Wooden Drifter/Jet - River Video

Took the new wooden drifter sled out for the second time last Friday, this time on the Sacramento River near Chico.  We did some video-ing and I thought some of you might want to view the action.  It handled fairly well, and I was happy it would cruise at 47 mph. I took the motor and pump out of a Yamaha Waverunner 760, then framed the same size hole in the bottom of the boat. It has seven layers of glass on the bottom so I'm not concerned about it banging into a wake. Yet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkQLEVY5tyY

 

Working on my oars now, so don't know how well it will row with what would be the equivalent of a heavily loaded boat.  I see the light green stripe on the bottom just above the chine is completely exposed when the boat is going straight which means it is drafting about three inches when on plane.

 

 

 

 

 

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Permalink Reply by Don Wakefield on January 19, 2011 at 11:19am

Randy - thanks for the Kudos and coming from you it makes my head and ego swelleth.  Does this mean I can bring it up to Vida for the April boat show??

I have really enjoyed this website from the time I have started being a woodie kind of guy - gleaned many useful ideas and concepts -- thank you so much for creating this great website!!

 

Don in Paradise, CA

Permalink Reply by Randy Dersham on January 19, 2011 at 11:45am

All of us would love to have you at the boat show.  Our only requirement is that they are made from wood. 

 

There is a jet boat in Springfield, OR that is a wooden lapstrake with an inboard that was made in the 60's or so to run the Rogue River. I've been trying to get it to the show for years.  It would be a lot of fun to have it there with your boat.

 

Another friend has a Kaarhus boat made for an outboard that also has oar locks and can be drifted. I believe it is the only Kaarhus of that type left.  They would make a pretty trio.

Permalink Reply by Don Wakefield on January 19, 2011 at 3:34pm
Gonna put that trip on my wish list, hope it happens this year, thanks for the encouragement!
Permalink Reply by Lawrence E. Long on January 19, 2011 at 3:21am

Don:  Great job on the boat/engine installation.  At CSM  they tried to teach us to think outside the box- This is a good example!  One thing- since you can hit 47 mph- do you have a kill switch and lanyard attatched to the driver incase you hit a wave and get knocked overboad?  When I am out alone on my 20' centerconsole  I  clip into the switch.

Good Luck

Permalink Reply by Ron Snow on January 19, 2011 at 12:04pm

Very cool. Congratulations on the build/marriage of the two.

 

I too have had this concept in a dusty place in my mind for years. Even talked to a few home based boat builders that retro-fit a jet-ski into smaller traditional boats, but never saw anything as nice as this one.  I really like the jets for river running, but never liked the idea of a big outboard hanging off of the back of a nice wood rig. This looks great.

 

I too want to remind you that an operator kill switch is a must have on power boats. Also, put those life jackets on when the internal combustion engine is in operation. 

I would say have fun, but I think it is too late. Cheers!

Permalink Reply by Don Wakefield on January 19, 2011 at 1:31pm

Hi Ron - well between you and Lawrence it has given me some pause about the safety issues.  I have pretty much used the cracks around the boxes to provide the combustion air with no regard to the venting of potential vaporized gas laden air.   I think I need to get the hole drill out and do just that.  I did observe that Yamaha vented the heck out of their enclosure but understandibly with their almost watertight interior construction.  Explosions of this nature are not rare, and shame on me!

 

River running is a whole new concept that I am enjoying.  I have an 18' Alumaweld and in two years I've had it on six rivers in California and Oregon.  Yes more darn fun. Thanks for your reply.

Permalink Reply by Randy Dersham on January 19, 2011 at 2:06pm

Yes Don, that's critical.

You should also have an engine blower. An active vent is required by the Coast Guard.

For the active vent it is a simple inlet to the compartment, then outlet that draws from a vent hose that's opening is positioned near the bottom of the compartment.  This way it picks up any vapors that are heavier than air.

 

Click Here to link to one of the pages of blowers at Jamestown.

Permalink Reply by Jason Knight on January 19, 2011 at 6:19pm

This is cool man. Loved watching the video as well. Thanks for posting it!

 

-jk-

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