Well if you belive there moto "Fear No Rock" then go for the clacker craft. Personally fear no rock means too me when you do crack the Chime or what ever you call it on a fiber glass they will fix it. I have personaly seen the duck do some damage to them but never seen one sink. Willies for me with the Arma Coating Bottom... "Fear No Rock" hell no I Move them LOL!!

I'll put a glass boat next to my willie boat and see which tracks better pullin plugs.. "Simply the BEST"

Just make sure your holding onto your teeth.

Thought I would chime in here for a moment...

Were it me, and I was going to fish the rivers suggested (Sol Duc, etc.) I would buy a USED aluminum boat, or a new Willie.

And I own a primo '06 Clackacraft, my 2nd one. An 18' ClackaMax, and some of the folks here have fished out of the "Ifishdizzy".

For the peninsula rivers I would recommend alum. only because it is less likely to cause you stress.

As for the crap about the chines, believe me, I have hit rocks right on the chine as hard as anyone could do (lifted my boat up!) and all it left was a small gouge in the gelcoat. With a Clacka you can spend an hour once a year and re-do your chines to look like new. Much easier than messing with all that Coat-It and stuff.

Still, if I were going to fish the OP rivers I would prefer a metal boat, as it would stay looking better, longer, and handle the job.

Pulling plugs? Nothing easier than this 18" Clackamax. Next would be a Lavro (they handle welll, but don't track as good as the Clacka, IMHO - only).

Go for the Willie, and if you want to try a Clacka give Bruce, Marty or one of the sales guys a shout and they can take you out for a test run on the Clackamas down in Oregon (4 hr. drive from here).

Have fun, be safe!

Mike

well bustinbig nailed it i have only rowed two boats a koffler and a alumaweld and i belove my alumaweld is far better

One thing that is being overlooked here in rtturbo's thread regarding the (off topic) "punishment" issue... After just one season of even moderate rowing practice there should be next to zero hitting of rocks... even while pullin plugs in "Simply The Best".
When selecting a vehicle do folks go in and say, "How much $hit can I smash into in this thing" ? I know I think of how well an automobile is going to stand up to other people possibly hitting me, (not the same thing by a longshot). Prevention not the cure should be the thought train here.

I'm seeing a blatant and recurring overlooked-ness here regarding a simple question asked, Lavro or Clackacraft ?

Joe, you hit the nail...... Back to topic....

As I know this guy let me fill some of the blanks.

What Mr. Metro is looking for is some input on the tracking ability of the updated dimpled-tunnel-hull Clackie vs a new Lavaro while pulling plugs.

Mike B. came pretty close to answering the burning question. Though the boat RT is looking @ is a 16'er & Mike's is a bit BIGGER...were getting in the ballpark with that reply.

This guy knows how to row a boat, so "get a Wille" isn't what he is looking for, he is going to buy a glass boat.

As for getting around rocks on the OP rivers he is as good as the rest of you guys. I don't care who you are, your going to center-punch or swipe a rock from time to time.

Did the upper Nooch with turbo last Feb/March in what I consider to be water a bit on the low side, & he sliced thru that run pretty darn smooth.... So beating the crap out of his new glass boat is a non-issue, the training wheels are OFF.


So what is it.... Lavro or Clackie??

C/22

Well I've worked both boats and own the one I like better. LAVRO. There really is no comparison and if you think there is, you haven't tried both. I could poke my finger through the side of a clack!

Give me a break Sol. The Duc can't even draw blood on a Lavro! Turn your Willie over and we'll compare!

Anytime, bro.

dude you guys have to admit alumanum beats fiber glas in tracking and durability. there simply better quality items

Hey Queef, I have owned a Lavro and I now own a Willie. The Lavro tracked like a diesel scratch skidmark in a fat ladies underwear after eating a box of exlax. It was all over the place. On anchor it was even worse. Why such a hard on for Lavro? If you pay attention I would say that at least 95 percent of the penninsula guides are running aluminum boats and none of them say Lavro on them. Mine was well built and served its purpose as a starter boat but I am much happier rowing an aluminum now more specifically a Willie boat.-TBJ

Wholley $hidd... Lavro or Clacka ?

These threads kill me. I am a proud owner of a 16 foot Clack and I have ran the Duc, the Hoh, the Quinault, plus the Sauk more times than I can count. My boat will pull plugs with the best. I flipped it over this weekend to do my first check-up of my hull after three years of banging rocks. I invite anyone to come and get a close up of my pearly white bottom. I have 4 chinks in the glass about the diameter of a ball point pen. A little Marine tex and some wax and she is as good as new. On to my opinion on your question, If I was to do it over again I might seriously take a look at the Lavros. I have some buddies who own Lavros and they are great boats. One is from the 70's that looks like he bought it yesterday. And this guy runs even gnarlier water than I am comfortable with. The only problem that I see with the Lavros is the layout inside the boats. I just don't think they are as nice as the Clack. I think the hulls are equal. One nice thing about Lavros is they do have higher sides, which is nice on standing waves. I saw a Lavro go left at the wall on the Duc and I think I felt it in MY teeth when he hit that rock. When we pulled out he had a chink out of the gel coat the size of a quarter. Very easy to repair. If you absolutely have to bang into every rock in the river, I would feel more comfortable in a metal tub as well. However, I prefer to point my bow and row away from them.

Coopduck, nice heads-up reply. A little more straight talk & less bull is a welcome change of pace....

C/22

"Simply the BEST"

You can get a newer used Hyde and Hyde will give you a warranty on the hull. I got a good deal on a 1-year old boat (used by a guide in Michigan) that was half the price of a new boat. Check out a Hyde, the grooved chine helps to plug and keep the boat very stable on anchor.

I'm with Coop...like I said above, all brands, varieties, and material-types of boats are different...it depends to a certain extent on what you're going to use it for, but it mainly just depends on who is rowing...hell, I can pull plugs out of my pontoon boat, not that I really want to.

Fish on...

Todd

To be honest I really don't give a rats @ss what someone buys for there own use, was just trying to help a guy out that was going to make a big mistake buyin a glass boat..Have at er boys buy what boat you want!!! But dont come on here biitchin "my boat tracks like a big TURD!!! " "why cant I keep my boat straight when plugging" "why when side drifting I can't stand and cast myself I gotta be on the oars to keep my floating TURD from doing 360's down the river"

As for me "Simply the BEST" why even consider the rest!!!!

Perhaps you'll find this a bit disturbing, but plug pulling isn't very high on the list of most steelheader's enjoyment list...and when I occasionally do it, I can do it out of 12 foot two man pontoon boat, so it can certainly be done out of any boat.

If you fish the Skagit like I do, then you'll be missing some water in a metal boat...you can't get it up "plane" fast enough and scoot it across a 300 foot wide river without floating downstream too far...BroodBuster's Lavro LazyDrifter is the best boat I've rowed for doing that.

They're all fine...they all work...it depends more on the rower than anything else.

Fish on...

Todd