New member and builder

I'm looking forward to being a member of this group and learning a few things. I've just ordered the plans for the 18' Don Hill Mackenzie river drift boat. I'm going to give them a good look over and then decide whether to build or buy a used boat.

My son and I built a 26' Pacific City dory some years ago, so I kind of know what to expect and as much as I really enjoy the process of building, I keep getting tempted by the instant gratification of buying a used boat and hitting the water this year.

That, plus I'll need to build a temporary structure to build the boat in since my wife insists on parking her car in the garage. Imagine that. Apparently she doesn't realize that garages were added to houses for guys to do stuff in.

Oh well, I'll soldier on somehow.

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Permalink Reply by tungsten on April 5, 2012 at 7:03pm

Welcome,heres what you do.First Change your screen saver to a nice river pic maybe with a drift boat in it.Slowly start adding river pics in the garage.After awhile you hire a guide for a day not just any day it has to be perfect weather the boat must have a real nice seat so shes comfortable.Bring along a picnic with all here favorites.In no time at all she'll say you should build a boat.

 

If this doesn't work ....plan B....  build another garage..

 

Permalink Reply by Troy Sibelius on April 6, 2012 at 10:03pm

Hi Mike,

That is a classic story about the garage.  We live in Colorado and have a single car garage.  I bought a 16 Ft. Don Hill Drift Boat kit about 7 years ago and I worked on it for 5 years in that single car garage (sans car) before my maiden voyage the summer of 2009.  My wife gave me a swift kick in the pants to get the boat out of the garage during the winter of 2009.  Luckily we have a widow that lives across the street from us and she goes to Hawaii every year for the winter.  I asked her if I could move my boat kit into her two car garage while she was gone so that I could work on it to save my boat (not the marriage but the boat).  She agreed and it worked out great and I got er done.  Luckily I am still very happily married and am now trying to learn how to row better so that I can manage our rocky rivers here in Colorado.  I am looking forward to an active summer in my beautiful boat this year.  Best of luck to you and I am sure that once your wife sees the finished product she will be just as proud as my wife is to to say that you built the boat with your bare hands.  Good luck and happy building.

 

Permalink Reply by Mike Falconer on April 9, 2012 at 7:33am

Well, a slightly new direction. I've decided that I need to find a used boat now so that I can get out on the water this year. Then I can start building the Don Hill 18 footer this winter.

So, in the meantime, I'm now in the market for a used 18 foot drift boat so if anybody knows of one that's available, I'd love to know about it. Thanks.

Permalink Reply by Rick Newman on April 15, 2012 at 8:53am

Hello Mike, I reread Roger Fletcher's Drift Boats and River Dories again last night. I learn something new each time I review it, for example last night I learned that the Rogue River Driver might be closer to what you want as it was originally designed for use with a motor. I guess I didn't think about it as being 18 feet long because of the difference in how people state the size of boats. The RRD is 16' as measured by Roger. So perhaps this might be a useful design for your intended uses. Not perfect for either but enough of a compromise for both activities. I'll have to look at the Don Hill design again!

Rick Newman

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