A boat for In-shore fly fishing

JohnKee · Jan 17, 2003

Out here, on the west coast, I can find no one who flyfishes from an 18'/20' johboat. These boats seem to be used in the East for fishing large, in-shore bodies of water. So I am in hopes you Easterners can help me. I want to purchase an 18 foot, open boat that can be used in shallow water and also run around Puget Sound in a windy chop without getting pounded to death. It seems to me a modified Vee hull with 10 -12 degrees of deadrise would be the thing for this kind of fishing. I am looking at an aluminum hulled 18' Crestliner (C 1860 VDC)jonboat. It has a 5' bottom width. 22" sides, midship beam of 81" and 10 degrees of deadrise at the stern. What's aractive about this boat is that it has raised decks both fwd and aft that would be high, stable amd large enough for fly casting. It has a center console. I picked the jonboat instead of a bass boat because of the lack of "garbage" with which this jonboat is fitted. Except for the console and the 75 hp o/b motor it offer nothing into which fly lines can get tangled; and the raised decks elevate the caster to the level of the gunnels both fwd. and aft. This kind of boat should be a fly casters dream, but since I can find no one who ownes one within 1000 miles of the West coast, I have no idea of how rough or how wet a ride such a boat will give. Puget Sound in large and often very cold. Do any of you have an informed opinion, either of this specific boat or ones like it for the purpose for which I have described? Best whshes, JohnK

crab bait · Jan 17, 2003

Re: A boat for In-shore fly fishing

an i may add,,, full of floatin' logs & debris...

JohnKee · Jan 17, 2003

Re: A boat for In-shore fly fishing

Right, crab bait! But it's also full of sea-run Cutts, Coho, Silvers and Kings. <G> Best, JohnK

snapperbait · Jan 17, 2003

Re: A boat for In-shore fly fishing

I ran a 14'-55" beam flat bottom jon boat all decked out with casting decks and a side console with a 60 HP (way over horsepowered) for about two years and ran it up and down the intracostal waterway in sometimes two foot chop or worse conditions... An aluminum boat like the one your interested in would be a fair choice and I believe it would handle some pretty nasty conditions without you getting to terribly wet... Mostly just a little spray might get ya from time to time... The ride would likely be a bit rough in a chop even with the 10-12 degree deadrise, so get a good seat cushion...

I don't know if the crestliner is all welded so since you'll be pounding around in it, might I suggest an "all welded construction" hull with no rivets... When the hull flexes (and it will), over time the rivets can work themselves loose and start to leak on ya'..

JohnKee · Jan 17, 2003

Re: A boat for In-shore fly fishing

BJB, thanks for the testemonial. It reinforces what I have been conjecturing about this boat--except I thought the 10 degrees deadrise would give it a soft ride. The boat has no rivited seams, and the fore/aft raised decks are welded to the sides and cockpit floor about 2 inches below the top of the gunnels. It is absolutely "no frills": no carpets to get fishy smelling, no fancy captain-chair seats, minimal instrumentation -- not even the paint job, which is olive-drab, is much to look at. But it's welded .10 aluminum throughout and should hold together well. The bare hull weighs 900 pounds and is rated for a maximum of 90 hp. I figure a 75 will carry me faster than I wish to go. I hope some of your Florida buddies will aslo respond. If I buy this outfit I will have to do so pretty much sight-unseen, although it will have a new boat warantee. So I need all the in-put I can get. I will do as you suggest about a soft cusion <G>. Regards, JohnK

Mumblerone · Jan 18, 2003

Re: A boat for In-shore fly fishing

Take a look at a Boston Whaler 17' Montauk...perfect for fly fising. Legendary on the east coast. BW used to make an 18' Outrage called the 'Crosstackle' specifically for fly fishing. The Montauk will get you home when the weather picks up, too. I can't imagine a Jon boat in Puget sound, personally; let alone 14'-15'.

