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Permalink Reply by lhedrick on April 6, 2011 at 3:44pm

It's not a big deal taking the oars of a drift boat and going fishing.  Just don't take on big rapids your first time out and you will do just fine.  Start on class II water until you have it figured out.  A drift boat is not all that hard to build, just take your time and enjoy the process.  Plan on 6 month if you can only do a little each day.

 

The DH boat will work out just fine, you will be very happy with it.

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Permalink Reply by Lawrence E. Long on April 6, 2011 at 7:16pm

Jess:  No you are not insane- I built a sailboat and didn't know the first thing about sailing.  Go for it!

Good Luck

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Permalink Reply by Duncan MacLeod on April 6, 2011 at 8:17pm

There's some great water near Denver for some drift runs....a classic Class II is what we used to call the "Milk Run" on the Arkansas up around Johnson's Village, CO (basically a truck stop near Buena Vista).  You can run Johnson's Village to Ruby Mountain, you won't see any riffles that would make you nervous in the least, a good place to start learning how to run those oars.  And the fishing can be excellent!

 

There are other classic stretches....you will enjoy the Rockies!

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Permalink Reply by Dave Barnes on April 7, 2011 at 7:42am

I used to live in Boulder and now live in the Bay Area, CA. and I am in the process of building my first boat of any kind - a stretched Ken Hankinson 14' driftboat. I am so jealous that you get to live in Colorado. That Arkansas run sounds awesome. There are some great runs out of Kremmling & Steamboat as well. I have felt at times that I was completely in over my head on this build, but I am putting the last epoxy coat on the hull and about to flip it over and work on the inside. I am not a particularly exacting craftsman, but it looks pretty good so far - learned a lot about epoxy and fiberglass along the way for sure. Very rewarding and I hope to be fishing in the thing on opening weekend - 4th sat in April. Started on Jan 20th, but other activities seemed to get in the way a lot. I fully understand the "obsessed" part. Enjoy! I'll post the picture story when I'm done.

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Permalink Reply by Russell Turpin on April 9, 2011 at 9:32am

Jess: answers to your questions

1. Am I completely insane for wanting to build a drift boat without ever using one on a river?.....

Yes you are completely insane and it will be one of the best things you have ever done.

 

2. Is the boat that I am thinking about building a good choice for a novice to learn how to navigate?

I have built the 16' don hill twice and still own the first one I built....over the past twelve years I have searched for a better boat design..a new boat that would be an improvement on little nuances. Every time I have revisited this question, I have re-affirmed that the 16' don hill is an excellent all around design that is easy to navigate in small and large rivers. The only limits I have found to it's capabilities are usually a reflection of the size of my cajones....I recently was told that the don hill design is actually a design don acquired from Rogue River guide, Willard Lucas who is considered to be one of the best oarsman to have floated the Rogue

 

the dh16 will be hard to beat if you intend to use it throughout the West

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Permalink Reply by Greg Max on April 11, 2011 at 1:04pm

Hi Jess,

    I live in the Denver area and float a Tatman 16 ft framed boat.  First, yeah, you should be able to put one of these together without too much trouble.  There are lots of folks on here that will be willing to help you through whatever trouble you can get yourself into on the shop floor.  To your second question, no, you'll be able to find water that is easy to float, so you're not crazy to hop into one of these without experience.  Do learn some about safety and river etiquette though.  There are all kinds of great floats on the Arkansas, Colorado, Roaring fork, and Yampa rivers.  Not anything around that you won't drive a few hours for, but the destinations are worth it!  As the Don Hill that you are looking at is pretty similar to the boat that I currently float on this water, I'll tell you that there are two things that I wish for on almost every float trip.  First, I would love to have a lower wind profile.  There have been countless days that I've had to turn the boat around and row backward just to make progress down river because of the high afternoon winds that we are known for in the Rocky Mountain region.  The other thing that I wish for almost daily is a symmetrical floor design.  If you're fly fishing, it's usually best to have a man up front and also a man behind the rower.  My boat (and I believe the Don Hill, but somebody correct me if I'm wrong) uses an asymmetrical floor design, meaning that the floor is tear drop shaped with more area in the front of the boat.  This is great if you will have both passengers in the front pulling plugs or something along those lines, but it makes trimming the boat more difficult if you will have a fisherman behind you.  Just a few things to consider.  Let me know if you have any other questions in general or about the Denver area, I'm happy to help.  Cheers,

 

Greg

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Permalink Reply by mark hilbert on April 13, 2011 at 6:29am

Give me a shout when you get to Colorado and I can run you down a river or two, be it via raft or wood.  Good luck on the move and see you on the river.

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Permalink Reply by Jess Alexander on April 13, 2011 at 6:46am

Hi All,

Thanks for all the input. To be honest, when I was offered this job transfer, I was excited about the new opportunity, but concerned about the lifestyle change that would come along with moving to a location so far from the ocean. Since I was a small kid most of my free time was spent chasing huge fish in the big ocean and the idea of going to CO and fishing for trout the size of the bait we use over here didn’t seem appealing. But after looking into what CO has to offer and all of the welcoming responses I have gotten on this website, I am growing more and more excited with each passing day!

I start my new position in Denver on May 16th. I work for a global environmental and geotechnical engineering firm and am not yet sure if I will be starting my new position working in the Denver office or if I will be going directly to a job site which may be anywhere throughout the world. Whenever I do get to Denver I hope I can meet up with a couple of you and start learning about the hunting and fishing opportunities the area has to offer. I really want to get a look at these amazing drift boats to get a better idea on how they are put together. I have spent hours obsessing over photos of their construction but know that I will get a much better feel for them when I get to put my hands on one.

Thank you all again for the support and I look forward to meeting a few of you soon.

Jess

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Permalink Reply by Rick Newman on April 13, 2011 at 7:43am

Jess, if you really want to set the hook visit Roger Fletcher's web site (River's Touch)and order one of his books "Drift Boats and River Dories. Here's where to find it; http://www.riverstouch.com/Book.htm

 

Roger is dedicated historian for drift boats and has done a good job. I had not been to his web site in a while but just revisited again and found he has added some great new information that I can't wait to get back to!

 

It isn't too far from Denver to Jackson Hole, so you could attend on Memorial Day Weekend, it is a beautiful place to visit, there will be lots of drift boats and drift boaters!

 

Good luck on your move and welcome once again to Wooden Boat People!

 

Happy Waves to You;

 

Rick Newman

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