Wooldridge performance

[TrapperJohn]

Can anyone tell me the difference in performance between a 17 Alaska with a 53 inch bottom and a 2070 classic. Both are outboard jet. I mostly fish day trips, but need to be able to do 3 inches of water at times. I usually carry 2-4 adults. Any feedback is appreciated as I have never run in a wooldridge before.

 

[Akgramps]

I had a 17 foot Alaskan w/53" bottom and yamaha 115 4S, I have no experience with a classic. The 17 alaskan is a great boat, its only limitation is in capacity. I felt the weight limit for that boat was about 1100-1200 pounds. Its fuel usage was very good, it handled great and would run skinny water. I suspect it might have carried a little more weight, at 1100 pounds it took some to get on step, felt a bit like a pig and I had to run the motor right at 5100, 5300 was WOT.
If I was looking at an alaskan I would be seriously considering a newer one with a 60" bottom unless you can honestly say you will never need to carry more stuff/ weight.
The wider bottom classic will defintenly be more spacious and haul considerably more weight, and require more fuel.
Hope this was helpful.

 

[Yukoner]

What he said

What he said

Ditto to all that.
If all you do is fish with a light load, the 17.5' Ak will be awesome. It runs very shallow, and is extremely well behaved handling wise. If you are getting a good deal on the "old style" 53" hull, i'd do it. The narrower hull will get you into some very tight, skinny water and back out again. Plus, its really easy to get off of gravel bars, well, at least compared to the bigger rigs.

 

[brasebear]

What he said x 2.

I too ran an older (1994) Alaskan 17.5' w/Yamaha 115 (2 stroke) for many years. Family of four + 2 labs = tons of fun. Have hauled 4 adults, 2 kids, dogs, gear, etc all over. Regularly fished out of the boat at Chitina, at the mouth of the Kenai (loooong road trip, now hosed since they closed down this size of motor at the mouth last summer), and in Valdez for silvers. Only 1 time ever could not get it on step with the tribe, and that was when the bride brought along several 5 gallon buckets of large rocks we picked up on the Chatanika to build a fire pit at our cabin - dumped a couple in the brush and got them on the next trip.

GREAT boat, but it is a bit tight on space for fishing more than 2 people - as for gear, just stack it higher Handling is ridiculous - with a light load you won't believe what you can sneak into (and hopefully back out of)! I ran the 4 blade stainless impeller for more moxie on the hole shots, and a urethane/nylon/etc lined sleeve to slow down the silt abrasion.

Good luck and let us know what you get!

 

[AK Troutbum]

What he said x 2.

I too ran an older (1994) Alaskan 17.5' w/Yamaha 115 (2 stroke) for many years. Family of four + 2 labs = tons of fun. Have hauled 4 adults, 2 kids, dogs, gear, etc all over. Regularly fished out of the boat at Chitina, at the mouth of the Kenai (loooong road trip, now hosed since they closed down this size of motor at the mouth last summer), and in Valdez for silvers. Only 1 time ever could not get it on step with the tribe, and that was when the bride brought along several 5 gallon buckets of large rocks we picked up on the Chatanika to build a fire pit at our cabin - dumped a couple in the brush and got them on the next trip.

GREAT boat, but it is a bit tight on space for fishing more than 2 people - as for gear, just stack it higher Handling is ridiculous - with a light load you won't believe what you can sneak into (and hopefully back out of)! I ran the 4 blade stainless impeller for more moxie on the hole shots, and a urethane/nylon/etc lined sleeve to slow down the silt abrasion.

Good luck and let us know what you get!

It's not the size of your motor that's restricting you at the mouth of the Kenai, it's the fact that it's a 2 stroke. Unless it's an oil injected 2 stroke than your still good to go.

 

[Shanonamous]

Kenai Usage

Kenai Usage

Actually it's direct injected two strokes that are still allowed, not oil injected.

 

[AK Troutbum]

Actually it's direct injected two strokes that are still allowed, not oil injected.

My understanding is that they are one and the same.

 

[wolfkiller]

I have one

I have one

A wooldrige AK II with the 60" bottom. I love it. I can haul considerably more weight than the older woolys at lower rpm. I run a 115 e tec. I would be happy to take any one for a ride as soon as the river softens up. I am in the interior.

 

[Shanonamous]

My understanding is that they are one and the same.

Sorry, I don't mean to hijack the thread. Oil injection and direct injection are two totally different technologies. Oil injection mixes the oil and gas and that fuel is drawn into the crankcase/cylinder during the intake/compression stroke. Direct injection puts it directly into the cylinder under pressure. The only legal 2 stroke motors for the Kenai would be like the Evinrude ETECs, Tohatsu TLDI's, Yamaha HPDI's, or Mercury Optimaxs.

 

[Akgramps]

What he said x 2.

I too ran an older (1994) Alaskan 17.5' w/Yamaha 115 (2 stroke) for many years. Family of four + 2 labs = tons of fun. Have hauled 4 adults, 2 kids, dogs, gear, etc all over. Regularly fished out of the boat at Chitina, at the mouth of the Kenai (loooong road trip, now hosed since they closed down this size of motor at the mouth last summer), and in Valdez for silvers. Only 1 time ever could not get it on step with the tribe, and that was when the bride brought along several 5 gallon buckets of large rocks we picked up on the Chatanika to build a fire pit at our cabin - dumped a couple in the brush and got them on the next trip.

