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Fly Fishing river boats for those of us without Trucks.

11K views 76 replies 35 participants last post by  Hendodesign 
#1 · (Edited)
I've been intrigued by the new flycraft three person boat since I don't have a truck to haul around a full size drift boat. I've got my trusty outback that I have towed around my 14' Wilderness Systems ATAK fishing kayak on a Malone MicroSport for the last few years but I am using that more for lakes. I'm liking the idea of having a 2-3 person smaller framed raft that I can tow over the hill to float the Yakima, or down to Oregon to float the John Day, or Rogue since I don't trust my noob rowing abilities on the class III Deschutes rapids.

The flycraft looks rad but 5K is an investment for sure. Luckily I think it will fit on my microsport if I add a roller to the back of it. Im curious what some of you guys who don't own trucks use for river floats. Or perhaps the answer is step 1. Get a truck. :D
 
#2 ·
Depending on what non-truck you drive, you may be able to pull a drift boat just fine (in a lot of places; primitive launch sites may be a no-go).

That same $5K will put you in a very nice, used drifter, which kind of sounds like what you really want. You can get down the river just fine (maybe better in low water) in toons and rafts, but nothing beats a drifter for all around comfort and convenience while fishing in normal conditions.

Two cents...
 
#12 ·
Product Screenshot Mode of transport Font Line
@Hendodesign .... Are you interested in a Dave Scadden three seater pontoon boat with a trailer? It's been sitting in our RV lot under a tarp for years and has barely been used. There is nothing wrong with it, except it has been outside (and it could be cleaned up a bit more since the tarp would blow off sometimes).

My husband and nephew and friend Keith (who owns it with my husband) took it out on American Lake a couple of weekends ago after not using it for over ten years. But as we've gotten older they decided it wasn't the way they like to fish anymore. And I NEVER wanted to fish from that boat, though i think my husband imagined that he and i would take it out alone often.

I know they are interested in selling it, but too lazy to advertise it right now. When i told them our maintenance guy said he had a friend interested they said they were ready, but that guy has yet to come see it. I'm pretty sure they will let it go for less than it's worth.

It looks like the exact same boat sold for $1000 on OfferUp without a trailer.

Above is a photo the Offer up one i found online that looks like ours. And the bottom one is ours taken a couple of weeks ago. My husband pulled it with his Honda Element.
Watercraft Wood Boat Boats and boating--Equipment and supplies Gas
 
#14 · (Edited)
View attachment 227023 @Hendodesign .... Are you interested in a Dave Scadden three seater pontoon boat with a trailer? It's been sitting in our RV lot under a tarp for years and has barely been used. There is nothing wrong with it, except it has been outside (and it could be cleaned up a bit more since the tarp would blow off sometimes).

My husband and nephew and friend Keith (who owns it with my husband) took it out on American Lake a couple of weekends ago after not using it for over ten years. But as we've gotten older they decided it wasn't the way they like to fish anymore. And I NEVER wanted to fish from that boat, though i think my husband imagined that he and i would take it out alone often.

I know they are interested in selling it, but too lazy to advertise it right now. When i told them our maintenance guy said he had a friend interested they said they were ready, but that guy has yet to come see it. I'm pretty sure they will let it go for less than it's worth.

It looks like the exact same boat sold for $1000 on OfferUp without a trailer.

Above is a photo the Offer up one i found online that looks like ours. And the bottom one is ours taken a couple of weeks ago. My husband pulled it with his Honda Element.
View attachment 227022
...
 
#16 ·
Thanks @Buzzy . I had heard the customer service was lacking too from Scadden boats, but we never had to contact them so don't have experience with it.

It would be a good deal for someone who didn't have a truck and wanted a three seater so i thought it would be worth looking at it. I bet they would let it go for around $1500 and the trailer is probably worth that alone.

Each year i would get a call from the association that we hadn't put the tabs on the trailer which would always irritate me that they checked up on stuff like that. We most always had purchased the new tabs just never got over to the locked RV lot and put them on the boat. Finally i said, y'all need to get rid of that thing or use it.
 
#37 ·
It has already been said but your current vehicle would tow an inflatable boat/trailer just fine. Of course, there are lots of reasons why someone doesn't want to haul around a trailer either. That is why there is a market for boats like Flycraft, Scadden, Stealthcraft, etc. It is also why we made a narrow 3-person boat...we got tired of people asking about them...if you can't beat them, join them.

I posted this boat for sale on our Facebook page about a week ago. I was going to post it on WFF but just have not got around to it yet. I'm leaving in about 5 minutes to do a radio show on Guide Chronicles for the Worley Bugger Fly Company but will post more later on.

