True Kit Discovery

[rlocher]

Hello,
New to RIBS and this forum, so thanks in advance for any help you can offer! I'm looking for an inflatable to carry in our travel trailer. I found True Kit and am thinking of pulling the trigger on a Discovery. I'll be using this for fishing in rivers and am curious about the durability and draft in shallow, rocky water (ie. Upper Potomac, MD). Seems all the info available is for deeper water where obstacles aren't an issue. But I'm surely going to hit something! Are these of similar build as whitewater rafts? What is the draft with a small (9 hp) outboard? Parts of the river are a foot (or less). I don't really need to go fast, but need enough power to get up river. Anyone have any info?

Thanks!
Ryan

[ChrisParish]

Hi Ryan and to the forum!

The discovery looks like the TakaCat, so @PeterM would be a good person to answer your question as he has one.

Thanks for joining and keep the questions coming!

[PeterM]

Hi Ryan. Welcome!

I've been playing with a takacat 3.4m boat in last few weeks and it can run in a shallow water.... but... at 9 inches all it takes is one 6 inch rock and your prop is trashed:( ...

Plenty quick enough with 9hp... but I'd only go at anything quicker than a slow crawl in 9 inches and is take a spare prop to swap to for when 9 become 1 inch.

Even if you tilt the engine you don't have a hull to protect the engine from getting hit.

[harrison]

Hi Ryan, and welcome.

The True Kit Discoveries are a fine boat. Being a catamaran they do have a very shallow draft and also have full length rubbing strakes under each hull. Not sure how much real world protection this would give though as they are quite narrow strips....more designed for beaching methinks.

Draft of motor/skeg probably up to about 18” at displacement speeds and around 10 to 12” on the plane.

If you’re normally shooting rapids or powering upstream in rocky shallows I’d be looking at something like one of the Russian made Solar Jet boats with a jet drive outboard. I think they’re popular in Alaska so presumably there are US dealers.

Loads of insane footage of the Solar Jet boats on YouTube.

[Sibfisher]

That looks frightening, makes you wounder dont they get a puncture or worse going threw the rapids with all those boulders and rocks.What are the tubes made off ?

[rlocher]

Thanks all for the replies. I agree with Sibfisher, I'll likely never run anything quite like that! But for sure will need to run shallow and against rocks and trees. Rob at Truekit replied to me and said they're durable, but still to be careful. Greatly appreciate that honesty! And as Harrison suggested, it only takes one shallow ruin a trip. Great boats, I'm sure, but probably not what I need.

I will be strongly considering a Solar. Hadn't heard of those. Might be tough to get one to Pennsylvania, but worth looking around.

Thanks again!

[MaddogShady]

What is the draft of the 330 discovery if the motor is up?