Saying hi and getting some ideas.

Hey guys finally joined up after all the good advice on here. Figured I should make a post and say Hi. and thanks to everyone who has posted and helped me out so far.

so here is my story. About 6 years ago I was given a 1978 keith steel drift boat by a good friend of my dads who was moving away. Its a sweet rig that has been well maintained and the only hitch is that I have to rebuild the trailer as it doesn't have a title, but in all honesty it needs that much work anyway.

I finally got some time this winter and started going about all the repairs. Both of my parents have drift boats so I never really needed this one. I am about done sanding out the interior so I can prep it for finish which was the major project I set myself for the winter along with rebuilding the trailer.

Now for the fun stuff. My two long time fishing partners are both big guys and I want to build new seats and a rear knee brace that can support them. I like the idea of having a box seat in front  so you can move around easy but as I said these are big dudes. also if anyone has any cool ideas for a pedestal type knee brace in the rear I would love to hear them

tight lines

Jordan

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Permalink Reply by Phillip Westendorf on February 5, 2014 at 5:08pm

Jordan,

Take a look at Hyde Boats, they have a pedestal mounted knee brace for the rear fishing position.  With some ingenious design you might make this work with out having to bridge all the way across. 

Take a look at Gut Fredrickson's posting here (page 33).  His seats are pedestal mounted and he did some nice reinforcement to make them work.

Hope this helps,

Dorf

Permalink Reply by Eric Loudenslager on February 5, 2014 at 5:09pm

Most of the McKenzie style boats do not perform particularly well with a fisherman behind the rower. A friend of mine rows a Willie and he had the factory install a rear seat - against their recommendation. He concluded that when a fisherman is behind him it does not row well.

Randy Dersham designed an "in-line" version specifically for this purpose.

Your boat should be framed so you would design a pedestal seat that could be fastened to the frames.

My dory is stitch-and-glue and I put in a pedestal and wished I hadn't. There is a bit to be gained in moving about the dory, but having a fixed pedestal makes painting and working in the stem area a real pain.

I've been in framed boats with the standard thwart seat, placed fairly low in the boat, and stepping over the seat to move around is not all that much of a problem.

Permalink Reply by Jayson Hayes on February 6, 2014 at 6:12am

Jordan, welcome to the site! I agree with Eric about the rear seating and believe me when I say I speak from experience on this one. I put a rear seat and knee brace in a 16 x 48 McKenzie with the intention of fishing two passengers front and back and the boat does not perform well at all with weight distributed somewhat evenly, the hull shape is not meant for that type of weight distribution. I would plead with you.................PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE  don't hack up a beautiful old classic, keep the old girl all original and build yourself a boat designed for what you want to do, we can help you :) and on a little side note, you can put two larger guys in the front of her and she can take it, I have put two pretty good sized boys up front in a 16 x 48 and ran them through some class lll water, it is a bit more work but it will be safer and a lot less work than having them sitting in your boat front to back. congrats on your boat and good luck with your trailer.........lets see some pics of the old girl too 

Permalink Reply by Jason Knight on February 6, 2014 at 6:07pm
I run one of Randy's "in-line" 17x52 drifters.
Rows great with an angler fore and aft, rows great with just one angler in front too.
Just build another boat... :-)
Permalink Reply by Jordan Brodie on February 6, 2014 at 9:41pm
Hey guys thanks for your insight. I know they don't row well but I really can't put both guys up front and expect them to fish. Also I really wish that I had the space for another wood boat but then I would be stuffing three boats in my garage:) don't worry though I'm not hacking up the old girl just replacing some of the things that need replaced and adding some new ones. I think I figured out how to do the knee brace, and have it removable. I'll keep you posted. Thanks again. Hopefully someday I can have another wood boat but if I get another boat now it will be glass so it can sit outside and be used for guide days.
Permalink Reply by Luke Cranney on February 9, 2014 at 9:10pm

Hi Jordan.  After reading what you are hoping to do to your boat for fly fishing, it sounds a lot like what I just did in my wooden boat.  I am also new to this site and it has been a great help.  If you would like to look at the pictures I just posted it might give you some ideas.  I think that having your rowing seat adjustable is going to be the most important thing in order to keep your boat handling good.  I too was very concerned about having everything removable for the days when you have something else in mind.  Of course, everything adds weight, so keeping it as light as possible was one of my main concerns.  I incorporated the level floor into the casting brace and also made the seat box level and removable.  The casting brace and floor weighs 38 lbs.  I hope this helps! Let me know what you think.

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