Drift boat verses canoe opinion

I have been researching drift boats and would really love to get one. I talked to an outfit today about one they had but will do a little more researching before I make my decision.

I owned a canoe but wasn't that good when I had someone that wasn't comfortable just to sit. That is why I was looking at a drift boat. The canoe in the site I have attached is fairly wide do yo think this would be fine for drifting the river?
https://www.sundolphin.com/canoes/mackinaw-ss/

Canoe is a lot better if you have some tricky whitewater,you can maneuver a canoe a lot better than a boat in some types of shallower rapids.

A good wood canvas will go anywhere and do anything I need to do. I have poled many miles trapping.

So whats a drift boat?
just

You can always add sponsons if stability is an issue.

AKA, I think what he is referring to is a row boat designed to float and fly fish bigger rivers, many times fast moving ones. They usually have an upturned bow and are very maneuverable.

Zim

If your going to be in any rough water a canoe is a lesser craft than a drift boat.
Drift boat is more stable and you can carry more stuff.
I've gone thru rapids in a drift boat that have seen canoes submerged and bent around the rocks.
No doubt about it, a drift boat is much better in rough water.


Advantage of a canoe is smaller and lighter. If you have to drag over log jams or shallow riffles.

A drift boat tracks better.

Wide canoes are what I know as "lake Canoes" usually fiberglass, narrow canoes are better for rivers, usually aluminum.

I guess it all depends on what your going to do and where your going to do it.

I have that canoe and a few years ago a friend had a wooden drift boat that we used on the Yellowstone a good bit. We've used the canoe mostly in the lakes, nothing big though. The canoe is stable, had it in some pretty big waves and such but I think the drift boat has it beat, more room and stability, both maneuver well. The only downside to the boat is having to have a trailer, can put the canoe on top of a car and launch/takeout where ever.

Mackenzie river boat or dory, think of a canoe that is much wider and the ends are much higher.
Easy to stand in while fishing, very good in rough water, lots of storage.

In addition to what's been mentioned, the advantages of a canoe are shallower draft, and you can haul it on top of your car.

I disagree with Dirty D somewhat. Canoes and drift boats are about equal in ability to handle rapids, depending on the individuals operating the watercraft.

A canoe tracks better because of a longer keel-line and less rocker. Drift boats have a very curved rocker with almost no straight keel. Lots of rocker makes for maneuverability at cost of tracking.

A canoe requires more experience and skill to master. A drift boat, with its wider beam, is more forgiving.

A canoe can be portaged.

If I were you, my choice would depend on what kind of water I'm going to use it on. If you're mainly going to be on lakes and small rivers, I'd go with the canoe. If on big rivers, I might take the drift boat.

Jim

Thanks you have answered everything I needed to know. I will most likely now will end up getting a canoe instead of a drift boat. Cost difference is another thing and licensing a trailer may be the game breaker for. I have a small 10 foot aluminum with a good trailer but a fishing boat is hard to track they want to twist and drift sideways.



MTtraps >>> so you had a sundolphin? Are they an okay canoe from your experience?

Dirty D >>> yep you described a drift boat to a T.

Check out Cunningham Boats. It's a cross between a drift boat and canoe. Buddy of mine loves his.

Dawnvilledawg >>>>> that is a an interesting concept for a fishing boat. The boat I get will be used mostly on the Powder and Yellowstone rivers in the fall for fishing, hunting and trapping.

I have never owned a drift boat, why?
What I see in a drift boat is a one way rig like the keel boats and bull boats of the fur trade days, sell or abandon it when you get down river. All that rocker and all that weight has got to be a real hindrance to upstream travel.
Double or triple the weight of comparable sized canoe, I can't see two men carrying it or loading it; it becomes a boat-trailer-truck combo and then you have the shuttle problem- two trucks and trailers or two trips to get boat and trailer-truck back together.
They appear to be purpose built to use in canyons ,going down stream; those super high ends would be like sails in any kind of wind. Good for outfitters that have a back up crew and unlimited client funding.
If I had to trailer a river boat, I'd be thinking jett boat like they run in shallow rocky Ozark rivers. Or a simple john boat.

I have owned a couple canoes and a couple jon boats because they work almost any where. And can be car-topped. And can go upstream.

I suspect though, that like most people that ask advice, you already have made a choice and just want validation.

Snowy, Still have the canoe, it's not Grumman or other high end canoe (reminds me of the old Colemans) but it's worked and still works for us. They're heavy but I can still wrestle it around by myself if need be. We stick an electric motor on it for trolling when on the lakes and with paddles it handles OK too.

those jet outboards don't steer very well unless your at speed. forum member bigfoot bout made me pee myself scooting over gravel bars with water less than a foot deep though a few years back.

in the late 70's my brother in law built a kit boat called a folbot. looked professionaly done. put it in the Arkansas river for its maiden voyage. a stretch of river tourists pay millions of dollars to raft on every year. me and my dad both told him it was a bad idea. bout killed him and he lost all his fishing tackle.

I have some boat tales of my own but none ending in disaster.

one thing is true whether your sailing around the horn without any back up engine or innertubing in a 4 foot deep slow moving creek, use common sense, don't exceed your ability, just cause a boat is capable doesn't mean the operator is.

The best vessels here that have been in use on the rivers as well as out on James bay for ever is the big freighter canoes.
A big freighter canoe with a 50 hp motor can travel up or down the many large rapids with ease(as long as you know the rapid) and can be poled,lined or portaged when necessary.
They will also handle a couple moose no problem.

I have fished out of a drift boat a few times. All those times we had a dedicated rower. 2 people would fish and 1 would row. They work great for fishing in fast water as the rower is actually rowing upstream the whole time you are drifting downstream. In this way, the rower steers the boat and slows the drift enough for fishing.
as I said, in fast water the rower faces downstream and rows pulling the boat in the upstream direction. The rower guides the boat around obstructions in this manner. He only guides the boat and slows the drift. In slack water, he has to row by pushing the oars.
A drift boat is normally set up with a sort of post and stirrup on each end and the fisherman stand inside those stirrup like frames while drifting. This is to keep the fisherman from going in the drink! lol.

Little brother had some experience with drift boat river fishing as the rower, he says he hates fishing more than any other work.
He did meet some rather famous people.

back during the boom there where some Missouri jetboats went up there and trapped on the Yellowstone . they where effective enough the local sheriff run them out of Montana . that was before nonresidents couldn't trap coon .