Design
Drifter 15
Designed by Sam Devlin
A 15 ft McKenzie-style drift boat by Sam Devlin, who grew up in Eugene, Oregon, home water of the type, and built almost a dozen there early in his career. The hull is 3/8 in plywood with an extra 1/4 in layer laminated onto the bottom, and a UHMW plastic shoe can be added for sliding over rocks. Adjustable seats lift out for solo fishing, the foredeck keeps fly line tidy, and foam-filled side compartments double as shelves.
A simple, rugged stitch and glue build well suited to a first-timer. Budget 100 to 180 hours as a rule of thumb. The medians below come from builders who logged this boat here.
What building a Drifter 15 actually takes
Medians from the build logs kept on this site, not the designer’s estimate. Nobody has logged this boat here yet, so they are empty until the first builder does.
Those medians firm up as more people log this boat.
Builds of this boat
Nobody has logged a Drifter 15 here yet.
If you are building one, yours becomes the reference: the page the next person building this boat finds when they search for it. One photo and one line is a valid first entry.
Start the first log of this boatBoats like this one
Same type, closest in length.
| Design | Plans from | LOA | Logs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15' Rangeley Lake Boat | Newfound Woodworks | 15′ 0″ (4.57 m) | 1 |
| Chester Yawl | Chesapeake Light Craft | 15′ 0″ (4.57 m) | 0 |
| Express Wherry | Duck Trap Woodworking | 15′ 0″ (4.57 m) | 0 |
| Linach 15 | Devlin | 15′ 0″ (4.57 m) | 0 |
| 15' Jolle | Boatkits | 4.56 m (15′ 0″) | 0 |
| 15' Ruderkatamaran | Boatkits | 4.59 m (15′ 1″) | 0 |