Hello all, I am new to the forum. I have been lurking around here for a while now and finally decided to post. Im looking for a nice 17-19 foot bay fisher that I can use in the creeks for redfishing and still get out to the jetties on a nice day. My budget is a bit tight right now tho. Im only looking to spend around $6000-$7000. I have been searching craigslist for a while now and have looked at a lot of boats in my price range. Polar, Key West, Carolina Skiff, Sea Fox, Scout, etc…This will not be my first boat as I have been a fresh water bass guy my whole life, Im new to the whole saltwater fishing thing. Any help or suggestions on what to look for would be great. Thanks in advance.
welcome aboard
probably the most versatile boat in your price range is going to be a 17’ keywest rigged with a 90 hp. first choice would be a 90hp 2 stroke yamaha. a 4 stroke is probably out of the budget. then a 2000 to 2005 johnsonson 90-115 would be my next choice.
a 17 scout, proline, ect would all be a good choice. the flat bottom skiffs are great for shallow water and low horsepower economical running, but they are terrible in a chop.
Thanks guys. I have found a nice 1996 Key West 1720 powered by a 2006 Yamaha 90 4 stroke. The asking price is right up my alley. I think Im going to check this one out early next week. I think that should do the job nicely. Anyone have any idea how much water this boat would draw with the heavier Yammy on it? Im assuming I should still be able to get up in the grass pretty good with this set up. Opinions?
If you found that one on craigslist I know which one you’re talking about. Take into consideration that it has been on the market for a while so You can probably chew him down.
Yeah, I spoke with him tonight and he said he is willing to deal. Im going to throw it in the water next week and then possibly make an offer if I like it. Still looking tho. Seems like a pretty good rig with the newer Yammy.
Can I jump in on this thread? I am actually in the exact same market- I see a lot of KW 1720s around town, i think it is a pretty popular boat here… and for good reason.
I have a skiff-ish boat now and fish alone a lot… and while I really like the ability to get skinny (and more importantly… get back out), we need a bigger, more stable boat if the wife + dog are going to join me on trips etc. I have a 26 foot deep garage - you think I could get a 17-18 ft boat in there with a trailer?
Re: the palm beach 181, it looks super clean, but its in blairsville… long way to go to see it. You think it being 1600+ would make it hard to fish alone?
That Palm Beach does look pretty good but youre right about the drive. Can’t tell you how many times I have driven somewhere to find a lemon.Not to mention the problems that can arise with out of state title transfers. Im leaning toward one of the Key West 1720s I have been looking at. Would be nice to have an 18 or 19 but I haven’t really found one in my budget that I really love yet. Key West boats seem to get a lot of praise down here so that makes me feel pretty good about my decision so far. But I do have my eye on a Polar and a Carolina Skiff V Series. I just wonder how bad I would get beat up in the chop with The CS V series boat. Anyone have experience with one of those hulls?
Jamey…You may find a 17’ boat to be perfect for the area once you recognize it’s limitations vs. the risk you are willing to take operating it. I’ve caught kings at the cage bouy’s in a 13’ Waccamaw boat with a 25hp outboard, but not in a long time! I’ve grown more cautious in my advanced years, and less tolerant of getting wet. I can remember those moments when a submarine wake almost beat me to my anchor in that little pumpkin seed of a boat…whew! Needless to say you will get wet in a 17’ boat on a windy day, and jumping wakes behind a Buddy Davis in the intracoastal gets a little hairy sometimes, but you can dang sure catch a ton of fish out of a boat like that.
What kind of Polar are you looking at? I have a Polar Flats 1788 w/a 70 hp Yamaha and it is one of the biggest 17’ you will fish out of, real stable and goes skinny. That being said, it is a workman type boat, simple splatter finish and not built for big waves. I cross the harbor and hit Bulls bay and try to stay out of big water when the waves get bigger than about 2’ but then most of my fishing/boating is close inshore stuff. I take the wife and 2 boys out for the day and have plenty of room due to the wide beam. Good luck in your search.
I found a 17’ henry O with a big 4 stroke 115 yammy on it— opinions? It looks like it has a bunch of deadrise, would be nice in slop but costs gas and draft… relatively little info out there. Kind of a wild looking boat, made by one of the mckee bros apparently?
I’ve looked at quite a few boats in the past week or two. Went to look at a polar 1886 flats today. It would have been such
a nice bot if it wasn’t for all the exposed wood. It was starting to show some very minor rot and some small cracks around the transom so I passed
on it. I still have my eye on a few skiffs and Key West 1720s. Still looking tho.
I checked out a Henry O a few months back from I think around Darlington. It had fresh bottom paint and a fresh coat of Rhino Lining type material on the inside. The more questions I asked the more wary I became. The guy admitted he had bought the boat but had never put it in the water. With all the fresh coats I wonder what was being covered up. Eventually found a Hydra Sports 1910 skiff style cc and I love it. Goes plenty skinny and with the Johnson 150 2 stroke she’ll fly. great all around boat! Been mostly striper fishing on Murray but can’t wait till our annual 2 week vacation on Folly this year!
You may want to look at the flats boat I have listed in the classifieds. It is one of the larger size flats boats. I have had it out to the jetties and have been out Beaufort Inlet and Cape Lookout on reasonably good days. I prefer fishing in the creeks and flats though so a flats boat is better for me than a typical CC or bay boat.
18.5 Baycraft Flats Edition
Johnson 150 Oceanrunner
Wood Driftboat