As the weather gets warmer for longer stretches of time our rivers and streams like the Missouri are going to be flooded with anglers from all over the world, which is great. The downside though is not everybody knows how to properly pilot a drift boat. An event on Saturday, April 22 in Craig is hoping to change that.
“With a drift boat you want to pull towards you, versus everyone’s instinct to push away from them, so that’s the number one thing that we see,” Adipose Boatworks President Justin Waayenberg told MTN in his Helena shop. He will be giving out tips and tricks just like that at to anglers at the 4th Annual Drift Boat 101 Clinic.
Put on in part by Waayenberg’s company Adipose Boatworks, the clinic will cover not just the advantages of "pulling" over "pushing" on the water, but everything from boat transport to proper river etiquette.
But the real takeaway from the clinic is raising money and awareness for the veteran’s support group Mending Waters Montana. As president, Waayenberg has seen help our fighting men and women firsthand.
“This program is really close to my heart, I’m a veteran myself. I’ve seen the injuries of war and the things that a lot of these veterans are dealing with and a lot of them don’t know how to communicate that stuff, and don’t really want to try and communicate that stuff," Waayenberg said. "And this is just a great outlet for them to be able to get some relief and get around other veterans that have similar stories, similar experiences and then get that relief and get that healing.”
The event on Saturday is free to attend but a donation to Mending Waters Montana is encouraged.
“We’re trying to get as many people as we can RSVP’d before or on Friday," said Waayenberg. "The event starts at 10:00 in the morning on Saturday and goes to about 4:30 PM. And But if you don’t RSVP and maybe see this late, you’re able to make this last minute, we’ll have extra food, we’ll have enough boats you can just show up on Saturday in Craig, it’s a super small town, you’ll be able to see the group.”
Editor's note: This article has been updated with additional information and for grammatical errors.
