By McKenzieDriftBoat.com

All Blog Posts (147)

Empty Nest

Last night the last two boats left the boathouse for a test float on the lake. The shop is empty! They were joined by a brand new AlumiWeld from Rogue River Boat Shop. All three will launch Sunday from Lee's Ferry for a commercial trip, along with my '72 Briggs and an Andy Hutchinson dory.

Dennis tries Dan's boat:

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Added by Brad Dimock on August 26, 2010 at 10:30pm — 5 Comments

Grandpa's Boat Refurbished

Grandpa's Boat Refurbished

My Grandpa, Robert "Bob" Grubb was a fisherman through and through. Ocean, lakes, rivers, beaver ponds, mud puddles, irrigation ditches, you name the body of water, he was there with a fishing pole in his hand.

Besides having talent in the event of fishing, acting, machining things out of metal (I think he even built a telescope once) he loved to build wood boats. My assumption of the love of boat… Continue

Added by Robb Grubb on August 24, 2010 at 1:16pm — 2 Comments

High side ? Low Side?

What is the difference between a high sided boat and a Low sided boat. Maybe someone could post some examples? Also what is the difference/purpose. Can you modify a boats plan on your own as far as the shape is concerned. Thanks Steve

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Added by Steven Van Metre on August 21, 2010 at 4:36am — 2 Comments

Custom 18 x 54 Framed & Decked Dory Coming to Life

One cannot have too many boats. My current boat, a 1995 Don Hill 16 x 48 with two watertight compartments is a great boat. It has served me well while guiding, training students as well as running private trips.

Now it is time to build a bigger one. One that can take more gear, beer and what not. I have been thinking about this boat for about 3 years. The hows, how bigs, whys, hull shapes and such.

I decided to take a Don Hill 18 x 54 plan and make the sides 3 in… Continue

Added by Robb Grubb on August 11, 2010 at 12:54pm — 1 Comment

Another day...

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Added by Brad Dimock on August 8, 2010 at 4:13pm — 8 Comments

Back in the boatshop

I'm back in the boatshop for a couple weeks after a four-month hiatus on the river. The Euphrates is nearly done, the Lodore is lagging but we're jamming to get her done for their mutual baptismal trip at the end of the month. A few shots attached.

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Added by Brad Dimock on August 7, 2010 at 10:59am — 2 Comments

Maiden Voyage

Well, the Zizumara got her first taste of the river. We ran the Lower Salmon River in Idaho on 15k...a very fun level! She got her first ding and had to be highsided through Wright Way rapid but still got us safely downstream and back to shore. Such a happy feeling.

The full blog post is at http://kellyneu.blogspot.com/

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Added by Ukulady on July 27, 2010 at 10:27pm — 5 Comments

Christmas in July

Well, this is it - the grand finale of this big ol' project.

After having finished the insides, I re-flipped the boat and got back to what was left undone on the exterior of the hull. I woul have done this back when the boat was still upside down the first time, but there was some stuff on backorder and I'm impatient; so, here I am flipping the boat again.

Coated the bottom with the graphite & epoxy for about 4 coats. Then I t

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Added by John Greenleaf on July 20, 2010 at 11:22am — 5 Comments

More Drift Boat Trailers

You will also find trailers on Don Hill Boats site http://www.dhdriftboats.com/ under Accessories.

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Added by David Edwards on July 7, 2010 at 2:33pm — No Comments

More Superfund Browns

In response to Gavin's comment #3 regarding my last blog post:

Yes I'm still in PA; in so far as any potential internet burglars may be concerned. Sorry we couldn't connect on the Lehigh river, all I can say is you HAVE to get fishing with me and Jimmy - the sulphur hatch is really bringing out some strange browns; they're taking # 2/0 creek chub flies. We needed some really big tippet.

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Added by John Greenleaf on July 3, 2010 at 8:00pm — 2 Comments

Spring Trips

Still waiting to get the wooden boat on the river but here are some spring rubber trips in the meanwhile...

Owyhee River, OR: Early May, massive winds, a bit of snow, low water...gorgeous.

