When you purchase a Nord West drifter, the boat is yours from the start. While most drift boats come off a mass production assembly line, each Nord West drifter is custom-built. The process is a collaborative effort between you and the owner, Philippe Naudet. Before any work begins, Philippe discusses how you plan to use the boat and what features you need.

While Nord West offers standard hull designs and many optional features to start the conversation, we're open to your ideas and can offer suggestions to meet your goals for the boat. In fact, many of the unique features Nord West offers are the result of close collaboration with professional guides, who have logged enough hours on the water to know exactly what they want in a drift boat.

Whether you choose to dream up your own unique features or borrow ideas from professional guides, your Nord West drift boat will be a source of pride every moment you're on the water.

Nord West History
The first Nord West fiberglass drift boat was built in 1996 when French-born owner, Philippe Naudet, put his international boat design and composite fabrication experience toward creating a traditional Montana drift boat.

Philippe's extensive experience as an open-ocean sailor enabled him to approach the design of the traditional Western drift boat without bias. This fresh perspective resulted in an entirely new design in 2001. That year, Philippe designed a sleek, aerodynamic drift boat with an inverted gunnel to address the effects of the wind on the boat. Although the main goal of the inverted gunnel was to reduce the effect of the wind, other advantages soon became apparent. The inverted gunnels of the Nord West drift boat provide protected storage for up to six fishing rods with mounted flies. They are also easy to grab onto and walk through the runs of your favorite stream.

Philippe was raised on the D-Day beaches of Normandy, France. His grandfather was a fisherman who used a heavy type of wooden drift boat called a "plate." He rowed out every night, braving foul weather and rough seas to bring in early morning cod, flounder and mackerel to support his family. Philippe learned to row his grandfather's boat at the age of seven.

America's Cup Story
His adventures with boats have since taken him out across the open ocean many times. Philippe is a two-time America's cup team member and has participated in the construction of several carbon-fiber ocean racing boats, including the boat of three-time winner of the Race Around the World, Christophe Auguin.

Philippe's wife, Nicole, led him to Montana, where he designed the Nord West Drifter with safety in mind, recalling the exceptional stability of his grandfather's "plate." He built the Nord West drifter strong and light like the racing sailboats he worked on and added an unprecedented amount of dry storage, all with an unsurpassed level of skill and workmanship.