JohnKee · Jan 18, 2003

Re: A boat for In-shore fly fishing

Mumblerone, They are just georgus boats! I looked at rhe Boston Whalers in the 17' range. Especially the Alert, since it can be fitted with only the essentials. They were, originally, my first choice, But here are some reasons I think something else would be better. (But I'm not sure) 1. I fish the tide water along jettys, shores and inlets that are rocky and shallow. It seems to me that a fiberglass hull would not take the punishment that aluminum would. 2. The B/ws draw about 12" with the motor up whereas the jonboat I have been looking at draws about 7". 3. the after deck on B/Ws (if they have one at all) is too small for fly casting. So they would have to be modified. On the Alert I would have to build casting decks both fwd and aft. 4. I am essentially a drift-boat, river fisherman and like oar-power for drifting the tide waters. It would be tough to find a place for oar-locks on a Whaler (other than the Alert). I could use a trolling motor but I'm afraid of trusting nothing but electrics. All that being said -- and if I had the time to devote to fitting out a 17' Alert, I think I would do it. I am a woodworker by trade, and own a woodworking shop. About 20 years ago I bought 3000 bf of Honduras mahagony, 16/4 thick X 24 to 38" wide. It's just sitting there asking for a project worthy of it. I think the Alert, tricked out in a hondo console and bench with hondo gunnels, casting decks and leaning posts would be a fitting use for this beautiful material. But alas! We grow old, and the juice that drives such projects diminishes. We would rather fish than tend the bright-work on boats. <G> Thanks for the response. JohnK

skydad · Jan 18, 2003

Re: A boat for In-shore fly fishing

JohnKee, If you like woodworking, why don't you try one of the stitch & glue wood/epoxy fiberglass design from www.bateau.com . They have a couple of real wide very shallow draft boats that should work for what you want. Just an idea. :>)

crab bait · Jan 18, 2003

Re: A boat for In-shore fly fishing

well, john kee,,you seem like a man who knows what he wants... i'm not sayin' it ain't out there,, but there's never that 100 % perfect boat... that's why there's a billion different kinds ,models , shapes.. what you want ,the boat, has almost eveything but a smooth ride in chop.. what 18 footer alum. is ..?? i think you'll love it... an good heavens ,man.. your a woodworker live in port townsend,, the wooden boat capital of the world.. an have all that beautiful hondo mohog for twenty years just sittin' there... you ought be horse whipped an then drawn & quartered.. REALLY..!!

.. than made to walk the plank...

JohnKee · Jan 18, 2003

Re: A boat for In-shore fly fishing

skydad, Crab Bait Thanks for the reference, skydad-- and the "encouragement", Crab Bait. Bateau.com shows a "PHANTOM 18" that would fill the bill nicely. Were I to build it I would put an ever-so-slight camber on the decks for drainage. (And, with all that hondo, i think I wouold strip-plank it rather than stitch-and-glue.) Wouldn't that be a sight in bright hondo?!! But, as with the Boston Whaler Alert of which I spoke above, I am in no position now to devote the time to building or fitting a boat. I left my shop in Pt. Townsend 8 years ago to come to San Francisco to care for a sick friend. I allow myself 6 weeks in the summer to return to the Northwest to fish. It would take all of my vacation to fit up a boat like the ones I have mentioned. When am I to do any bloody fishing?! Crab Bait advises the application of a cat-o-nine to my home-sick bod for letting the hondo, forlorn and forgotten, go to waste. I sympathize with his ire --my boatright friends in P.T. have similar feelings-- but conditions being what they are, I guess I will have to be content with something like an aluminum jonboat. "The best lofted plans of mice and men..." Eh what? Thanks for the help. JohnK

crab bait · Jan 19, 2003

Re: A boat for In-shore fly fishing

JOHN KEE,,your a good sport.. an i'm glad you took my remark in jest... i am an amature boat builder,, so you can see where i'm commin' from.. IT'S KILLIN' ME..!! IT REALLY IS..!! about boat plans,, to anyone who may read an do.. you can't 'morph' plans that much.. a s&g is just that.. plywood stitched together without any permenate frames.. a strip wood boat ,,you must have a frame on which to apply the strips of wood.. two different boats,, two different buildin' styles... good luck on your 'quest'....