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Added by Ukulady on June 29, 2010 at 10:29pm — 1 Comment

Sulphurs vs. Boatbuilding

These are the times that try the souls of boatbuilders in eastern PA. Allow me to demonstrate pictorally with one of my beloved helper monkeys...

Which of the following Gavinses seems happier?

A) Rower's seat-sanding Gavin in my grimy garage...

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Added by John Greenleaf on June 26, 2010 at 5:55pm — 2 Comments

Thinking about the next boat

I recently began thinking about my next wish list boat. I mainly fish the Deschutes, McKenzie, MF Willamette, Lewis, and coastal rivers, though I desperatley want to fish the MF Salmon.

After looking at the Montana Boat Builders Freestone and Kingfisher I am thinking about a stich and glue boat with lots af creature comfort, and storage. Any thoughts formthose of you that have a sticth and glue boat

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Added by Skip Rotticci on June 21, 2010 at 9:46am — 2 Comments

Drift Boat Trailers

For those who are intrested in a new drift boat trailer or parts. I invite you to check out my new web site (www.driftboattrailers.com). Keep in mind that it is undergoing construction. I welcome any and all feedback you care to provide. Thanks

Dennis Liden

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Added by Dennis Liden on June 20, 2010 at 12:59pm — No Comments

My dad, Ronn Hayes, and I built the cabinets in the "Betty Boop" between 1967 and 1970.

Just about every evening for 3 years Dad would be out in the garage working on the Betty Boop. He was a very successful TV actor, and when he was not in front of the camera he was working in the trees as a full-time arborist. He learned to do this while attending Stanford in the early fifties, and it was his "Plan B" income for over 50 years. When his wife at the time, Betty (the name sake for the boat) was upset with dad she'd order him out to the garage so he could "screw his boat!" We crafted… Continue

Added by Peter Hayes on June 12, 2010 at 1:45pm — 1 Comment

Name Painted on Boat (pics)

Here's our paint job compared to the original. I think it looks pretty cool.

Original:

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Added by Brant Jaouen on June 7, 2010 at 10:18pm — 4 Comments

Maiden Voyage

I've mostly finished the boat. Took it out for some lake trials today, it didn't sink or do anything unexpected. Just a few more details, paint, latches, etc, but all and all ready to float. Next weekend Desolation/Gray, the water should still be up there, so hopefully I bring it back in one piece.

Thanks to everyone who posts (guilty of not doing that enough) this site has been a valuable resource.
Take a look

Jimmy

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Added by Jimmy Emery on June 5, 2010 at 5:52pm — 3 Comments

Maiden Voyage of the "Cat O' Nine Tails"

We couldn't finish in time for the festival in Jackson, but we managed to get her out on the North Platte this weekend in Casper, Wyoming. Pretty pleased overall with the boat, although the high sides were rough in the Wyoming wind.

There's still a good amount of work to be done, as we have not installed the anchor system yet and we still need to Spar the entire interior (just expoxy right now). The System Three book says to wait two week after the last

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Added by Brant Jaouen on June 1, 2010 at 7:30pm — 3 Comments

Trifecta!

Took a weekend off from boatbuilding as promised. Spent one day partying it up at my 4 year old's birthday celebration and the other day chasing shad in the Delaware water gap (for a friend's birthday). Although the party was a hoot, I'll spare you the details of the former and concentrate on the later.

In eastern PA, the shad run is our version of the steelhead, chinook, or other seasonal run. Basically, it's all we got without driving 5 or 6 hours to

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Added by John Greenleaf on May 27, 2010 at 10:54am — 2 Comments

Bad Daddy

The weather around here has been a bit unpredictable as of late.

For those of you who do not reside in the northeast, it has gone something like this: real warm weather (like high 80's) early in the spring (like late march/early april) and then cold...real cold. Around here, 32 degrees in early May is pretty rough - I'm glad I haven't had the time to plant my garden yet.

Needless to say, after warming up following the chill of winter, we have bec

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Added by John Greenleaf on May 15, 2010 at 6:16pm — 2 Comments