Wooden Boat People

By McKenzieDriftBoat.com

Riders of the Rogue

Last year I took my boat down the Wild & Scenic section of the Rogue and had the time of my life. The combination of challenging white water and great fishing on such a historic river has a hold on me that I cannot explain. In January, I entered the lottery for permits and was granted one for last weekend - which I just completed with some fellow River Rats. The river was low and challenging - the fishing was good to great - the scenery and wildlife was spectacular.
I have a little repair work to do - my boat took a beating. It wasn't the big hard water that did the damage, it was Howard Creek (Chute #3) and China Bar that delivered a pair of permanent reminders of this trip down the Rogue. Normally these Class +II's provide a moderate challenge - but in skinny water they both had hidden rocks that pounded the bottom of my boat hard enough to take on water but not so severe that they couldn't be controlled by a generous application of duct tape.
I'll post a forum in the coming weeks of the "fix" so stay tuned - it will be better than "new" with a little help and advise from my friends.
Here's the link to the Photo Album of Slim Pickens - one of my favorites on the Rogue. Pictures by Scott Vollstedt.
http://www.woodenboatpeople.com/photo/photo/slideshow?albumId=13122...
And here are some "Good, Bad, and Ugly" pics from the trip...
GH

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Greg Hatten on October 6, 2009 at 6:13am

Yup... thanks Robb - guess I'm well on my way to a boat with character. I'll try to avoid the "doozy's" if I can.
GH

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Permalink Reply by Rick Newman on October 6, 2009 at 6:55am

Sorry Watchmaker, I know it hurts to have the damage, but I'll bet it will be hard to spot the repair when you're done!

Rick Newman

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Permalink Reply by Jason Knight on October 6, 2009 at 6:36am

Not that it even compares... but a couple weeks ago I bumped a log sticking out of the water threading the needle between some downed wood... I managed to scratch most of the entire length of the side of the boat. This may sound odd but I was sorta relieved that it finally had a couple scratches... had to get past the first couple and I was ok.

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Permalink Reply by Mike Dearing on October 6, 2009 at 4:12pm

Jason,

I felt the same way when I scratched mine for the first time.

My wife was "helping" me unload my raft awhile back and pulled her side a little to close to my driftboat. The oarlock on the raft scratched about half the length on the outside of my drfitboat. A little varnish in a fingernail polish bottle took care of most of it though.

Mike