Drift Boat Showdown: High Side vs. Low Side vs. River Skiff
By: Shaun Cagley | June 6, 2024
Choosing the right drift boat can transform your fly fishing experience. Whether you’re navigating a high gradient freestone river, threading through a shallow rock garden, or tracking down a tailwater bank on a windy day, our three distinct models cater to various needs. Let’s break down the strengths and attributes of our High Side, Low Side, and River Skiff boat models.
High Side Dory Drift Boat: The Rugged Adventurer
Strengths:
- Big Water Navigation: The Boulder Boat Works High Side Dory is ideal for those high gradient freestone rivers and wave trains. The 35” bow helps blast through those standing waves and keep lateral waves at bay.
- Versatility: The High Side is the do-it-all hull in our lineup that can tackle anything thrown its way. It is designed for bigger water but is a fine fishing platform for all applications including stillwater. It is the row-it-all option in our lineup.
- Superior Safety: The elevated sides provide an extra layer of safety against lateral waves and large wave trains to keep water out and anglers, boat dogs and kiddos in the boat. The High Side is also a great option for novice oarsmen due to the forgivable nature of the high sidewalls.
Dimensions:
Length: 191”
Centerline (length of bottom): 166”
Bottom Width at Oarlocks: 52”
Beam (width between oarlocks): 76”
Oarlock Height: 25”
Bow Height: 33”
Stern Height: 23”
Low Side Dory Drift Boat: The Agile Performer
Strengths:
- Maneuverability: The Low Sided Dory is the sports car of our fleet ideal for quick navigation through rock gardens while still being able to handle those wave trains with its pointed bow.
- Better Sightlines: The 25” bow (10” lower than the High Side) helps provide much clearer sight lines and 5” shorter length allows the Low Side to excel in read and run scenarios on the water with its quick pivot characteristic.
- Configurations: The Low Side hull provides three different interior build configurations (Guide, Pro Guide, & Hybrid) to clients granting a perfect fit for their specific needs in terms of price, seating, dry storage, cooler space, and rod storage.
Dimensions:
Length: 186”
Centerline (length of bottom): 166”
Bottom Width at Oarlocks: 52”
Beam (width between oarlocks): 74”
Oarlock Height: 25”
Bow Height: 25”
Stern Height: 22”
River Skiff Drift Boat: The Stable Specialist
Strengths:
- Stability: The wide bottom, longer wet line, and our pronounced chines help hold your line with little effort making the River Skiff an ideal boat for those slower tailwater rivers with prevalent wind.
- Interior Space: The blunt nose design, long centerline, and 78” beam opens the interior of the boat up and provides the most spacious boat in our fleet with a ton of real estate for gear, coolers, or your favorite boat dog.
- Predictability: The addition of rocker on the skiff bottom provides versatility to be predictable when tracking but still capable of navigating reasonable wave trains and laterals on faster flowing rivers.
Dimensions:
Length: 190”
Centerline (length of bottom): 164”
Bottom Width at Oarlocks: 52”
Beam (width between oarlocks): 78”
Oarlock Height: 26”
Bow Height: 22”
Stern Height: 23”
Built Different
Our “Not Fiberglass” slogan only starts to tell the story of our boats, the production processes, and materials. Each boat is hand crafted and built taking over 100 hours of labor by our team of craftsmen to produce drift boats that are both aesthetically pleasing and functionally superior.
- Hull: Our hand welded hulls are designed and built to withstand the toughest conditions at the lowest of waters. The natural buoyancy, flexibility, and quiet nature are all major benefits of our signature lightweight sand shade polymer hull. These benefits of our HDPE hull are what sets Boulder Boat Works boats apart from other manufacturers.
- Structure: Our use of white ash hardwood for our structural components aids in providing a certain mystique that comes with a wooden drift boat. With our various finish options our owners are able to select a finish that achieves the look and durability they desire. The rest of our interior polymer components throughout the boat are hand milled and welded to provide a uniform look and lightweight feel of the boat. Stainless steel hardware is used throughout the boat to eliminate any corrosion or rust.
Which Boat Fits Your Fishing Style?
- For the Adventurous Angler: The High Side is your reliable partner in rough and wild waters. Ideal Rivers for the High Side: Roaring Fork River, Upper Colorado River, Green River (UT), Lehigh River, and Rogue River.
- For the All-Round Angler: The Low Side offers versatility and ease, perfect for a variety of water conditions. Ideal Rivers for the Low Side: Gunnison River, Rio Grande River, Yellowstone River, Snake River, and South Holston River.
- For the Specialist Angler: The Skiff is unparalleled in the low gradient tailwater and freestone rivers with the propensity for prevailing wind. Ideal Rivers for the River Skiff: Madison River, Missouri River, Bitterroot River, Bighorn River, North Platte River, San Juan River, and Delaware River.
Our boats are capable of taking on whatever water you launch (to an extent), but our advice is to choose the boat that fits your program and water that you will be floating 80% of the time for the best performing tool and it will be an adequate vessel to take on whatever else you throw at it.
