thinking about getting a new boat...suggestions?

[mbweimar]

i've had my ole alumacraft 1436 since 03, and i think its time to move on to something a little bigger. im not fishing in the ponds and lakes in tallahassee anymore, so im looking to upgrade a little bit. anyways, what im after is something that:
A: will run shallow
B: does ok on gas
C: has a front casting deck, center or side console, and maybe a polling platform
D: also somewhere in the 15-18 foot range

i've been all over florida over the past 8 weeks working on FWC's radios and noticed they had TONS of pathfinders and scandy whites. i also noticed they ran alot of yamaha and mercurys so they must be alright. ill be fishing mainly on the wakulla and st marks rivers, and on the flats around the lighthouse. so, what are you fellas running in shallow water, and what do you recommend? i figured i'd ask here before i let a salesman try to brainwash me. thanks in advance guys!

[Jumptrout51]

You need a metal boat to really get where the fish are. (Rocks).
A Yamaha will give you good gas mileage.
I am partial to the Seaark boat,because they hold up better than the G3,Triton,Lowe,etc.
The U.S. Navy and Coast Guard run a lot of Sea Ark boats.
If you do not want metal or fish,get yourself one of those prissy glass boats.

[Salty Gator]

JT is right. I have a pathfinder and while it fishes Great in 1.5 + feet, I can't fish in 6"-2' without being very concerned. My buddy just got a small jonboat and we have been using it with better success polling around rockpiles sightcasting to solid upper and over slot reds. If you want to fish aucilla, ecky, rockgarden(ie where all the big fish are caught) get something aluminum. If you want to fish turkey point, lanark, cbelle, or st Joe bay, get a bay boat or flats boat. Don't get me wrong, really nice fish can be caught in the latter area, but it seems all the big tourney fish seem to come from the former area. Good luck

[Hit-n-Miss]

I really enjoyed my K16 Sundance Skiff. It was the perfect 2 man fishing machine(3 is doable but crowded) Had a pretty dry ride(much drier than a J series Carolina skiff), will float in 6" of water. I can fish all day on 6gal of gas with a 25Hp Nissan with a 10 pitch prop.(Runs around 21mph loaded) I only got rid of it because the family got bigger. Loved that boat.

[Jumptrout51]

I really enjoyed my K16 Sundance Skiff. It was the perfect 2 man fishing machine(3 is doable but crowded) Had a pretty dry ride(much drier than a J series Carolina skiff), will float in 6" of water. I can fish all day on 6gal of gas with a 25Hp Nissan with a 10 pitch prop.(Runs around 21mph loaded) I only got rid of it because the family got bigger. Loved that boat.

Is there a point to this post?
The man already has a beginner boat.

[Gulf Coast]

Salty Gator is right on ,JT is right. I owned a 18' G3 and loved it but I move to a prissy glass boat to make longer run, say from Live Oak Island to Econfina and back. If I had to pull my boat to Aucilla or Ecky I would diff have an metal 18-20 ft boat with a 90 yamer-hammer

[Hit-n-Miss]

I really enjoyed my K16 Sundance Skiff. It was the perfect 2 man fishing machine(3 is doable but crowded) Had a pretty dry ride(much drier than a J series Carolina skiff), will float in 6" of water. I can fish all day on 6gal of gas with a 25Hp Nissan with a 10 pitch prop.(Runs around 21mph loaded) I only got rid of it because the family got bigger. Loved that boat.

Is there a point to this post?
The man already has a beginner boat.

Wow JT I did not know you took RC's place. He asked for a suggestion and I gave him one that fits what he asked for.

[bman]

I loved my J-16 but like Hit-N-Miss said.. cramped with 3 folks.
A bigger Carolina skiff would meet most of your requirements and would be a fun family boat too...

I'm fishing out of a BlazerBay- basically a pathfinder- with a 200 Yamaha on it.
Great boat, good ride, perfect casting platform. But I do get nervous when we get shallow.

[Welby]

I really enjoyed my K16 Sundance Skiff. It was the perfect 2 man fishing machine(3 is doable but crowded) Had a pretty dry ride(much drier than a J series Carolina skiff), will float in 6" of water. I can fish all day on 6gal of gas with a 25Hp Nissan with a 10 pitch prop.(Runs around 21mph loaded) I only got rid of it because the family got bigger. Loved that boat.

Is there a point to this post?
The man already has a beginner boat.

Wow JT I did not know you took RC's place. He asked for a suggestion and I gave him one that fits what he asked for.

Past his bedtime..........

[mbweimar]

ill look into the sea ark. FWC had alot of those too...with jet drives. i'd say probly 18'. are there any dealers around here that sell sea ark?

[mbweimar]

oh and im not really looking for a family oriented boat. im a 24 year old single guy. i travel alot for work so this will be a rig i take out by myself most of the time, with the occasional passenger.

[mpa_72001]

big bend marine in perry deals with the sea ark's don't know if there is one any closer than them.i looked into them the xpress's and g3's .sea ark is a lil more think they are built a lil better like jt said. i went with the g3 18 ft. with the f70 yamaha in the tunnel series .the tunnel in all three with probaly run in less than 6 in. of water and run in the mid 30's and get you pretty good gas mileage with that motor .i went with the g3 just cause the service i got from the dealer and price he gave me on it.

[onefishtwofish]

If I were gonna go aluminum, I would look real hard at this boat.

http://prodriveoutboards.com/?page_id=82

Self bailing and with the higher sides, would be nice to venture out a little further. With a 40hp tiller, this would be a tough boat-safe in the shallows and safe off the hill a ways. It is fairly new, but these boys build a solid boat. You can ask if they build a tunnel version.

I have a Scandy White custom made for duck hunting and I use it occassionally for fishing. I don't like taking my mudmotor to the salt a lot though. I also do not like the 16" sides for anything off the hill a ways. I just went in half on a little 14' river boat - Crappy jon. We use it on nice days (or bad ones when we stay in the river).

[Badbagger]

Sea Ark is a hell of a boat. Actually built like a damn tank. Before I bought my 1966 G3, I was looking for months for either a G3 or a Sea Ark. I also seriously considered the Xpress XB series which has the Hyperlift hull. Trying to find a Sea Ark in these neck of the woods with any size, is a tall order. Once in a while but I didn't find a thing in 4 plus months of looking. They are really popular with the cat fishing folks. You'll find a decent deal once in a while on catfish1.com BUT be prepared to drive and a long way. I found my boat on Craigslist and looked pretty much every day for months and there it was. I'd personally suggest a center console over a side console but that's just me.

[Reel Cowboy]

Wow JT I did not know you took RC's place.

JT's trying to keep you in check while I'm fighting the good fight else where. Kinda of the Bat Girl to my Batman. Holding down the fort.


To the subject at hand, take a drive over to Perry and look over the Xpresses @ Jack's & the Sea Ark's at Big Bend.