Are you a bank fisherman or have dreams of floating those rivers your routinely fish or drive by? It may come by surprise, but realistically your dream is not farfetched. A simple Craigslist search and you will find Used and practically New drift boats for sale, routinely. I searched Eugene, Oregon Craigslist this morning and found over 46 drift boats ranging from $ 2,500 to $7,000 dollars. We have put together a Drift Boat Buyers Guide, to better assist you on your first drift boat purchase.
What should I be looking for when purchasing a Drift Boat?
First, you need to ask yourself what style of fishing do I enjoy? What rivers will I be mainly fishing? Are they fast, rocky, lot’s of hazards? Make sure you think future, with this new drift boat and some years behind the oars, you may start exploring more technical rivers. You really have three, all very different types of Drift Boats.
- Wood Drift Boat – By far the most stunning and aesthetic drift boats on the water. It’s what my great grandpa used as one of the first fishing guides on the Mckenzie River, in Oregon. He swore by the quiet ride and is less likely to spook the trout. However, the maintenance required and elbow grease needed to keep these boats fishing can be daunting. You have to make sure the water is always drained, and constantly re-Varathane if you see any wood grains rising. Lastly, if you have a date with a boulder, a wooden drift is the last place, I want to be.
- Aluminum Drift Boat – Mostly, the heavier option but the most durable material used for Drift Boats. You can take a 4-pound sledge hammer to these and it’s not going to budge. The re-sell value is great, aluminum prices are not going down anytime soon. Also, maintenance free, besides the bottom “which will get into more” but you really don’t need too much maintenance with these boats.
- Fiberglass Drift Boat (Glass) – Great for low water, ticking off the bottom, and a quiet ride. Fiberglass, to me, is the hybrid of the three. It’s light, it rows great and it has good durability. However, fiberglass boats truly don’t excel in any of these categories.
Drift Boat Buyers Guide 2023
Furthermore, when you venture over to Montana and Wyoming they love their Fiberglass drift boats. It’s all personal preference, if you’re fishing smaller streams that you’re not worried of hitting larger boulders, I would go Fiberglass. My one caveat with fiberglass drift boats is the flexing when rowing and going over rapids. I found, the loss of power with my oar strokes, granted I’m usually fishing the Kasilof River where the Cubic Feet Per Second in August, can reach over 10,000 CFS.
For most fishing guides in Alaska and private anglers, Willie Boats has the monopoly up here. Alaska fishing guides on the Kasilof River usually have Willie Drift Boats ranging from 18-21 feet long. When you move South to Washington, Oregon and California it’s more common to see 14-16 foot drift boats with many different types of manufactures. From Koffler, Pavati, Hyde Fiberglass, Clackacraft and Willie Boats, just to name a few.
Alaska Drift Boat Fishing
My Drift Boat for the Kasilof River and the Kenai River is 19’x66″ Willie Drift Boat. Aluminum is still King here, however the door has opened to glass boats. With so many new manufactures in the fiberglass world, you have options. To pick between the two, are the rivers you fish going to have sharper rocks or other hazards along the way? Do you live in a harsh climate where your boats may be full of snow all winter? If you answered yes to these, Aluminum would be my pick. You will have a bit of a higher sticker price, however, the resell of these Aluminum boats are incredible.
What to look for on a used Drift Boat
- Is the bottom of the boat damaged, some scrapes are common but any large gouges could become an issue later.
- How are the oars are they in good condition? Wood, fiberglass, carbon-fiber? A good length of oar is 1.5x times the length between oar-lock to oar-lock. We recommend looking at Pro-Loks.
- Will you be running a motor? Does the boat have a sturdy transom for running a kicker? Is the Anchor center mounted or side-mounted, where you would put a motor?
- Trailer condition, how old is it? Tire wear and how does the crank work? Trailer bearings are always overlooked!
- Anchor rope needed to be replaced, large enough anchor for the rivers your will be fishing, rope length?
- Fiberglass check for soft spots, Aluminum check for cracks.
- Does the drift boat fit your fishing style and have enough storage?
- UHMW bottom? This can run upwards to a grand, but today’s UHMW Drift Boat bottoms are incredible at sliding off rocks.
If you don’t have the funds for UHMW check out Wetlander, it’s a great DIY project for making sure you are slick off those rocks.
“Ask the seller for a test float, everyone deserves a reason to get behind the sticks”
Scotty
Owner & Guide
Kenai Drift Anglers