Lowe Boats has new 2005 web site

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

For fly fishing we really like aluminum Jon boats. They are wide, flat and stable for standing and fly casting.

For 1 or 2 people the Lowe "Roughneck" all welded 14' model is killer for fly fishing. I had one once myself.

It is real wide with a 70" beam and is rated for up to 30hp tiller steer.

It is all metal, no wood, so it will last almost forever. It is .080" aluminum and is a 300# hull. It is around $2000 at Sutter Marine in Yuba City.



The best new 4 stroke motors for it are a new tiller steer Honda 20hp propeller outboard that is 110# @ ~$3000 or the tiller steer Yamaha 25hp propeller outboard that is 135# and ~$3500. They are both easy to pull start.

We put 9 foot drift boat oars on them too.

A good trailer is under $1000.

http://www.lowe.com/fishboats/roughneck/R1448M.html



You are looking at ~$6000 for a nice boat that will be quiet, dependable, fuel efficient and last a long time.

[slimfishin's]

Bill,
Agreed that the roughnecks are a good price. However, I would caution people who plan to use them as a river jet sled. As a fisheries tech on the Feather, we had 4 jet boats... 2 of them Roughnecks (16' tunnel hull, 115Hp Ficht Ram Injected Evinrude, and a 17' 90Hp/65 Yamaha 4 stroke jet -oustanding engine by the way) .

After daily use, those boats began to wear down after about a year. We cracked several of the welds on the ribs and the bow deck. Additionally, we also punctured the hull about 3 times on the 17'er. Remember, those hulls don't have the integral subfloor structure of true sleds like Alumaweld's, Northrivers, Fishrites etc... that prevent the hull from twisting under strain. The ribs across the floor don't give the same structual integrity as more expensive boats. Additionaly, the hulls are only 0.100" thick - not the 0.125 or 0.160 of the true heavy guage river sleds.

If you are carefull, they do make a good, utilitarian durable boat. BUT, don't expect those boats to take the abuse of hitting a few rocks on a shallow riffle on a regular basis.

My favorite boat is still the Alumaweld SuperVee LT.... handles like a prop even with a jet pump. Too bad it's sooooo $$$$$.

Slimfishin's

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

I think you are very accurate here Slim.

We have been using them for mostly personal use. Not that many days a year and you do have to be very careful with them and rocks.

With a jet we use the stripped down tiller models like the Lowe R1652VT that is $2,400 and the bare hull is 420#. We use a tiller Honda 50hp/35hp @ jet = 230#. The entire rig is about $10,000 with good trailer.

These hulls (0.100") weight about half of what a similar size "real" outboard jet boat hull weighs so we can use them with smaller, lighter, cheaper motors.

Whe you get to a bigger, heavy duty aluminum hull (0.160"- 0.225") you need a real big motor. $$$$$$+$$$$$= $$$$$$$$

You can't use them for serious daily commercial use but they do use them a lot at many Alaskan lodges for getting clients around.They are for the 'weekend warrior' and are a 'entry level' jet boats that get pretty good fuel economy.

[matooka]

I agree with slim fishin! I've had my 1652VT/Yamaha 60/40 jet for a year now! It sprung a leak on our maiden voyage drifting the Lower Sac. The flows were 15K and we ended up broadsiding a large boulder just drifiting. The leak was significant! I've taken several direct hits navigating the Yuba when flows were low (520cfs). A few deep blemishes on the hull and some disfigured intake grates! Nothing a crow bar and hammer can't correct. At this point, I'm avoiding low flows (520cfs. on the Yuba). Regardless of the flows, I have yet to hit bottom full out running the Lower Sac! Just a matter of time I guess!? I must say, the boat is extremely beneficial and fun to operate!