to fish. Myself and a friend have fished it many times and in ten years we are the only people I have seen fish that water. Try to do that back in my old home of Pennsylvania.

That's why I build boats.

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