Whate Water Rated Pontoon boat

Jeff Miller wrote:
sandy - ...and look at the sherpa here...85 pounds and stable, sturdy,
and capable of carrying loads...

http://www.duckworksmagazine.com/sto...s/jw/index.htm




Opinion:
The Sherpa isn't a driftboat. It's got too much tumblehome
in the sides--and therefore not enough side-to-side stability for
standing up in roilly, wavey water.

A pointed end is a good thing for a heavy white water boat
(breaks big wave water left and right, instead of over the top).
But this isn't a white water boat...although I'm sure I could
run some fairly wild stuff with it. Last fall I watched Ray Heater
run his 11' Rapid Robert through the famous Whitehorse rapids
on the Descutes. The rapid robert is pointed at one end (the end
that points back upstream) and flat in front. Whenever Ray was
about to hit a particularly big wave (some easily 3-4 times
taller than his little boat) he just canted the boat a bit and
hit it with a front corner of the flat front end.
My 8' square-ender would be about the same as his pointed-at-one-end
Rapid Robert, if I added a point...although mine is a wee bit
narrower. I just want to keep it as small and lite as possible.


The important thing with new boat designs is to get started and
to actually make one. Then you can adapt and evolve the next
time around. I've been rowing my little 11' square-ended Buffalo
Boats for over 20 years now. They're damn nice two-person boats.
This boat is a lot like a Buffalo Boat scaled down to one-person
dimensions. My Montana fishing buddies like to refer to the
Buffalo Boat as "Sandy's pointless boat."
But that doesn't mean they don't think it's a damn good boat.

On Thu, 12 Aug 2004 17:05:31 -0700, "Padishar Creel"
wrote:

I am in the market for a new/used pontoon boat for fly fishing and running
class III sometime IV rapids.

They're well above $500, but the Skookum boats are whitewater rated.
Check them out at http://www.steelheader.com. Some photos of the boats
in action can be found at http://www.steelheader.com/photos.htm.

On Thu, 12 Aug 2004 17:05:31 -0700, "Padishar Creel"
wrote:

I am in the market for a new/used pontoon boat for fly fishing and running
class III sometime IV rapids.

They're well above $500, but the Skookum boats are whitewater rated.
Check them out at http://www.steelheader.com. Some photos of the boats
in action can be found at http://www.steelheader.com/photos.htm.

GregP wrote:
On Sat, 14 Aug 2004 10:34:13 -0700, sandy
wrote:


My 8' square-ender would be about the same as his pointed-at-one-end
Rapid Robert, if I added a point...although mine is a wee bit
narrower. I just want to keep it as small and lite as possible.

The important thing with new boat designs is to get started and
to actually make one. Then you can adapt and evolve the next
time around.



My brother is talking about building a two-piece rowing dory
that he can carry in the back of his truck to fish along shore in
Mass. Do you know of anyone who's tried a two-piece boat ?
He built a 14 foot boat some time ago, so he has some
experience.

Hah, the last two-piece boat I heard about was the plastic
driftboat that got broached on a rock in the Beartrap canyon
......and then split in two. Actually I saw lots of driftboat
pieces at the lower end of the Whitehorse rapid on the Deschutes
last fall. Man what a river the Deschutes is. Big, wide deep slow and
smooth....and fast and narrow and bumpier than a roller coaster ride
too. A two piece boat sounds like a creative idea. I'd like to see it.

On Sun, 15 Aug 2004 13:22:05 -0400, GregP
wrote:

My brother is talking about building a two-piece rowing dory
that he can carry in the back of his truck to fish along shore in
Mass. Do you know of anyone who's tried a two-piece boat ?
He built a 14 foot boat some time ago, so he has some
experience.


I've lost my bookmarks with my old computer changeover, but there are
plans around for home built two piece dories on the Web. The ones I'd
read who'd built them seemed happy, but they were mostly for car
topping (or rather truck bedding) to fla****er or for toing and froing
from larger boats. http://www.duckboats.com might be some help
there. There should be links to designers and forums (fora?) that
could help.

Cyli
http://www.visi.com/~cyli

(Salmo Bytes) wrote in message om...

http://montana-riverboats.com/static.../The_Idea.html

Sandy, Where do you get and why do you use Plascore? I saw their
web site but it was geared towards big commercial buyers. Which
kind do you use? Do you have to protect the bottom from wearing
through to the honeycomb? Is it expensive?

Jon.

(Salmo Bytes) wrote in message om...

http://montana-riverboats.com/static.../The_Idea.html

Sandy, Where do you get and why do you use Plascore? I saw their
web site but it was geared towards big commercial buyers. Which
kind do you use? Do you have to protect the bottom from wearing
through to the honeycomb? Is it expensive?

Jon.

(Salmo Bytes) wrote in message om...

http://montana-riverboats.com/static.../The_Idea.html

Sandy, Where do you get and why do you use Plascore? I saw their
web site but it was geared towards big commercial buyers. Which
kind do you use? Do you have to protect the bottom from wearing
through to the honeycomb? Is it expensive?

Jon.