Boats for reservoir fishing

Could anyone give me any details of a good make of boat for fishing on a reservoir, fly/coarse. Are there any good boat retailers for these type of boats in the Kent/Sussex area?

Tim, I just posted an answer and for some reason it disappeared?! Anyway, what I said was why not call the fiheries manager at a local managed resevoir. I went to Bewl once and they had loads of different boats, so I am sure they have the knowledge you seek, and they were very helpful all round. Just a thought.....hope this one doesn't get lost!

It probably disappeared because I deleted the same thread from two other categories. The 'general' category should cover it.

The Orkney range of boats is popular up here as they are stable and drift well when fly fishing.

GRP boats are the easiest to maintain and launch, but a good wooden clinker built boat is by far the best. They sit better in the water and dont rock about so much. Also the wood deadens any sound.

I do not claim any expertise in the boat field at all but, I have seen an awful lot of aluminium boats. These are quite often advertised as being nice and light whilst very strong. The sound aspect has always bothered me, one of those nagging little things that makes you wonder. Wouldn't the sound of anything being dropped make an awful racket? I know you could lay some carpet down but what about the sides?

Personally I've always fancied a canoe - not a kayak, which is the proper name for a closed boat. An open, Canadian type boat. I know Coleman make some nice ones. Not sure about stability though.

Kevan

Tim - depends if rowing or or under power.

Thats another issue to consider, row only; power allowed, engine size, lease constraints.
You provide, they provide, electric only if so what thrust, if yours who maintains etc; legal requirements HASAWA, PUWER, Employers liability, tresspassers, environmental issues, anchoring / drifting limits etc, etc its a wonder anyone goes into the fisherey business init!.

I remember rowing a 2-3 man Bewl boat against a head wind when we had run out of fuel not pleasant. A Angling companion likewise at the Queen mum, & seeing a boat swamped at same!.

Might be worth talking to the previous owner of the rights to Weirwood & Ardingly back in the 80's Colin....?. If he's still around, mail me off list for further info.

I would suggest a brain storm with all interested parties, then sleep on it, storm again, run it past the legals, consult with users print the rules & enforce 'em. I know your time constrained but...... get it right now it WILL save you money & heartbreak in the future.

Again all the best in your endevours

Another trouble with aluminium boats is that they dont have a "presence" in the water. By this I mean that they do not sit "in" the water. They get blown along all to easily, an in a chop, they move around a lot. Wooden sits in the water and the weight of it "smooths" out the waves...if this makes sense. Alu. boats can be a real bugger in a big wind..getting them to go straight in a cross wind is hard.

Having said that...if u are fishing rivers and small still waters...the Alu. boats are great

Thanks Rob, I have sourced some boats from West Midlands, they should do the trick quite nicely.