Low Resolution (click) | | After drifting the "A" section of the Green river below Flaming Gorge reservoir for a few
years in rafts and catarafts I decided I needed something that was more tailored for
fishing. Not knowing enough about drift boats to build one or have enough money to buy
a new one I started looking for a older used boat and boy did I find one. Looking for
boats on the web I found an ad for a classic wood drift boats in Dillon Montana. The
lady I called had two boats, one that was finished and one that was old and needed work.
I asked her what condition the old boat was in, she told me that the boat needed some
work, that she was given the boat by a widow, who thought she should cut the boat in
half and hang it on the wall in her bar. She told me that she couldn't bare the thought of
cutting an old wood boat like this in half. The widow told her that her husband loved this
boat dearly. I have been trying to move to Montana for the last 3-4 years and used this as
an excuse to drive up and look around. I found the ad on Friday night and drove up there
with my wife and 4 kids on Saturday. When I finally found the address on the ad, I
realized it was in way worse condition then I ever thought. The boat was totally covered
in mouse and bird droppings. It was very beat up and I didn't know what to do. The
trailer was in equal shape, two rotten tires, bad bearings and a broken winch. I was able
to find all the pieces of the boat and talked her into throwing in a beat up old cover. I
didn't know what to do, drag this boat home and just sell it or fix it up. What ever this
boat costs me was doubled; because part of the deal to get a boat was that I would let my
wife spend the exact equal amount of the cost of the boat. Feeling like I had made a big
mistake and knew the 10 hour drive home would not be fun, I decided to go into Dillon
and buy new bearings and a few cans of fix a flat to help me nurse this boat home. We
were unable to drive around much due to the fact I had to fix the trailer so I could get
home on Sunday. After fixing the trailer (somewhat) we drove into Butte for diner that
night. The lady was nice enough to let us stay in her Hotel Saturday night and we drove
home on Sunday. Once I got home I started surfing for more info on Drift boats and
found Sandy's web site, I emailed him some pictures of my boat and asked him if he
knew who built it. He replied and said I did, I couldn't believe it, and I was so excited. I
bought the boat in the spring of 2002 and worked all summer on my house, once all of
the honey do's where done I started working on my boat in the fall. Like I said I didn't
know anything about how to fix up my boat so I started asking a ton of dumb questions
on Sandy's site. My boat had fiberglass on the outside, so I just peeled all of the glass off
on the outside. I removed all of the seats and knee braces and started sanding. I put 4
layers of 10 oz cloth on the bottom, wrapping up the chine's about 6". I mixed graphite
and epoxy to blacken the bottom, I don't think it made it any slicker but is nice to use as a
gage when you need to reapply a new epoxy coat. I bought 2 gallons of varnish and used
about ¾ of a gallon on the seats and knee braces and got them varnished. I never really
planed on a clear finish but once I put my first coat on the outside I figured I could
always paint it next year but it would be impossible to paint first and varnish later. After
repairing broken boards with epoxy/sawdust the inside was sanded and ready for varnish.
I varnished the outside glossy and satin on the inside. I never thought it would look half
as nice as it turned out. I really wanted an oil finish interior but decided that future
repairs with epoxy would be tough. I have added a Bo's floor mount anchor release, sub-
floor and bought new oars, repairing the old ones for spares. I totally fixed up the trailer
and had my mother tailor the cover for my boat. This project probably cost me more then
if I would have just bought a kit and built my own trailer. It was a lot of fun to fix this
boat up. Old boats can be repaired and used for many more years.
Thanks Sandy and everyone that put up with all my stupid questions. There will be
plenty more once I buy a kit and build a new drift boat, but that's way down the road.
Thanks again
Curtis Kelly
Utah
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