Best sled for the river?

[bear]

I've been lookin' at a lot of sleds on craigslist and other sites and would like to have one by next summer.  I've never owned a river sled, but think that I really want a true flatbottom.  I looked at a beast of a sled the other day.   It was really nice, but looked really heavy.  The guy told me the 150/115 jet took a bit to get it up on plane.  It got me wondering what I truly want.  I want a boat that feels safe for my wife and daughter to come along, but still gets up on a plane good.  I figure I should get at least 10 different opinions on the first 10 responses, but lets see.  What say you?

[bear]

I should say I am leaning toward wanting a tiller.  Also, it needs to be good on small rivers, not just the Fraser or Columbia.  Bear

[JLS]

A 16-17' Wooldridge Alaskan would make a nice boat.  They make them in side consoles, I don't know about other configurations.  The flat bottom will ride a little rough.  The one I used was (I think) a 16' with an 85/60 Merc 2 stroke.  I would get 440 pounds of men and 90 pounds of black lab up on plane.

How small of a river are you talking?

[mallard79]

Wooldridge all the way. Get the jet tunnel and you are set to run shallower than most boats out there and it will take a lot less horsepower to get it moving which is less fuel burnt in long long run! 

[eggster]

You have to look at an alumaweld supervee lt, not the ls. 18ft is ideal for everything from the columbia (wind permitting) to the wynoochee. The 6* bottom is ideal for lakes, bay, and especially the river. You wanna be careful when buying a true flatbottom boat. Cavitation becomes a big concern on these and will destroy an outboard if youre not careful. Look at the wooldridge to, because they to are a really nice boat. Ive got an 18ft supervee lt, and with 4 guys the 90/65 will plane it quick and float real shallow. Good luck on whatever you choose, just dont go to small or way to big.

[WDFW Hates ME!!!]

If you want comfort for your wife and daughter i would stay away from a true flat bottom, they would go with you one time in chop and be done. 6 degree bottom for the rivers is fine and not as hard on your back.
I will be buying a sled this year, i am not going to focus on a brand as i think they are all pretty comparable. I am going to focus on feature... I am going to get an 18-20 foot open sled with a 6 degree bottom, tiller.
And will outfit it from there.

The boat show is in portland this weejend. You can always go checks out a ton of boats under one roof and see what you like and go from there.

But my opinion would be to stay away from flat bottom if you want your wife and daughter to enjoy it.

[Rick]

 Unless you're running in the skinniest water you can find,flat bottom sleds suck.  Even my brothers 6° North River pounds the shiat out of you on anything but ripples.

A 10° sled will run shallower than most guys have any business attempting.

[cohoho]

It really depends upon where your running.  There is no perfect boat at all.  If you only going to run skinny then I would not look anywhere else but Wooldridge Alaskan XL...  I ran the Alaskan 17.5 in AK for years-miss that boat.  I also had an open sled designed after Wooldridge floor plan with tunnel.  It was 18 foot, 60" wide and could run shallower water than anything else, except air boats of course.  I ran a 90hp Honda jet on the Wooldridge and a 50hp Honda jet on the ATEC.  The ATEC could haul some weight also, as we put on a Moose every year and ran back to the launch with two guys.  Of course I had to have someone weld over the rub through areas after about four years of use...  If you looking for a bit more versitility, check out the new Wooldridge XL, you won't find a better river running boat anywhere.  Trust me, I always went past the areas where the every other manufactures boats stopped- or maybe they weren't as simple minded as me.  But on the flip side running these boats in big water your going to get beat up..  Bigger river combos like North River - makes a great multi pupose inboard jet.  Stay away from Thunderjet, yea they look good, but ride like dog snot with their screwed up bottom that they even put on their version of an offshore......  (that's after owning two of their bigger models, (one  a 21 foot Rio Classic and a 21 Alexis Classic)...  As others suggested stay away from a true flat bottom, unless your buying a airboat cause you need the degree to ensure water is pushed to the jet for perfromance, flat bottoms do not allow water to flow right.  Add a tunnel on whatever you get will protect the foot of the jet and get you into slightly shallower water too...

[cohoho]

Also if serious about buying a river jet- get someone that knows how to run a jet to drive the thing and you sit back and enjoy the ride.  You want on step instantly, not pushing through the water like so many poorly designed - Jon Boats.  Most are prop designed and they throw jets on- stay away from them for sure.  Also stay away from Roughneck and similar designed boats unless you want your wife and kids to ride on the bow while you start off at the launch.  You want the ride to remain flat from sitting to starting to riding for best perfromance.  Look for crappy construction and welds and transoms of tin covered wood..  Although G-3 makes a decent shallow water boat with a decent water flow tunnel.... Suggest you go on and read through Wooldridge web site to understand about tunnels and jets and how they should be aligned so they work properly..  They wrote the book on Jets that other try to copy....

[Camp David]

I had a 14 foot Sea Nymph with a 20hp jet on the back. For rivers around Puget sound etc it was great. We fished salmon and steelhead and of course duck hunted. Went to places people only dreamed about because of the size. Even took it in the sound to crab and salmon fish with down riggers. Size was good for 2 guys 3 got crowded. It was under powered. My next will be a little bigger, but for the obtaining access to about anywhere you want to go and being able to move the boat up/over and around stuff it was great. I'll probably have a small 16' and a 21 footer in the future.

[groundhog]

A tiller is the only way to go if you are going to navigate in small channels with tight corners. G-3 is a great option for the money. You can get by with less power and becuase it is lighter you can navigate shallow water at slower speeds than heavier boats. 
You should also look at the Legend by Willie Boats. They make a really nice boat and if you order it ahead of time you can really trick it out.
 I am old school but I like two stroke over four stroke outboard jets. The two strokes are a lot lighter(power to weight ratio) they have a better hole shot, and you can work on them when it is required.

[Wa hunter]

I have a 18' 86 Alumaweld flat bottom 90hp tiller and like it.  It does have a personality and makes you really look at the water you want to run it has a tenincy to slide around.  I have not run it in big deep waves as I run only small / med rivers and lakes. 

[Wa hunter]

" Best sled on the river ?" probably not but I like it and it is paid for.

[huntnphool]

Where specifically are you planning on running it?

[bear]

Where specifically are you planning on running it?

Fraser, Skagit, Nooksack, and maybe but not too likely the Columbia for short runs.  From what I've heard, the Wooldridge looks like the boat for me based on the fact that it handles really well and get up on step quickly.  bear