New boat hits the water

Here are a few photographs of the 17x52 McKenzie Inline Convertible. This is the same boat the Jason K. is finishing up right now. it's made for class II with an occasional splashy class III.

This one is going to a guide at the Roaring Fork Club in CO. He added a few options specifically for his water. The elevated front knee brace, the rear pedestal seat, the back knee brace, two Tempress seats and a water tight storage box under the rowers seat.

Let me know what you think.



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Permalink Reply by Jason Knight on June 12, 2009 at 6:38am
That is a good looking boat!
Bright finish on the exterior is looking niiiiice.....

Does this boat have an oiled interior as well?
Permalink Reply by Greg Hatten on June 12, 2009 at 8:02am
Nice work boys. Looks great in the water... those Colorado boys should be pleased.
GH
Permalink Reply by Christine on June 12, 2009 at 10:22am
Very nice! Great job to the team in Oregon on a fine looking boat.
Permalink Reply by Jesse Ronnow on June 12, 2009 at 9:47pm
Randy,

I want one! I can't start one right now as I have been put on boat building probation by my family ;), but the next one I build is going to look like this I hope. I was thinking of a bit wider on the bottom like say 56". Is the bottom of this boat asymmetrical? Looks beautiful.

Jesse
Permalink Reply by Randy Dersham on June 13, 2009 at 7:11am
Thank you Jesse
This boat bottom is symmetrical. We have also have a asymmetrical white water boat in 17x52 that is very popular. On the drawing table right now is a boat slightly larger that will have the same LOA as this but will have high sides and be our 17+ x56 guide model designed for the Rogue.. It will also have a nearly symmetrical bottom.

The reason to maintain the shorter LOA is that the Rogue has one rapid that is very tight and it can do bad things to boats that are too long. Guides in this area also float the Middle Fork in Idaho and that is pretty rocky skinny water that is hard on a bigger heavier boat so I'm working to keep it as light as possible.

Take a look at the photographs on the profiles here at WBP for Ken Helfrich, Kelsy Helfrich, and Herb Jacobsen to see the Middle Fork photos.
Permalink Reply by Mark Griffith on June 13, 2009 at 5:44pm
Randy, could you please explain what is meant by convertible, inline, and symmetrical bottom. I'm new to all this and need some catching up on some of these terms. This is a beautiful boat and after watching Jasons build I am conviced this is the boat for me sometime in the near future.
Thanks, Mark G
Permalink Reply by Randy Dersham on June 14, 2009 at 8:40am
Sure, Inline means that the boat is designed for three people inline. One in front of and one behind the rower. This configuration allows both anglers to cast toward the bank and stay far enough apart that casting is possible.

The symmetrical bottom mean that the bottom shape in front of the rower has about the same displacement as the shape behind the rower. Most drift boats are built either symmetrical for a balanced load or asymmetrical for a heavy load in front of the rower. The asymmetrical bottom is common on white water boats because any weight in the back of the boat is bad if you get stalled trying to break over a big wave. The weight forward will carry over and through the wave while weigh behind the rower will slow momentum and add to the possibility of a stall. The symmetrical bottom can carry a little more weight than an asymmetrical bottom because of its added displacement in the back of the boat, but it is not as specialized for white water.

Convertible means that there are two rowers stations. The rower station in these photographs is set up for one angler in front and one in back of the rower. If you remove the back knee brace the rowers seat can slide to a rear position and the front seat can slide back allowing two people to sit up front in the more traditional white water style. To help out in bigger water this boat has a little extra lift in the front to give the rower some boat to slap waves with and stay dry. It's primary purpose is low sides to stay out of the wind on Class I and Class II rivers. So the compromise on this boat is that it will handle Class III water but will likely cut the top off of waves at the oar lock if you are in water that has any confused or sideways motion coming toward the boat in additional to the main current in the rapid.
Permalink Reply by Mark Griffith on June 14, 2009 at 7:31pm
Thanks Randy, your explanation certainly cements my belief that I will be building this boat as soon as I can get the funds together for one of your kits. Think I might qualify for TARP money?

Thanks again, Mark G.

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