AluminumAlloyBoats.com

Hi everyone,

I have been looking at plate boats for a while now. I plan to use it for duck hunting on Lake Champlain and striper and bluefishing at Cape Cod and Sacco river area a few times a year. I have been talking with Jack Winninghoff and plan to go meet with him in a couple of weeks. I am looking for other suggestions of boat builders so that I can weigh my options. Shallow draft and the ability to handle 5 foot waves that are close together...ie not just ocean rollers.

Thanks!

vtbassmaster

Welcome let me be the first to recommend a Pacific.
You came to the right place for your education. Comes down to How much are you wanting to spend. New or used? Look around an start to define what you want in a boat. Fort No Fort, Amenities, Power, The PNW has a lot of good builders that can and will build you your boat and ship it to you. The Seattle Boat Show will be in the end of January. Most all of the Builders will be there talking and showing their boats.

I am thinking about a jet because we pull the boats right up on shore sometimes to blend into the shoreline. Not set on that yet as everyone around here just uses outboards and gets out of the boat once you are in 2-3 feet of water. I would be interested in used if the price was right, but I haven't seen anything that makes sense compared to new. www.duckwaterboats.com makes some great boats, no frills, but geared towards hunting. I would like to have the boat serve double duty as an ocean boat for the few times a year that I get to the coast to fish. I need lot's of open space for decoys, 3-4 people, the dog and a couple of layout boats. I hadn't really considered west coast boats because I figured that shipping would be a big chunk of change. I realize that I am going to be north of $40K to have a new one built with a jet. I hope that helps.

A Jet boat using a Outboard motor you will need both a Pump and a Lower Unit with a prop. The Lower End takes a hour or so to swap out. Motor mounted up on a Jackplate will allow you to complete the swap with out moving the motor up and down. Alumaweld, Northriver, and Wooldridge along with a bunch of Eastern Washington and Idaho Boat Builders build boats that would fit the bill for what you want. They can build it and arrange shipment on the back of a Truck. The guys on the east side of state have some good looking boats that go in skinny and rough waters .

I have photos of a 28' inboard jet that is neet stuck on my phone. Still waiting for AAB to set up Tapatalk for me to link up and post from my phone.

Another to look at is wooldridgeboats.
Just about all boats get shipped from somewhere, right?
And keep an eye on the boats for sale forum here on AAB, there might be a couple more showing up soon.

Oh yeah, WELCOME to AAB.

Another Northeast Member Welcome to the forum. Check out the Manufacturers link & start calling around to see who will build what you want. Alot of builders are doing alot of custom stuff to keep a customer, It used to be "Buy only what they offer", But things have changed & they all want customers. There are quite a few builders in this neck of the country who will build what ever you want. I am sure they will be chimeing in here shortly. Good luck.

I will call Viking tomorrow. They are sort of on the way between my place and Winninghoff. Maybe I can get down there in a week or so to chat with them. If any other builders are in that area that I should be talking with let me know. Meanwhile, I will keep an eye on the classifieds. I would like to keep the business on this coast to allow me to visit the shop before and during the build, not to mention if I need to go back to have anything repaired or modified in the future. That said, I probably shouldn't limit myself too much!

Thanks!

vtbassmaster

Argh...I know those waters well me mateys!
I also run a pacific 23 and am confident that it would be the perfect boat all for 4 largest inland lakes in NY.

Thanks everyone. I am meeting with Winninghoff on Saturday and probably Viking too. I will give welderbob a call shortly after that.

I may be buying another boat in a while. Winninghoff looks to have a good variety of styles. I will be interested in what you think of their build quality and hull design.

In the last few weeks there have been a number of alloy boats on Clist in Seattle and Portland...saw them while looking for a kicker. it is worth a check just to see if anythings fits...plus you got folks out here that most likely would go take a look and send pics with a first hand report/call while he stood there. And welocme to AAB! Capt PJ

Dave, I will definitely post up after reviewing the various manufacturers and designs.

Capt PJ, that is an incredible that people would probably be willing to check out a boat for me! I will take a look at clist.

Thanks,

Lou

Finally pulled the trigger and bought a Winninghoff with Jack's Hamilton jet drive he was trying to get rid of. They are going to partially build the boat for me and I will install the motor, build the console and a bunch of other stuff. Thanks for the advice guys. I will post some pics as the project progresses.

Lou

vtbassmaster wrote:I am thinking about a jet because we pull the boats right up on shore sometimes to blend into the shoreline. Not set on that yet as everyone around here just uses outboards and gets out of the boat once you are in 2-3 feet of water. I would be interested in used if the price was right, but I haven't seen anything that makes sense compared to new. http://www.duckwaterboats.com makes some great boats, no frills, but geared towards hunting. I would like to have the boat serve double duty as an ocean boat for the few times a year that I get to the coast to fish I need lot's of open space for decoys, 3-4 people, the dog and a couple of layout boats. I hadn't really considered west coast boats because I figured that shipping would be a big chunk of change. I realize that I am going to be north of $40K to have a new one built with a jet. I hope that helps.

The bolded part is the age old quest in Alaska, the I want a boat that can run shallow water on the rivers and then take it out in the ocean occasionally. Unfortunately no such boat exists and trying to get one to serve both purposes well typically results in a boat that doesn't excell in either role.

The ideal shallow water boat will have a shallow V or flat bottom and a jet pump and is relatively light. Such a boat is great in shallow water because of it's low draft. However when you take that same boat out in the salt water, with the slighest chop you have to slow way down to keep from getting beat to death, and the jet pump cavitates when going over steep waves/chop. Also jet pumps have poor to no steering control at low speeds.

The ocean boat will have a deeper v, more hp due to the deeper v and increased weight and will not be able to handle super shallow water. On the flip side, the way I look at it is a boat that is more geared to the ocean's biggest downside is getting stuck in shallow water. The downside of a shallow water boat in the ocean is getting beat to death or getting swamped. Closely spaced 4-5' waves is significant water and will quickly swamp the wrong boat. There are many excellent 24' aluminum boats that are suitable for such water, but IMHO not in your price range when looking new.

Just be aware of the limitations of various hull styles and make the best decision for our application.

I have the answer to that age old riddle........................... Buy two boats

Only two?

S L Dave wrote:Argh...I know those waters well me mateys!
I also run a pacific 23 and am confident that it would be the perfect boat all for 4 largest inland lakes in NY.

Glad to see ya back in the AAB 'hood, Dave.

Winninghoff is just about done tacking the boat up and installing the jet drive. I will be doing the production welding and install of motor and electronics. I should be picking up the hull in a week or so.

I don't plan on being out on the ocean when it's rough. Just looking to do a little bluefish and stripper fishing near shore. For super shallow, I have a 20' john boat that will have a mud motor on it, but it's terrible in anything more than 1-2 foot waves.

Lou