JAWallace
10-18-2012, 10:12 AM
This past February I bought Bill Kiene's old 12' trihull from the second owner. After nearly nine months of use in big lakes, small lakes, the American, and the Delta I can safely say it's my favorite boat out of the 17 I've owned, including a Whaler Montauk 170 which was just too big for most waters I fish. The main reasons I love this boat so much are the versatility and the stability.
The boat holds two fly casters nicely. We always stand on the thwarts and bow deck and have never had stability or casting problems. This week we were in the Delta and a real considerate cruiser came blasting by and gave us some big wake attitude and we just rode them out, standing up.
Earlier we drifted the American, using the oars and it rows fairly well--good enough for maneuvering and for rowing upstream some in 4000 cfs.
The point is that a small boat that is stable, and that would eliminate all but the widest aluminum hulls, can work great for nearly all California waters including the salt in good weather, and you won't have much money into it.
These Olympians are somewhat hard to find, and many of them are trashed. They are also very easy to beef up and repair. The best substitute is a 13' Whaler. They are very similar and about as stable and sell for around $3000-$3500 with a 2 stroke. If I were to replace this boat, I would find a good 13' Whaler hull and swap out the 35 hp two stroke for a 15-25 hp 4 stroke with a tiller or controls. I have had 2 13' Whalers, one a sport and one a Dauntless, and the sport model does great with 25 hp and will plane with a 15 with two people. My boat does 23 mph with 2 (GPS) with a 15 hp 4S. That's plenty for even the Delta.
Now is a great time to shop around. If you have a limited budget but want to access about any water and feel safe and stable, check out something small with a glass trihull with a small 4S.
John
The boat holds two fly casters nicely. We always stand on the thwarts and bow deck and have never had stability or casting problems. This week we were in the Delta and a real considerate cruiser came blasting by and gave us some big wake attitude and we just rode them out, standing up.
Earlier we drifted the American, using the oars and it rows fairly well--good enough for maneuvering and for rowing upstream some in 4000 cfs.
The point is that a small boat that is stable, and that would eliminate all but the widest aluminum hulls, can work great for nearly all California waters including the salt in good weather, and you won't have much money into it.
These Olympians are somewhat hard to find, and many of them are trashed. They are also very easy to beef up and repair. The best substitute is a 13' Whaler. They are very similar and about as stable and sell for around $3000-$3500 with a 2 stroke. If I were to replace this boat, I would find a good 13' Whaler hull and swap out the 35 hp two stroke for a 15-25 hp 4 stroke with a tiller or controls. I have had 2 13' Whalers, one a sport and one a Dauntless, and the sport model does great with 25 hp and will plane with a 15 with two people. My boat does 23 mph with 2 (GPS) with a 15 hp 4S. That's plenty for even the Delta.
Now is a great time to shop around. If you have a limited budget but want to access about any water and feel safe and stable, check out something small with a glass trihull with a small 4S.
John