Mike - welcome to the site and WOW - what a nice boat. I have a Tatman as well - love it. How much lighter is your Tatman vs your Willie and do you find the wood boat easier to manage and more buoyant??
GH

Mike,
Thanks for the info... I always wondered about the differences - wood is all I've ever rowed and I get the question all the time about weight difference and maneuverability. My obsession moved from fly fishing to drift boats and is about to morph into Spey Casting (just bought a 13' rod on ebay - so I'll have "both" hands full this winter learning to cast).
After running the Rogue and catching the half pounders on a very agreeable weekend... I'm hooked. Absolutely love that river - would like to fish more of it - above and below the Wild & Scenic.
See you on the river.
Greg

Mike -
You've got more experience than me - I just started running rivers when I finished my boat three years ago... and then got a little "obsessive". I probably wasn't entirely ready for the Wild & Scenic, but I was with some real "river rats" that helped me with the line and with lots of "pointers".
My home waters are the McKenzie and the Willamette. I've been to the Boat Festival the last two years and I'm going again this April. As you can probably see from the pictures, about 45 or 50 boats come in by trailers and another 5 to 10 boats float down the river and pull in for lunch to have a beer and talk "boats". I enjoy it a lot - mostly because of the history, the wide variety of boats on display, and the information and ideas exchanged. Both years, I got some new ideas for my boat and advice on running some of the rivers around here.
You can get a good feel for it on Randy's site - McKenzie River Drift Boats. It's also one of those things you can wait til the last minute to decide on - it wouldn't be so much fun if the weather is bad - which hasn't happened yet, but is very likely (I'd fish in the rain any day of the week, but I wouldn't get wet just to talk boats).
For your New Years gig on the Rogue... sounds like you run with a pretty "salty" crowd - I wouldn't want to slow you down... I should take a rain check & do a few more IV's before we hook up.
Thanks much.
Greg

Mike...
By the way... I think a Wood Boat outing through the canyon is a GREAT Idea!!! I'm up for that and will help you organize it if you want.
Greg

Nice boat Mike!

Thanks Mike,
I would love to get down to the Rogue! I have a lot of learning to do, excited about it all. Will you be making it up to the Wooden Boat Festival in April?