The River Driver

The river driver is a custom designed and built skiff for Belmont Boatworks. It was designed to meet a very specific set of requirements that are unique to its use in Belfast bay and the surrounding area. It needs to be shallow draft, highly maneuverable, strong enough to tow boats up to 60 feet in conditions that are often choppy, fast enough to get to other parts of the bay for service calls and emergencies, short and narrow enough to get in through an opening about 24 feet wide while towing a boat on the hip. There are not any production boats on the market that meet all of these criteria without some type of compromise. The hull is very overbuilt for a boat of its size, with two layers of 3/4 inch plywood on the bottom and 1/2 inch sides with a lapped sheer plank for extra stiffness at the sheer. Douglas fir frames every 2 feet and bulkheads under each thwart. Lodging knees at the center thwart provide extra support for the stresses involved in towing heavy loads. Oversized cleats for tow lines.  Sternsheets also provide extra stiffness for towing stresses. There is a towing bit for pulling ahead on smaller boats made with hackmatack grown knees which doubles as a support post for a flip down seat for the captain. the foredeck is reinforced for the bow cleat. The transom is 3 layers of 3/4 inch plywood to accept the stress of the Yamaha 50 hp high thrust outboard with 14 inch shallow pitch prop designed for pushing heavy loads. The steering gear has been modified to allow the motor to turn as far as possible. The sole boards, which are rot resistant Alaskan yellow cedar, are removable for easy maintenance and cleaning. The paint on the inside is designed for the bildges of boats. Essentially, every single detail of the boat has been chosen for strength and longevity, and the overall design is specific and unique to the work that the vessel does in the harbor that it lives in.