By Craig Lynch
Our Associate, Craig Lynch, has operated a fourteen-foot driftboat at least 90 days per year and completed a significant amount of outside research into various driftboat accidents.
These 200-500 pound, dory-like small boats are stable in whitewater, extremely maneuverable, and provide a superb casting platform for salmon and trout fishermen who operate in rapidly moving rivers. They are becoming the low cost transportation of choice for a growing number of sportsmen and whitewater guides in the west and northwest.
Driftboats (aka Mckenzie River Boats) look much like a common rowing dory or skiff, but are operated altogether differently, and it is important for small boat experts to be aware of the difference.
This type boat is certified without hull floatation. The theory is, should it capsize in rapidly moving, boulder strewn water, it is safer for the boat to sink out of the way than it is for it to float on the surface where it may crush an occupant against a rock. This design feature makes the availability of PFD’s extremely important, and could pose interesting questions should an accident occur when the boat was being used in place of a more conventional craft on a like or other body of deep water.
Driftboats are essentially rowed backward, and are anchored by the stern. The operator faces toward the bow and maneuvers the boat downstream through rapids by pointing the bow at obstacles and rowing at an angle against the current in order to maintain the correct "line" while descending downstream.
Surprisingly, most driftboat accidents that I researched occurred in relatively easy water, and were often the result of either operator inexperience/ignorance, or of unexpected contact with in-stream obstacles such as sweepers. In eight of the eight cases studied, operator error was a factor.
Given the cool temperature of western rivers and the popularity of winter fishing for steelhead and salmon, hypothermia is always a consideration. Finally, unlike most open water boating accidents, driftboat accidents normally happen very suddenly, with no advanced warning.
For these reasons, responsible operators should provide complete passenger briefings, make PFD’s readily available and either limit or prohibit the consumption of alcohol.
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