Northwest type Boats

I have been traveling OR and Northern CA for the last week, and I am seeing a ton of these Aluminum boats with forward cab. I love the lines and look of these boats, but they look purpose built. How do these things handle in rough seas? I live in NC, and on the coast here we have mostly fiberglass center consoles. I can't imagine the ride in the cab so far forward out of a local inlet with 5 ft seas. Seems like it would be a rough ride, and they don't look self bailing? Still, looks an incredibly cool boat. Can someone tell me more about them and what/how they are used?

One of the guys in our group on my visit to Canada last year had recently bought a new boat like this. The brand is called "North River Boats". They are built in Oregon. I got to check it out when we got there. It's really a pretty cool boat...Here is a pic I found of his during our trip...




I'm pretty sure being from that area, they are probably targeted towards Salmon fishermen and trolling type fishing. Hence the cab forward so I assume you have more room in the rear of the boat for access to the rods and equipment and such. Unfortunetly, I didn't get to take a ride in his so I can't comment on the ride....although the water wasn't that rough where we were anyway.

Bubba has it right. We use those boats for Salmon and Steelhead river fishing, bay fishing, big lake fishing, and some of the bigger guys go in the ocean. Lots of trolling and hog lines in the big rivers. The jets are used in the rivers quite a lot when encountering shallow water. North River boats are some of the best. The tops ususally have drop down curtains in the back so you can run a heater when its raining and cold out. You can spend the whole day salmon fishing in comfort when the weather is.... well.... northwest.

There are other builders, and one of the best is here in Canada~ https://www.harbercraft.com/ We don't see many of these in the water here in Ontario, but they're very common in the west. The company brings boats to the show in Toronto to torture us though...they're NICE!

Saw another brand, Duckworth, that looked pretty nice. My next question, how do you guys afford these things! Wow, sticker shock when I stopped in on a boat dealership.

I fish the James River, Chesapeake Bay and along the Atlanic in a1968 18' Starcraft with a closed bow. The big advantage these boats have is the deep free board. Mine is 32" deep and 7'-5" beam. They are stable, easy to maintain and the they are "TIN". I love the boat and the handling in heavy water. The only thing I would change would be to have a bracket and hang n E-Tec on it. Currently it is a Mercuriser I/O 120. Very polite on fuel and lots of get-up and go. I usually hold it about 3000 rpm and get around 25 mph.
As mentioned, the Duckworth and the Harborcraf are right up there on th etop shelf. To spent a great Sunday afternoon, get your cup of coffee or cold ice tea and surf the web on these boats, it is absoltely amazing.
If you plan on purchasing one I would definitely suggest used. There are some very nice opportunities out there right now. And should you need a cuddy cabin look at the Starcraft Islander. (site:craigslist.org/boa Starcraft Cuddy (or change the word to Islander)).
My moto is " if you want to win you got to float in tin?

Hope this helps.

D Boone,
Have you made any progress regarding the Northwest boats? I don't know where you live on the NC east coast but if you're interested in coming up to Portsmouth, VA we can go out fishing in the Starcraft to the James or to the Bay. Fish out of it and drive to see how you like the style boat. Anyway, just a thought and an invitation. If you're interested send me a PM and we can make arrangements for a date and time.