I sold my 191 Bay Scout last week. Was not planning on buying another fishing boat right away… However, my 13 yr old boy suddenly has started to have urges to go fishing, and we do not have anything to fish from! I’ve realized, having a fishing boat is sort of like having air. As long as you have plenty of it, you don’t miss it… Take it away, you start missing it quickly.
So, now I’m looking for a flats boat that can get skinny. Prior to purchasing the 191 bay, I had a Carolina Skiff. Great boat, gets real skinny, but I am looking for something that will ride on top of the water (plane) and handle the wakes in the ICW just a tad better. 191 is truly an awesome boat, and I do have some regret for selling it. However, I could not get to a few spots I could with the Carolina Skiff. So… Now I am looking for something that will get back in the flats and ride a little better than the Carlona Skiiff. Also, something my 13 year old boy would be safe in if I let him take it without me.
Price range between $15,000 to $25,000. Top choices so far. Mitzi 17 tournament , 18 Bossman Tortuga, and 18 or 16 Morgan Skimmer (By Bossman). Any recommendations or opinions / reviews would be greatly appreciated.
Agreed on the limitations of the Carolina Skiff. We love ours but definately not a jack of all trades unless you never leave a small creek. Agree with SurfFish as well. Having looked into it, the Ankonas seem like the most interesting flats boats for the money right now. But a flats “skiff” isn’t a great “only boat” boat, either -surprising how much less seating, stability, utility than a same length Carolina. Doesn’t seem very familily friendly. If I were to get one boat, local Key West and Scout have CC 17 footers that have enough deadrise to get off the beach alot more comfortably than a skiff, show skiff-like 10ish mpg on the reports, and still draft 8" or so. Doesn’t seem to be giving up anything.
Wow… Thank you all for the response. I really appreciate your help. That is a sweet looking boat sunfish. Thank you for the link. Would you worry about the 04 mercury on the back? I agree with you hobo, the skiff is a great all around boat… Scout 191 Bay was even a better boat. We have a Cobalt 24’ bowrider that we use for our family cruising. This boat will be used mostly for fishing.
I am planning on going down to Daytona this weekend to test ride a couple Bossman skiffs. Specifically the 18 Morgan Skimmer and the 18 Bossman ToRtuga. This is their website… http://bossmanboats.com. Has anyone ever heard of these boats? They are a fairly new company. Seems like really nice folks.
Not if it is rebuilt as well as he says and with 20 hrs on it post-rebuild. I mean, I’d rather have a new Yamaha, but I still think that boat is one of the best used flats skiffs for the money than anything else on the market right now. I keep delaying the purchase of a boat, but if I were ready to pull the trigger, I’d be on my way to FL to buy this boat (pending an inspection/test ride).
If you’re lucky enough to be fishing, you’re lucky enough.
Hey joeysrocker this is just FYI. We’re building a 17 tour Mitzi Skiff in ice blue for my dealer, Cape Romain Marine. This boat will be the first one with an ice blue cockpit. We think this is going to look very nice. The console and top cap will still be white. I have pictures of 17’s in ice blue if you’d like me to email them to you. Cape Romain # 843-887-3330 Thanks
The problem with the shadow cast is its very narrow. I like the boat, but I believe it’s ma rated for 2-3 people. MAX. Also check out the east cape caiman lostmen fury and vantage. They also just came out with a new model called glide that looks pretty slick and priced amazingly.
