river boat question

[jdb]

I am thinking Id like to get in on some river fishing. I am thinking of buying a boat for fishing the Yakima and have no idea where to start. 1st how much do good used drift boats cost, are they alot better than a good raft? do I even need a drift boat or would a raft do just fine? are there other alternatives? I appreciate any and all advise

[MuleySniper]

Id say look for a 16' aluminum driftboat.  Try to find one with a 54" bottom. They row like a dream, and with the aluminum, you dont have to worry about hitting a few rocks. You should be able to find a "real nice" one for around three grand with a trailer.
MS

[jackelope]

right...aluminum all the way. 16' is a good size. they are a lot lighter than glass so a lot easier to manage, especially when loaded. be sure to consider storage in the boat for your gear. my boat has zero storage, which sucks when you are doing a multi-day float.
a seat behind the oarsman's seat is good to have too, especially for flyfishing....1 guy on the bow seat, 1 on the stern and 1 rowing.

wther they are better than a raft is up to the guy on the sticks i think.  i'd rather have a driftboat, but the one raft i was in was pretty damn cool....more maintenance though it seemed like.
a great yearly trip for us is from ringer loop to roza dam...overnighter with gear in the boat. i don't need to stuff everything in dry bags for this trip, where i would in a raft.

[jackelope]

you could get into something like this if you just want to do some float and fish trips...
http://www.washingtonflyfishing.com/board/showthread.php?t=49707

[BONE COLLECTOR]

 each to there own,  but i think glass is lighter, warmer, and if i'm going to hit a rock i'd rather do it in a glass boat, there not as sticky as aluminum

[Professor Chaos]

get a raft. then you can float just about anything.

[BONE COLLECTOR]

 hard to pull plugs in a raft

[jackelope]

you can float anything in a drift boat.
seen an aluminum boat go over boulder drop on the sky on purpose.
 

[jackelope]

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7GtTizpR08[/youtube]


raft shmaft