first GigBob drift

first off, I did not take fishing gear on this test float.  oh I wanted to, had the whole kit in the car, water flow was perfect for winters (I was 0-3 from shore the day before, netted one for my friend and he was 1-4) but I stuck to my plan and focused on getting familiar with the dynamics of this boat on moving water.  Plus I had never run this stretch of river before in a drift boat; I did know it was 'easy' stuff.

location:  Siuslaw river, Whittaker to Wildcat (~1.5miles), 48F water temp, 54F air.  beautiful day for Feb. 2 but definitely not a summer "go play in a river" day.

anchoring:  spent about an hour at the put-in trying both a 10# mushroom and 1.5# folding kayak anchor.  both worked in slow water near shore just fine, neither worked good enough in slightly swifter water.  I ordered a 3# folding kayak anchor that I think is what I will go with.  20# rope seemed long enough, I was able to deploy and recover the anchor just fine, then grab the oars and quickly gain control again.

tracking:  this boat turns on a dime, which means the water can turn it easily but that also means the oars can.  my goal is to float like a drift boat, "Steer with the Stern" and "Bow to Danger". 

rapids:  positioning for rapids was just as planned- kick out the stern, back row to slide sideways, then kick it straight and use just light oar dips to keep the boat straight through the rapids.    the boat seemed to track very nice down the rapids, the top deck felt solid but the side floats moved just a little at the front, in a good way, it was transmitted into my legs through the foot rests and gave me feel very connected to the waves, similar to the feeling I get on my i11s (and love). 

summary:  on this stretch of river and at this flow rate, I was able to position the boat where I wanted, when I wanted, and pointed in the direction I wanted at all times.  large bends in the river did not present any problems.  at one point, I passed close by a very large rock, intentionally, then kicked out the stern and backed right into the eddy behind it, just like you would in a drift boat.   There were probably 20 drift boats out and I was always able to navigate around them so as to cause minimum impact on their fishing, passing close to them at times or between an anchored boat and shore if there was room. 

video is 3.5 minutes, it covers a stretch of the float where the river splits and there is a long island, both sides looked to have roughly equal water flow, guys just above it let me know that most drift boats take the right side.  as the river came back together, I pulled up at the end of the island and hopped off to soak up how much fun I was having.  (might have been kicking myself just a bit for not bringing along at least a plug rod.) 



this is my initial fishing kit for the next float:



   

Nice job mister Dodger, what did you use to secure the Velcro? That’s an awesome idea I might try on the kayak to keep a small plano where I want it.

Nice job mister Dodger, what did you use to secure the Velcro? That’s an awesome idea I might try on the kayak to keep a small plano where I want it.

I used self adhesive velcro and on the wood part added some staples to lock it down.  the velco seems to be holding fine on the aluminum and plastic boxes.  so far.

Very cool craft.

Looks like a successful prof of concept. roger!  A frugal angler's driftboat.

Nice job mister Dodger, what did you use to secure the Velcro? That’s an awesome idea I might try on the kayak to keep a small plano where I want it.

I used self adhesive velcro and on the wood part added some staples to lock it down.  the velco seems to be holding fine on the aluminum and plastic boxes.  so far.

Thanks, we have got the cheap shit cuz it won’t stick to the tv remote, wall yes remote no.

I use a patch to hold battery boxes in place.  A TINY amount of GOOP makes it work.

FYI- took a 17'x54" Fish Rite down the same float on Monday, with my 2 drift boat partners on board, and compared to the GigBob, it felt like an old Suburban with bad shocks and loose steering.  In comparison, the GigBob felt like a Tesla Roadster. 

You getting spoiled by soft rides?  GigBob definitely handled like a well-tuned Ferrari in your video and it looked like it handled the rougher water smoothly.  Looks like a winner as a drift boat, roger.

I had a nine-foot Outcast PAC pontoon that didn't do as well as the GigBob in lighter water - and it cost more.  Just a note: when I anchored in a lake the Outcast tended to swing on the anchor like a pendulum in the lightest breeze.  You might want to hold onto one of your anchors as a second on GigBob in case it happens to you, too.

You getting spoiled by soft rides?  GigBob definitely handled like a well-tuned Ferrari in your video and it looked like it handled the rougher water smoothly.  Looks like a winner as a drift boat, roger.

