I was minding my own business, when I got a text that a Tom Morgan drift boat was for sale. I looked it up and I couldn't believe my eyes. Locally, there was a Tom Morgan drift boat that had been stored in some barn on a ranch for years and this person selling the boat got it for almost nothing to get it out of the barn.

I contacted him, and was afraid I may not get to it soon enough, before someone else got it. With my contact information sent, I was checking emails every 5 minutes to see if I could get the boat. He called early yesterday morning and I hurried to his house and there it was. If you don't know who Tom Morgan was, it really doesn't mean much, but if you do know, that is a game changer.

Anyhow, I got it sitting in my yard, waiting for the next process in refinishing the boat or just trying to salvage how it is presently to keep it a survivor. Tom started making these boats in 1993-1994. He designed it to float either way down the river depending on rowing with 2 or 3 people.

What a find, I hope to be using it soon...

Hell ya👍

Too Cool

Fantastic, you can row me down the river.

This ^^^

Looks poorly made. Congrats

Guy just cut the ends offa McKenzie boat.

Water better be calm.

Is this a famous local person or somebody you knew or something?

Cool. Can't wait to see what you do with it. Repairs and fishing

Dang Shrap, you luck into unbelievable deals. You need to buy a lottery ticket. 😁

That is a rare find. Congratulations.

Nice snag! I would love to drift the Bow River in that boat!
Jeff

+P

Which end does the motor go on?...

Nice drifter, how long is it, did it come with good oars. 14ft or less in lenght, will take some work to keep in drift, until you have some practice! .I see the oars now. Good score!

How deep of water is too deep?

Cool.

We call those prams.



P

Did you see second to last pic?

Lol.

Willie Boats...." simply the best"

Glad you found it.

Nice pram but 3 clients (4 people) is not gonna happen. At least not twice.

I used to have a Winston "Tom Morgan Favorite" fly rod. It was a nice little rod; 8 ft for no. 4 line. I other rods though that I liked better and didn't use it enough so got rid of it.

Nice find!

Dang Shrap, that's an AWESOME find!

If I lived near you I'd be saying...."When we going fishing"?

https://winstonrods.com/product/the-tom-morgan-favorite/

Fer real
That’s super cool

Looks good!

Anytime a friend wants to row, let him and fish!

That's a neat find. And I look forward to seeing it when restored. If anyone would do it right, it would be you.

But fly fishing Holy Grail?

How about an EC Powell 8' hollowbuilt in 5 wt? That to me might be a "Holy Grail".

Have to take your word for it on this one.

As usual this flaming A Hole doesn't know what he's talking about...

You need to know more about who Tom Morgan was and what he did for the fly fishing industry. A Powell fly rod is really nice, but not quite the Holy Grail.

This is a boat designed by Tom 30 years ago and Multiple Sclerosis ended his physical mobility and his dream of producing a versatile fishing boat for rivers in Southwest Montana. He took Winston rods from a sleepy California town to Twin Bridges, Montana and made it a premiere fly rod company.

He sold Winston in 1991 and began his dream of creating his own brand of fly rod. After several years of non compete with Winston, Tom started his own company, Tom Morgan Rodsmiths. There he created one of the finest fly rods ever built. MS slowed him down but didn’t stop his success with TMR.

Years later after a 25 year anniversary last year, Tom’s legacy is intact and still producing the finest rods available.

This boat was a small part of what he had planned after selling Winston and before MS disabled him…

Me and ole Tom used to sip coughfee together and talk about pheasant hunting with celebrities.

If sleepy California town was not tongue in cheek, then I know more about Winston than you do. But I'll grant that you're the Tom Morgan SME.

P.S. Have now upgraded my holy grail to a Per Brandin 2/2 8' 5wt hollowbuilt.

I suspect you may be putting us on, as I heard tell that old Tom was a dedicated Earl Gray drinker.

That is quite the find. Can’t wait to see her after the cleanup and she is back on the river! Was it luck or just clean living? Congratulations.

Looks in decent shape for a 30 year old tin boat.
Pressure washer should blast most of the crud out of the inside.

Good luck with it.

The trailer would be the bargain in this region.
Still, if it's a valuable thing, it is

It even has a built-in holder for the Hills Bros. coffee can.

The white walls are a nice touch

Very nice river boat. 👍👍 I hope you restore it and get it wet. Maybe do a thread about the process. I for one would enjoy it.
Drift boats are wonderful craft on a river, a lot classier than a rubber raft. A good friend of mine owns this drift boat. We spent some great days on the Colorado in it.

Drift boat cast and blast in early Sept is the goods.

