Boston Whaler as a river boat

steelhead281

Recruit
Joined
Jul 21, 2008
Messages
1
Well, I don't know much about Boston Whalers but from the forum here, it seems like they would be a perfect boat to stand in while fly fishing in a lake and could easily handle the chop if it got rough. I fish lakes, but fish rivers of various depths more often. How does a Whaler do in shallow water. How much water to the 13-15 foot boats draw. Will it handle the currents well. What if I bang into a rock or two? Thanks for the comments in advance
 
D

DJ

Guest
Re: Boston Whaler as a river boat

My family has a 16' Montauk and 15' Sport.

Both draw more water than you would think. Both have a very high "deadrise" (angle between the chines and keel). Although shallow, when on plane.

The BW skin, on the outside, is a bit thin. That is in contrast with a fully foamed hull which makes them unsinkable.

True "river bashers" are almost all aluminum, for a reason. AL will "stretch". Fiberglass does too, to a point, less than AL.
As a "Riverboat". NO.

I would hate to see a nice BW hull shredded by a bunch of rocks where the boat was never intended to go.

I wouldn't worry about sinking in 5' of water. I run a Whaler because I boat in areas where the depth is 50' to 500'.
 

ebry710

Ensign
Joined
Jan 29, 2008
Messages
981
Re: Boston Whaler as a river boat

I would like to know what kind of river. In the Sacramento River I would easily use my BW Outrage 18, because the depth is constantly over 10'. In the Russian River, DJ is right (as usual) an aluminum boat are a better choice.

With my BW, I rarely look at my hull as the major consideration.....its usually my prop. In shallow water I never use speed and usually use my depth finder. My hull usually can take a slow bump, but my prop well let say a "dinked" prop or a bend shaft makes shallow water not worth it (even if my BW was only a aluminum boat).
 

mthieme

Captain
Joined
Oct 6, 2007
Messages
3,270
Re: Boston Whaler as a river boat

I have a McKee Craft which is so much like a BW they got sued over it. Anywho, it's 14' and not what I consider a dry boat in a chop.
 
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