GREAT boat, but it is a bit tight on space for fishing more than 2 people - as for gear, just stack it higher Handling is ridiculous - with a light load you won't believe what you can sneak into (and hopefully back out of)! I ran the 4 blade stainless impeller for more moxie on the hole shots, and a urethane/nylon/etc lined sleeve to slow down the silt abrasion.

Good luck and let us know what you get!

Was that your boat on Craigs recently? I dont see it listed anymore.
It sure didnt last too long, it seemed like it was priced right.

 

[TrapperJohn]

wolfkiller,

I'll take you up on the offer. Lets go fishing!

 

[Yukoner]

A wooldrige AK II with the 60" bottom. I love it. I can haul considerably more weight than the older woolys at lower rpm. I run a 115 e tec. I would be happy to take any one for a ride as soon as the river softens up. I am in the interior.

Oh sure, rub it in

 

[needcoffee]

Bottom width?

Bottom width?

Did Wooldridge change the standard bottom width on their different models? According to the website the Alaskan has a 60" bottom and the Alaskan II has a 68" bottom. Yet a couple of you have stated width's of 53" and 60"'s on the respective models. Is this a typo? The reason I am asking is that I have been shopping around for used wooldridges and I would like at least a 68" bottom. If they changes specs a few years ago maybe I should just be looking at new boats.

 

[Alaskan XL]

Yes, I don't recall the year they went to the wider bottoms (4-5 years ago maybe?), but the newer rigs are all wider, and it makes a difference. The new XL has a whopping 76" bottom, and at dead drift will float over a lot of stuff that you'd get hung up on with an older/narrower hull.

Depends on what you want/need - *any* Wooldridge is worth it's salt (construction, design, layout, etc). Unless you're going to load it up to the gunwales an older one would suit just fine.

 

[Akgramps]

Did Wooldridge change the standard bottom width on their different models? According to the website the Alaskan has a 60" bottom and the Alaskan II has a 68" bottom. Yet a couple of you have stated width's of 53" and 60"'s on the respective models. Is this a typo? The reason I am asking is that I have been shopping around for used wooldridges and I would like at least a 68" bottom. If they changes specs a few years ago maybe I should just be looking at new boats.

Most of the WBoats specs have remained fairly constant, some of the boats you can order with a wider hull width, such as the extra-plus.
They changed the Alaskan from a 53" to a 60" in 05, however you could still order one in the narrower width, be sure to throw a tape on it if in doubt. I almost bought one before I realized what was up.!
I think the 60" bottom on the Alaskan is very worthwhile and that is the only WB I had personal experience with.
At some point they started putting the fuel tanks under the floor and that is a great feature as it frees up a lot of deck space. At one time I was looking at some older WB with fuel tanks above and they had less deck room than a newer smaller boat.
They would still carry the load ok, it just got crowded quick.

 

[LuJon]

I have a 93 wooly AK with a 90 horse merc on it. Fuel economy is good but I gotta work to get on step as it is right now but that is hopefully due to my worn out impeller! I am going to the stainless 4 blade and lined sleeve this year then I will do some more testing. I have run Knik and the Mat a couple times and it is a blast in the braids! I eventually get too tight and have to give up the fight but I will find a path to the glacier one of these days! It is not as shallow running as the JC extreme shallow but it gets it done and for a purty good price to boot! One big mod that I am seriously considering is closer ratio steering, the boat handles great but I really have to spin the darn wheel to get it going. If I could get down to 1.5 turns lock to lock I think I would have the perfect budget skinny water boat.

 

[Yukoner]

If you can find a 1.5 lock to lock steering system, let us know, i would love to have something like that.
Another addition that would make a difference would be a UHMW intake foot, there was a link to someone machining these out of a solid block. You'd slide right over stuff
One advantage our wee Ak's have over the larger IB's; when we do get stuck, they sure are easy to manhandle back into the deeper water.

 

[TBLOOMA]

steering

steering

let us know about that steering mod, I will line up for one of those also. Most of my "issues" are because I can't turn the wheel fast enough!!

 

[titobandito]

Google Earth to Find Route to Knik Glacier

Google Earth to Find Route to Knik Glacier

. I have run Knik and the Mat a couple times and it is a blast in the braids! I eventually get too tight and have to give up the fight but I will find a path to the glacier one of these days!

Look at Google Earth for the Knik Glacier run up the river. You can see the generally best route with the most water. I print out views from Google Earth and then paint them with map sealer so I can have the visual reference handy. As you probably know by now, the hardest part to read is the Jim Creek flats and the main channel just above the flats.....I have found my way directly to all sorts of "hard to find" places with Google Earth and few coordinates for key spots along the way.

 

[sport drifter]

Wooldridge

Wooldridge

Can anyone tell me the difference in performance between a 17 Alaska with a 53 inch bottom and a 2070 classic. Both are outboard jet. I mostly fish day trips, but need to be able to do 3 inches of water at times. I usually carry 2-4 adults. Any feedback is appreciated as I have never run in a wooldridge before.

If this is the boat at the used car lot in anch, the boat is a wide body extra plus boat with the 140 merc. Full blue top, looks like it needs some tlc.