Kayak drift boat?

anyone ever try rigging a SOT kayak with a pair of oars so as to steer/slow/maneuver it like a drift boat?

I have been wanting to take my PA12 down some mild drift boat water on a river near me but after taking a few drift boat trips, it seems to me that a big part of drifting is the ability to slow the boat and make subtle course adjustments, often at the same time.  It seems to me that, especially in shallow water, nothing beats a pair of oars for this, why not try it?  cheers, roger

Oars on a kayak sounds like a pain.  Have you thought about a pontoon?

That's what I was thinking Lee.  Might as well use a pontoon then.

I've found that a Hobie with the mirage drive is already like a drift boat.  You need less than a foot of water to make the fins work...well I guess I don't know if that is true on a PA.  You can slowly drift backwards, pull plugs, toss float and jigs, flies on an indicator. 

I wish I was more the fly fishing catch and release kinda guy.  I have been talking to the new Hobie dealer in Alaska whose main business is raft, catacrafts, and inflatable kayaks.  We think these Hobies are going to revolutionize the in-stream fishing in larger rivers like the Kenai River.

I've mused about oars on a kayak multiple times over the years.  You could probably do a search here and find the rantings of a madman.

In fact, when I first saw the NuCanoe many many years ago, I suggested to them that they make an oar kit for it.  Soon after, they had their first oar kit.

I kind of like the idea and cling to it a bit, but not enough to do anything about it.  That being said, for a PA14, I gotta wonder what the rudder ends up doing here.  Seems to me, it might be problematic.  It's not retractable, right?

-Allen

Never tried it on my PA, but it seems like it would work on one if you could get a sturdy mounting point for the oar locks.  Wouldn't need big oars either, since the total weight and draft of the boat would be minimal.

Don't know if I agree about revolutionizing the fishing on the Kenai though..... the beauty of drift boats is the fact that you can control the boat and see all your fishing gear at the same time because you are facing downstream.  In order for the Hobies to take over river fishing around here (IMO) is the ability to face downstream while propelling yourself upstream (to mimic a backtroll) whilst having good control of steering.  I've tried to go backwards in a Hobie before and the steering is very very touchy.  There may be a select few pockets of the river they could work great on, but to me...the Kenai seems like a kayak to your favorite spot and hop on the bank river.  I've kayak fished in other rivers with similar currents to the Kenai, and I did way more kayaking than fishing.   I am open to being proven wrong on this, but it seems like a stretch to want to use them in a big quick river like the Kenai.

I've mused about oars on a kayak multiple times over the years.  You could probably do a search here and find the rantings of a madman.

In fact, when I first saw the NuCanoe many many years ago, I suggested to them that they make an oar kit for it.  Soon after, they had their first oar kit.

I kind of like the idea and cling to it a bit, but not enough to do anything about it.  That being said, for a PA14, I gotta wonder what the rudder ends up doing here.  Seems to me, it might be problematic.  It's not retractable, right?

-Allen

The rudders on a PA are retractable

I've mused about oars on a kayak multiple times over the years.  You could probably do a search here and find the rantings of a madman.

In fact, when I first saw the NuCanoe many many years ago, I suggested to them that they make an oar kit for it.  Soon after, they had their first oar kit.

I kind of like the idea and cling to it a bit, but not enough to do anything about it.  That being said, for a PA14, I gotta wonder what the rudder ends up doing here.  Seems to me, it might be problematic.  It's not retractable, right?

-Allen

The rudders on a PA are retractable

Well, there you go.  Shows you what I know about Hobies!   

-Allen

good comments, thanks everyone.  I need to experiment with installing the mirage drive backwards and see if that is a viable way to generate reverse thrust...

I don't want to hijack the thread but having the gear behind me is business as usual.  With my fly gear and indicator I can flick it upstream.

Part of revolutionizing the fishery depends on expansion of drift only days and right wind direction possibly. I plan to sail and pedal around the lower River on drift boat Monday's if the Kings ever come back.  Can you imagine the look on the drift boat guys. Especially after they outlawed getting towed upriver. Lol.

I will say this to add to the thread. My big sailing rudder "catches" the current and every trip there is one time it scares me like I'm going to tip. I never do and it's never close but be aware of that. Might not be an issue in a PA.

I plan to sail and pedal around the lower River on drift boat Monday's if the Kings ever come back.  Can you imagine the look on the drift boat guys. Especially after they outlawed getting towed upriver. Lol.

I'll try it with my AI in the lower river for fun

So the next problem when rowing (with oars) a kayak is if the stern is shaped well enough that you're able to effectively go in reverse.  The stern of a PA doesn't strike me as such.

-Allen

I plan to sail and pedal around the lower River on drift boat Monday's if the Kings ever come back.  Can you imagine the look on the drift boat guys. Especially after they outlawed getting towed upriver. Lol.

I'll try it with my AI in the lower river for fun

Oh yeah. We should try it during the red run. Pull small red flatfish. Maybe hook a red. Definitely the trout.

Ok. Sry for the hijack. We'll post it up as the season draws closer!

don't you need oarloacks? and don't the oarlocks need to be positioned a certain length away from the handle? if so, i don't think a yak is going to have the width necessary to make rowing in any relatively comfortable and effective manner a possibility.

don't you need oarloacks? and don't the oarlocks need to be positioned a certain length away from the handle? if so, i don't think a yak is going to have the width necessary to make rowing in any relatively comfortable and effective manner a possibility.

Think about a frame that extends the oarlocks away from the kayak.  Think rowing shell.

-Allen