Note-There is a third seat that goes on the back, Ken just didn't bolt it on before taking the picture.
 

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#42 ·
I have a 1972 Wooldridge 16 ft drift boat that i have towed with the following cars:

3/4 Ton Chevy 4x4 Truck,
AWD Ford Aerostar Mini Van Extended with 4.0 liter v6
4 cylinder 5 spd Saturn econo car,
1/2 Ton Full Size Ford E150 Work van and
4x4 Chevy Tahoe.

Best camping and towing vehicle of all was the AWD Mini Van. It got decent millage and hauled lots of camping gear.

Saturn towed just fine, but it was so low that the bow of the boat stuck up above it and caused the engine to strain from wind resistance at 70+ mph (and i put a lot of highway miles on that driving to lakes with concrete ramps, at that time i used my truck for any rough boat launches on rivers)

My son has an Outback. It is my belief it would outperform my favorite mini van in traction on the rough boat ramps and has better ground clearance. I would not hesitate to try it if it had a hitch. The outback is much more fun to drive and comfortable than my trucks or Tahoe. You just have to be care full on maybe 20% of the river boat ramps as you do not have low range to creep around big rocks/roots or ruts that may damage undercarriage on Outback

The drift boat is the best over all fishing machine of any boats i owned. It is big enough to fit 3 adult men comfortably and can carry enough items to keep comfortable like food, water, heater,and a multitude of rods. I love the aluminum due to lack of maintenance, no fusss. only downfall of aluminum is it burns the hands if fishing the Yak in middle of summer. My dad's newer fiberglass clackacraft was preferred on that river in middle of summer. The aluminum interior is shiny and reflects the sun rays but can be battled with good quality polorized sunglasses.
 
#43 ·
I have a 1972 Wooldridge 16 ft drift boat that i have towed with the following cars:

3/4 Ton Chevy 4x4 Truck,
AWD Ford Aerostar Mini Van Extended with 4.0 liter v6
4 cylinder 5 spd Saturn econo car,
1/2 Ton Full Size Ford E150 Work van and
4x4 Chevy Tahoe.

Best camping and towing vehicle of all was the AWD Mini Van. It got decent millage and hauled lots of camping gear.

Saturn towed just fine, but it was so low that the bow of the boat stuck up above it and caused the engine to strain from wind resistance at 70+ mph (and i put a lot of highway miles on that driving to lakes with concrete ramps, at that time i used my truck for any rough boat launches on rivers)

My son has an Outback. It is my belief it would outperform my favorite mini van in traction on the rough boat ramps and has better ground clearance. I would not hesitate to try it if it had a hitch. The outback is much more fun to drive and comfortable than my trucks or Tahoe. You just have to be care full on maybe 20% of the river boat ramps as you do not have low range to creep around big rocks/roots or ruts that may damage undercarriage on Outback

The drift boat is the best over all fishing machine of any boats i owned. It is big enough to fit 3 adult men comfortably and can carry enough items to keep comfortable like food, water, heater,and a multitude of rods. I love the aluminum due to lack of maintenance, no fusss. only downfall of aluminum is it burns the hands if fishing the Yak in middle of summer. My dad's newer fiberglass clackacraft was preferred on that river in middle of summer. The aluminum interior is shiny and reflects the sun rays but can be battled with good quality polorized sunglasses.
I'm feeling like drift boat might be a good bet. I just need to get proficient at rowing to fish a lot of the rivers I like fishing in oregon. Yakima seems pretty tame in comparison to the Deschutes. I took a trip with a guide on the Yellowstone who had a HYDE boat and it was great. Super stable even with me up front pounding the banks with a hopper/dropper setup.
 
#45 · (Edited)
Below I listed a few features I like about the 3-person Flycraft, as mentioned the original poster. For what it's worth.

  • Self bailing
  • Drop stitch floor
  • Internal anchor rope, so long as it doesn't knot up
  • Adjustable oar towers
  • Collapsible and compact (if needed to break down)
  • A little wider than some of the competition (56 inches vs others with a 51 inch width)
  • Free shipping
  • In stock (72 hour turn around)

And some things I don't like.

  • Cheap seats-If those are not Tempress Fish On! seats(some look to be, others are definitely not) they have no business being on a $5000 boat.
  • Non-elevated rowing seat will leave little leg room for long legs and bigger rowers
  • $4995 price tag which appears to not include oars? If not, that adds another $800-$1000 to the cost (per their website)
  • 3 year warranty, which they list as a bonus?

I would be a little leery with a 3-person raft with a width of around 50 inches.
 
#46 ·
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