Throwing hoppers for hungry trout then hitting the doves in the afternoon.

Doves? How about sharptails or sage grouse, or even blues. The best though would be chukar.

It would require two... one to bail and another for the worms.

MS is a bitch.




P

A friend of mine built this boat, I am visiting with him about restoration or leaving it and using it as a survivor…

He had skills. miles

Wow! Cosmic! Would be great to fish with that guy. When one's turn to row comes up, just bump the first available midstream rock, and he'll insist on taking the oars back.

High maintenance though.

Look on YouTube to see if someone has made a video on restoring that particular boat - if not, there are lots of of related (almost professional-grade) instructional, how-to videos that you should find useful. Classic boats restored with the latest material & techniques often end up better constructed than original. Good luck on your project.

Wow. That's a work of art.

Question: other than who owned it, what makes this boat better than other drift boats I see on our local waters?


How does it differ from a boat say from Hyde?

That is the key. Without the connection to Tom Morgan, it is just another boat and not particularly a handsome boat. Functional to the core, but I wouldn’t buy it other than that connection to Tom…

Understood. So it's like owing Clapton's Strat. The Strat isn't the point, it's the owner.

For the uninformed, BOAT is an acronym…

GOSH !!! Too pretty to use !!!

That drift boat is just plain sexy!!!
A floating/functioning work of art. Your friend needs to enter that in the county fair.

Hal

Looks like a good cleaning would make the TM boat plenty fishable, unless there's rotten wood in the bow or on the floor that we can't see in the pictures.


That's a labor of love and functional art. When I look at that boat, I see a project that a person only has 1 or maybe 2 of those in them in a lifetime.

Here we go... a loyalist to something that doesn't even exist... EC Powell never made a 5 weight in the 8 foot variety... they made a 5/6 but even then the Powell rod was always eclipsed by better, smarter made products. Most likely the reason they sold out to the Schwab family for pennies on the dollar. There is pages of controversy to the legitimacy of Powell's existence today. The naivety that because business startups from California are in someway superior to other companies is bizarre. Point being Tom Morgan had the for site knowing that for his investment to succeed he had to leave the problem that is California behind. Historically there were only 7 of these boats made... This boat is iconic and nostalgic because of who and what Tom Morgan accomplished with multiple businesses and Multiple Sclerosis. Your comparison between Powell and Winston (Tom Morgan) is naïve.

A 1958 Lincoln Continental wasn't a very attractive car but that doesn't detract from the fact that they are one of the ugliest cars in history fetching a premium for its collectability. "ignorantia juris non excusat", also " it is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than open it and remove all doubt"" Mark Twain.

Sounds like you’re pretty up to date with the craftsmanship aspect of classic rods and boats. You might consider having a go at making a driftboat like the one Shrapnel posted above.

Wow! That's one heck of a find! I believe cleaning it up, you're going to find that it's in better condition that it now appears. Pretty sure it hasn't had much use. There's some good engineering in that boat. Among other things, I like the way it's set up for anchoring from either end (or both ends, if you know what you're doing). Congrats, and have fun with this project!

Maybe.... What if (and this is a big "what if") I'm the guy that built that "sexy" wooden boat you reference above...

You disappoint me. I thought I might stimulate a more vigorous response. Shrapnel and I were on a little road trip and told him I was going to see if I could light the WWW on fire. Your boat is a beautiful specimen. Excellent work to say the least. I've seen other boats that look to be made on the same, or similar plans. It probably took at least a couple months to build...... right?

That's funny, your post was neither rude or judgmental so you got a respectful response, haha. Thank you for the compliment! I can follow directions very well! Jason Cajune is the brains behind the plans for that boat... In the fly fishing world there are usually two types of people... Purchasers and users. Understanding the significance of Tom Morgan's boat is an example of a third kind of fisherman... The Connoisseur!

2 years with 6 months off from a broke leg.

“🎶Come on Baby, do a slow float…you’re a good lookin riverboat🎶”

I’m sorry, shrapnel. I thought you were making funny.

The fugg you think you are?

Norman Maclean?

And I suspect more than a few days off, analyzing the next step so that the old saying "measure twice and cut once" didn't come back and bite you in the back side. Projects like that demand a dedication that takes its own time. Again, excellent work.

Norman Maclean wishes he was me…

Being Shrapnel or being long since dead?


We will get back to you on that one.

You’re just like Tom when it comes to being a pilot and all…

LOL.

Enjoy your boat, Shrappy.

Post a picture when you catch a fish. Just don't try and fake it.

My other boat. When you get over your inhibitions, let me know and you can come up here and I will take you out in either boat…