oldboat1 · Jan 21, 2003

Re: A boat for In-shore fly fishing

It's been a number of years, but I think there is (was) a Port Townsend shop that makes (made) a driftboat similar to those used on the Klamath. Maybe you can locate the design and plans. These boats are also similar to the boats used on the Au Sable in Michigan, and perhaps a bit bigger. Maybe a Google search....

JohnKee · Jan 21, 2003

Re: A boat for In-shore fly fishing

I'm not looking for a drift boat, I have two of them that will last me as long as I care to fish the rivers. What I need is something clean-decked for fly casting, fast enough to get me from island to island or bay to bay without pounding me too much, that can get up on water no more than 12", that can sneak along jettys, estuaries, tide pools and shore lines; and is reasonably safe in Puget Sound waters. Except for where it will be used, a flats boat would work great; but Puget Sound is not at all like the Keys. If one went into to the drink without a survival suit one has about 15-20 minuts to get out, or one is cold meat. I know of no shop in Port Townsend making drift boats specifically. I know of a bunch of shops that would make anything for which one had drawings. but that's $$$! Armstrong Boats in Port Angeles Wa. makes bullet-proof welded aluminum, bay and work boats. When I told them that I would think twice about spending more than $25,000.00, they became uninterested. <G>

oldboat1 · Jan 21, 2003

Re: A boat for In-shore fly fishing

Interesting. Here on the Chesapeake and the rivers, the Mako center console is pretty popular. I've been on a couple of them with friends (17' and 19'-20'). They are very stable -- and pretty heavy (good casting platforms.)

JohnKee · Jan 21, 2003

Re: A boat for In-shore fly fishing

There's probably not a Mako within 1000 miles of the west coast either. But I will try to find their website. Thanks, JohnK

crab bait · Jan 21, 2003

Re: A boat for In-shore fly fishing

take me fishin' ,JOHH KEE.. man,,!!! thats the kinda fishin' i like to do... !!! go where no other can go,, only fish...

JohnKee · Jan 21, 2003

Re: A boat for In-shore fly fishing

Crab Bate, It's not so much that others can't go there, rather it's that very few people out here fish for anything else but King salmon and Steelhead. They ignore the sea-run cutts, dolly varden, the small coho and others, in the salt. When Salmon season opens one see hundreds of boats trolling for salmon, whilst I, and a few of the other "cognocendi" sneak off arond the inlets,spits, and estuaries with light tackle and have a ball. Light tackle fly fishing for these species in the salt is the most under used fishery in the Northwest. And it is great fun!. I know many do it, but draging hardware behind a boat, or flinging a chunk smelt out into the surf is, to me, boring. (Although it sure beats the office or shop! Incidentaly, you rogue, you got me looking again at that Montauk 170, and trying to figure out how much work I would have to do to make it a good casting platform. The first thing that would have to go is those huge rails on the gunnels. Then if I built an aft casting deck --the fwd deck may just do-- and used the under side for storage, I think it would be ok. I would then need more batteries, an electric trolling motor (maybe I can ween my self away from the oars), and a good depth finder/gps plotter. Heck I could chart all the bad spots and big rocks during low tide. Then I could keep a beautiful fiberglass hull like the 170 reasonably out of harms way. And I could ride in one BEFORE I bought it! I figure that would add about 6k to the price. What the hell! I wouldn't have to fret about the ride. Do you think a merc. 60 hp would be enough for that boat? It only comes with a 60 or a 90, bW won't rig it for anything else. (Independant buggers!) Best, JohnK

A boat for In-shore fly fishing

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