I had a nine-foot Outcast PAC pontoon that didn't do as well as the GigBob in lighter water - and it cost more.  Just a note: when I anchored in a lake the Outcast tended to swing on the anchor like a pendulum in the lightest breeze.  You might want to hold onto one of your anchors as a second on GigBob in case it happens to you, too.

excellent suggestion, I had the GigBob out on a lake in the wind and it did get blown around easily.  During my anchor tests on the river, the water flowing through the channel between the side floats seemed to keep me fairly straight, but I will keep in mind tossing another folding kayak anchor out the front if needed.

Rogerdodger, what do you think are the differences, advantages, and disadvantages of the GigBob over a conventional fishing pontoon with a frame?

For some kinds of fishing, and for some people, a fishing pontoon or the GigBob are definitely an alternative to a kayak.  I wouldn't want to cover a lot of distance on a lake in a pontoon, and they aren't suitable for trolling, but they do great for jigging, casting, and river fishing.  This summer while lake whitefish fishing on Flathead Lake I met a guy who was outfishing me from a pontoon.

Rogerdodger, what do you think are the differences, advantages, and disadvantages of the GigBob over a conventional fishing pontoon with a frame?

For some kinds of fishing, and for some people, a fishing pontoon or the GigBob are definitely an alternative to a kayak.  I wouldn't want to cover a lot of distance on a lake in a pontoon, and they aren't suitable for trolling, but they do great for jigging, casting, and river fishing.  This summer while lake whitefish fishing on Flathead Lake I met a guy who was outfishing me from a pontoon.

great question that I am going to approach sort of in reverse because I never even considered a conventional pontoon.

one of my boat goals has been to configure some sort of solo drift boat that I could fit in my small SUV, carry to launch locations and set-up quick, to initially use on our central coast rivers (Siuslaw, Alsea, Siletz) for winters and perhaps the McKenzie in the summer..and I didn't want just a small normal drift boat.  I came really close to buying a Blackfoot HB XL that I was going to try and reconfigure to use oars instead of a paddle but then I came across this blog post about the GigBob:

https://community.nrs.com/duct-tape/?s=gigbob

and the positives for what I hoped to do just started adding up:  I love drop stitch technology, my i11s is just amazing.  I also look for boats that I can take my 85# dog on sometimes, and I really liked the foot rests up on the front of the pontoons and the ability to just stand up in shallow water or bail out easily in a crisis.  Next is that I don't like to fight large fish from a sitting position, (I think on most pontoons you are sort if stuck in the 'chair').  On both my kayaks, I almost always move forward to a kneeling position where I am really in control; the hard flat deck of the GigBob is perfect to climb on when anchored and floating bobbers or casting hardware, sort of like having a small piece of bank that you move down the river.  When I decided I didn't need the seat, using the deck got even easier.  I also liked that the pontoons are drop stitch so they are flat on top and bottom...and being able to remove them and just use the top as a thin boat or part of another boat....so in deciding on the GigBob, I really didn't even notice that it was similar to a regular pontoon because I got to from a totally different direction.

I can't say yet if the GigBob is going to be better than a Pontoon for running serious whitewater (I have never been on a regular pontoon) but I sure plan to find out what this thing can do in real whitewater (during the summer...), my first float in the GigBob had me really wishing there had been a few more challenging sets of rapids, that is a really good sign after the maiden outing in a new boat.

cheers, roger

On the Gigbob the oarlocks are mounted on rectangles of something which are attached to the top deck of the boat.  How much do the oarlocks twist and bend as you pull on the oars?

On the Gigbob the oarlocks are mounted on rectangles of something which are attached to the top deck of the boat.  How much do the oarlocks twist and bend as you pull on the oars?

I noticed almost no flex in them when rowing.  I laid into the oars hard a few times trying to (briefly) go upstream against rather swift water, like you would in a drift boat.

comes with excellent spring loaded locks mounted on a composite-plastic tower.  The 3 aluminum base plates (oars and anchor) are locked in place by 2 plastic 'ribs' coming up from the deck, you slide into place over them at low pressure, at full pressure they are solidly locked in, you cannot move them.    I mounted my wood coffee/rod holder board using an extra set of the sort of "C" shaped mounts that slide over the 'ribs' on the deck.