River running in small boats....

roy brewington said:
Occasionally you'll find a good deal on a Sport Boat. Sometimes not as there is a following for them. Myself I much prefer my 15' Ghenooe classic for extremely shallow water use but that bottom type you've mentioned would badly damage the fiberglass in short order. The sport boat is a true canoe hull but wider than normal so speed isn,t what its best at. There are I've learned some variation in load ratings on 15'. Sports boats depending on years produced.

I've seen them over the years, but not looked closely at them. I'd like to buy something in the west, rather than buy it in CT and move it, but I'm moving a ton of stuff already, so it isn't like one more boat is measurable. There is one for sale at a premium price very local to me now.
 
Jet boat or airboat would be the ticket.

My homemade mud boat ran super skinny but big rocks could be catastrophic to the motor or operator or boat if you hit them just right. My motor has a 1 inch shaft and heavy SS wheel but I'd still be concerned banging rocks. I pirogue now so this motor is collecting dust.

This boat ran super skinny. It was 48 inches wide with a hard chine so it drafted shallow. If I had moved fuel and battery to the bow it'd run even shallower.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqU2gvXZeOI&list=PL_KESyB5tykGVMhWy6riNTleKeI9BufBm&index=10
 
Paul Taylor said:
Jet boat or airboat would be the ticket.

My homemade mud boat ran super skinny but big rocks could be catastrophic to the motor or operator or boat if you hit them just right. My motor has a 1 inch shaft and heavy SS wheel but I'd still be concerned banging rocks. I pirogue now so this motor is collecting dust.

This boat ran super skinny. It was 48 inches wide with a hard chine so it drafted shallow. If I had moved fuel and battery to the bow it'd run even shallower.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqU2gvXZeOI&list=PL_KESyB5tykGVMhWy6riNTleKeI9BufBm&index=10

Lot to think about... Thanks for the video, that was flying for a 25 hp on an 18 footer. I'm surprised that rocks are such a problem given the prop geometry, but I don't know anything about it first hand.
 
I wonder if a rock guard on a motor like I made would work to run rocky rivers?

Here's the same boat / motor running a mix of sand / mud in S. La. No skeg, no cav plate so you have to "yaw" it a bit to keep her going straight but she was just about unstoppable, albeit a bit dangerous to operate.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iKTJLSxKHA&list=PL_KESyB5tykGVMhWy6riNTleKeI9BufBm&index=8


 
i have found trying to push pole up a river/stream is next to impossible. Depending on the speed of the current, it is one push up nd 7/8's going backward to reset your pole. Then, if you push crooked, the boat turns sideways and now you have other issues to deal with.

I don't know how small you are thinking of going. My latest gig is the kevlar poke boat that weighs I think 22 lbs. I can paddle that thing anywhere and up every stream I want to. If I had to do it again, I wish I could have found the Poke Boat Maxi. While mine is OK stable, sometimes I wonder.

Mark
 
Anthony, is that one of Diane's spray dodgers? Could you explain the way you have it rigged up? I have an original Momarsh Fatboy that i was going to rig the same wayThanks
 
Tod-there is an article in the September/October addition of the Pennsylvania Angler and Boater about matching a jet drive to a hull for a small boat. You can access this(and other editions going back to the 1930's) on their web site for Legacy issues:
https://www.fishandboat.com/About-Us/Angler-and-Boater/LegacyIssues/Pages/default.aspx

Thought this might have some good info for you.
 
Josh Schwenger said:
I would use a PPF wood duck mud motor. If you wanted an outboard you could try a on the fly jackplate.

Why PPF over the other brands available?
 
Well I have not used the other brands. But the PPF has a very short 55" shaft. I also like the backwater. Backwater would allow a larger motor if you choose. I also lint that the PPF is made here in the USA and you can buy any part from the guy and get him on the phone. I made my own but I copied his design heavily. My neighbor Paul has one and it pushes his sneak boat 12 mph.
 
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