Plans??? I want to build a first boat need some starting advice.

I love rivers and fishing. I live in Post Falls Id. Near me I have some of the best fishing rivers in the country. the Clearwater rivers, Selway, Snake, Salmon, CDA, Grand Ronde...

I would like to build a drift boat that can take a little white water action and fish real well. I fly fish but also would like to play with the steelhead.

I have a wife and three kids that the boat needs to hold (on safe river sections)

I have lots of tools and know how to use them.

Anyway what plans should I use?
what size 17'?
how come some boats are advertised as a 17 or 16 but are actually much shorter?
where is the length measured?

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Permalink Reply by Rick Newman on May 30, 2009 at 9:42am
Welcome Paulv, I live just a few minutes away in the Spokane Valley. It's good to have another Wooden Boat person close. One of the best investments of your time would be to read the old posts and blogs. Also look at Randy 's info page at Tatman Boats. With the weight and number of people you plan to carry 17' would be highly considered. Let's get together sometime and swap stories and perhaps fish together after we both get our boats built.

You will find many good people with lots of great knowledge here. Ask the questions and you will get answers.

Rick Newman
Permalink Reply by paulv on May 30, 2009 at 1:59pm
thanks for the input! I'm still confused about length. I know I need a 17' boat. but what length is a 17' boat. On Tatmans website his 17' is only 15' 9". So do I need a 17' advertised boat or a real 17' boat?
Permalink Reply by Randy Dersham on May 30, 2009 at 2:32pm
There aren't many straight lines on a drift boat and the LOA changes a few inches here or there depending on the amount of flair each boat has. The standard length we talk about has always been defined as the length of the panel that the side panels are cut from. This means that a 16x48 is sixteen feet at the handrail and 48 inches wide at the widest part of the bottom. A 16x48 usually has a LOA of 141/2 feet but the LOA might change an inch or two depending on the amount of flair or width of the bottom of the boat. The 17 that Rick mentions, and the boat that is very popular, is 17ft at the hand rail about about 15'9" at LOA. I say about because we have two different styles of 17x52. One has a symmetrical bottom and 2" lower sides so it can stay out of the wind and fish with an angler in front and in back of the rower. This boat is for rivers like the Yellowstone. The other has standard 24" high sides and an asymmetrical bottom for a two people up front and a dryer ride in bigger white water. This boat is for rivers like the Deschutes.

For visual reference here are a couple of photographs. This first photograph is a photo posted by Ken Helfrich. I'm pretty sure this boat is a Keith Steele 16x48 made more recently by Keith's son Steve Steele. It is made for white water with two people up front and the rower 2/3 of the way back from the stem.


This second boat is much larger with a 19ft3in length at the handrail and 17ft 10in overall. This boat can easily carry five people or four people and a week of gear. This is considered a HUGE drift boat for commercial tours with three or four guests or river expeditions. The big Colorado River Dories are about 10% bigger than this.

Permalink Reply by paulv on May 30, 2009 at 6:17pm
Thanks your paragraph on the measurements clarify a lot of confusion.

Are these boats tatman boats in the pictures? I think the 17' high side would by the boat of choice for me assuming that someone could sit behind the rower. would the 19' boat be too large for some rivers or harder to control?

I thinking I would like to build from scratch are plans available?

thanks again.
Paul
Permalink Reply by Jeff Wilson on May 30, 2009 at 7:39pm
Get Roger Fletchers' book Drift Boats and River Dories if you haven't already been studying it.
It's a great resource for the western river dories. The Dory Book by John Gardner is a good study on east coast dories.
Permalink Reply by Randy Dersham on May 30, 2009 at 8:22pm
Yes, Roger also sells plans to the boats that are in the book if you want a bit more detail. You can find him on the web at www.riverstouch.com
Permalink Reply by paulv on May 31, 2009 at 8:16am
Hey, you guys really are helpful. I'll get rogers book and study it. I always thought people on the rivers were really nice and fun. these post make me excited to get a boat on the water.
Permalink Reply by Randy Dersham on May 31, 2009 at 10:26am
Ken has been on the river and I can't confirm the exact size of the boat on the white water above. I'm told it was likely built by Dan Bentsen rather than Steve Steele and also is a bit larger than the original 16x48. I'll post the accurate numbers when I can talk with Ken. Since it is almost June that might be November after the current seasonl;) I hope not.
Permalink Reply by Richard on June 1, 2009 at 12:32pm
You can't go wrong in getting your hands on Roger Fletcher's book - Drift Boats & River Dories as earlier suggested. He also has a website at www.riverstouch.com. Another good book to have at your side is the Boatbuilder's Apprentice by Greg Rossel. These 2 books will give you a good hands-on of what you need to know and how to do it. There is also the forums which you are aware of. Best of luck with your project.

The traditional size of a drift boat is measured around the outside sheerline while the coast guard required measurment is the center line from stem to stern, thus why you get different measurments thrown at you.
Permalink Reply by paulv on June 1, 2009 at 5:37pm
Thanks, Now understanding how they are measured would a 17' boat measured the traditional way be big enough for myself and family? On easier rivers of course. I've got a wife and three kids. Were all in good shape no excessive weight.
Permalink Reply by Richard on June 2, 2009 at 4:33pm
Paul

A boat is like a shop you think it is big enough when you plan it out but after you get evrything in there you should have built it bigger! I have boated ( I guess that is a word) all my life personally and in my work. That has included my family of a wife and 2 kids. The kids will grow up (sooner than you think) and will not want to be on the river as well when they are it is measured time which is not the same as your's. Then there is your wife's time as well so just be aware.

You also have to look at the size of boat and some of the responses have been good about that. Take your time and make sure you understand what it is like to not only build a large drift boat (!7 ft. and over) but also the pyhsical demands and knowledge. Not to scare you off here but rather not only sit down and talk to those who have been navigating the rivers for a while but as well how much will your family be on the water as well.
Permalink Reply by AJ DeRosa on June 1, 2009 at 8:30pm
In our outfitting business we run up to 600lbs of passengers, usually three adults, in our 17'x54" boats. On the section of the Snake River that we run this works fine, the boat runs very safely in the hands of a skilled oarsman. The boat must be properly trimmed, weight distributed evenly fore and aft and side to side. Ray Heater builds a 18'x60" boat that would work well considering the size of your family. Those kids won't be getting smaller. Bigger boats are much more difficult to build. Bottom panels need to be scarfed in both directions and several folks are needed to flip it over safely but it can be done. We are in the middle of building another 20'x69" boat for our business and it is much more demanding than a 16x48 which goes together quite easily. I always recomend a kit boat for a first time builder. The difficult cuts are made for you and the instructions take you step by step through the proceedure. Construction time is way less than half the time as for a scratch boat.

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