"Black River Boats"
"The Guide"
The things that make the "Guide" so nice.
To explain why the "Guide" is so nice to me, I first need to explain where and how I use it. Most all my time on the water is spent within twenty five miles of our shop on a slow and shallow (most of the time) black water river. Often there is little more than a foot of water under the boat and there are fallen trees and submerged logs to get over or around. Any rain of three inches or better will bring the river up quick and sometimes it can be quite fast.
Though I enjoy just floating down stream as in a canoe or kayak, it is rarely possible to get help in making the setup necessary for the trip back home. With the "Guide" I can go any time and any place I want and always come back to the truck. The range with a good battery is so great that I can spend all day on the river going upstream or down. Often I go out with canoe parties and chose to come back up stream in place of using their set up. Most of my best animal sightings are when traveling up stream.
The "Guide" is a very quiet boat. Most canoes make as much or more noise on the river. The wood of the hull is by nature quiet. It also does not give as much as plastic which can cause a nasty hang up on a sleeper at times. At a canoes speed, it's sound is all but unnoticed. When running full speed there is some water noise but I usually don't run full speed except to beat home a storm or the dark.
I can pick up and load the "Guide" on to the truck bed by myself. The battery handled seperately of course. This is the one thing that makes getting on the river alone possible. In a pinch I can take another person on river with me. Anyone weighing 125 pounds or less. I am 235 pounds and usually if there is anything else in the boat it is a extra battery for an exceptionally long or fast trip.
There is a lot more I could say about the "Guide" but it is probably covered somewhere else. In any case, these are some of the things that make it so nice.
Length over all (LOA)-14'4", Beam-30", Batteries (12V x 200RAC)-1, System voltage-12, Static Thrust (lbs)-45, Capacity (lbs)-325, Top speed (mph)-5, Hours at 3 mph (cruise)*-12
*Speeds and times are dependent on many factors. The numbers above should be used as a guide.
Douglas Little~Black River Boats~354 Balkcum Rd~Rose Hill, NC 28458. Phone 910-532-4217 or e-mail at "dlittle@intrstar.net".