A unique website dedicated to fishing information from Florida's Northern Big Bend. This includes the area from the Econfina River west to the Apalachicola River
I have purchased a tiller 18ft crestliner, I have tiller here at home in the U.K on a 14 ft Lowe, the tiller gives me more room in the centre of the boat, I would like to know the advantages [if any] of centre console and how easy/difficult it would be to convert to centre console if there are advantages to be had in doing so?
Only 2 more weeks of work and I'll be fishing again in Florida, it can't come quickly enough
The center console provides a place to put your electronics... there are pros and cons to both. CC offers better visibility, can make it easier to fish off the back depending on what kinda motor you got since you're not tripping over the tiller, better balance and no sore shoulders from sitting half-cocked in the thing all day reaching backward...course you can make up for some of that with a tiller extender...The CC offers some luxuries and convenience at the expense of fishing room is pretty much the long and the short of it in my opinion.
Mookbait! At least 401 times better than live bait!
Tillers will be lighter for sure as well as open up the cockpit of a small boat and make it feel like a much larger boat. You can get an extention handle for the tiller handle that will alow you to stand and run the boat. Many even have tilt/trim controls and if you have a jack plate that switch can be on the handle as well. CC have there advantages as well but IMO have no place on an already small narrow beam boat. Just too much weight and takes up too much space.
I have a center console on a 18 foot long 60" wide boat. I would not want a tiller, but I think a side console makes for better fishability. It can be a pain getting around the console when its in the center.