Design and Performance:
A majority of our drift boats and duck boats are built with high quality mahogany plywood reinforced with fiberglass. Commonly called "stitch and glue", or "taped seam" construction, this type of construction employs the use of a wood-flour/epoxy fillet to join the side and bottom panels. That joint is then reinforced both inside and out with layers of biaxial fiberglass and epoxy. This joint eliminates the need for a dimensional piece of wood at the chine and therefore also eliminates any screws in the chine. This creates a completely waterproof joint with no movement and no open cracks or seams which can let in water and lead to damaged or rotted wood. It also makes a much stronger joint than one with a wood chine log, such as a traditionaly framed McKenzie style wooden drift boat. Multiple layers of fiberglass on the exterior of the chine put maximum reinforcment where you need it most.
The bottom panel of our custom boats is now made of a high-strength, kevlar reinforced honeycomb which offers unsurpassed impact resistance and is very light in weight. This honeycomb material is widely used in aircraft and high end yachts for it's superior strength to weight ratio. The extruded polypropolyne honeycomb panel has thousands of airfilled chambers which mean that in the unlikely event of a hull puncture (hasn't happened yet), any water that makes it through the kevlar into the honeycomb can't travel through the panel but is confined to the individual cell.
This honeycomb is then further reinforced with multiple layers of Kevlar, fiberglass and epoxy and finally the exterior of the bottom panel is encapsulated in nearly ¼” of high density polyurethane material just like a truck bed liner.
This material is not the rubbery type but rather a hard plastic material which can withstand impacts and abrasion much better than the soft gel coats of fiberglass boats. It doesn't chip like gelcoats do, yet it slides easily over rocks. Fot catastrophic rock hits, (actually the only ones we have seen have been from metal) this material is repairable.
The interior floors of the boats are covered with a non-skid truck bed liner material which is rubbery in nature, allowing great non skid properties while still being gentle enough to walk on barefoot and not so rough that flylines are damaged if stepped on.
The combination of these materials and the construction techniques make for a no- maintenance bottom both inside and out and allow us to offer a limited lifetime guarantee against bottom punctures.
The side panels and decks of the boats are constructed from high quality Okoume mahogany plywood. The Okoume that we use has been graded and certified to at least British Standard 6566. That means that each piece of plywood has been run through a sonogram to check for voids in the panel. This is the only true ‘marine’ grade plywood available today. The outsides of the side panels are reinforced with fiberglass and epoxy ensuring a fully sealed, watertight hull. This hull has many advantages over fiberglass, aluminum, or other wood boats. It is lighter weight, stiffer, stronger, and has a warmer feel. All of the wood used in the boat, be it decking or seat parts, is sealed with multiple layers of marine epoxy before the varnish is applied.
This helps to ensure the longevity of the boat by preventing water creeping into seams, etc. A boat that has not been sealed in this method will quickly require a lot of maintenance much to the chagrin of the proud owner. The varnish that is applied on top of the epoxied wood was developed in Florida and offers the most UV protection of any on the market. The exterior paint is a two part, Teflon™ reinforced paint that provides excellent scratch resistance.
We are asked every day “How do they row?” In short, they row like a dream. The hull designs are highly engineered to provide optimum performance. The ideal drift boat should be a safe, stable, and highly maneuverable craft able to handle fast, turbulent water as well as provide a comfortable fishing platform. We offer different hull shapes for various conditions. The Freestone Guide 15 has the most rocker of our designs. Rocker is the amount of curvature in the bottom of the hull. The more rocker there is, the more maneuverable the boat. In addition to the rocker, the Guide has almost no straight lines in the hull. This allows the boats to sit very comfortably in turbulent hydraulics and not get pushed and pulled around like other boats. The Freestone Skiff has the least amount of rocker of our boats. This boat is designed for calmer, shallower rivers where a highly maneuverable boat is not always required.
Because every boat is customized for the individual buyer and not stamped out of a mold, we are able to accommodate different hull characteristics in each boat. Remember, these are truly custom built for each buyer so you can mix and match different boat characteristics to suit your needs.
If you have any specific questions about our hull construction please email us at info@montanaboatbuilders.com
info@montanaboatbuilders.com 26 Pine Meadow Road Livingston, MT 59047 Fax: 406.222.0866 Phone: 406.222.2791