Managed to snag a custom 13’6 gator boat. It looks like a jon boat but its made of wood and coated in fiberglass. It came with a 2006 4 stroke 4HP mercury and a galvanized trailer. Couldn’t pass it up for $800. Did the maintenace on the motor and put seats, rod holders, lowrance mark 4 fishfinder, and a trolling motor on it and the wife and I were ready to fish!
We hit Hamlin creek on monday morning around 9 and fished the high/falling tide. Water temp was around 73 but clarity wasn’t very good. We caught about 15 whiting and kept 7. My wife pulled in a little blue that was a good fight for her. All caught on fresh cut shrimp. Caught a couple little trout. I hooked into something big on a mud minnow/carolina rig and fought it for about 5 minutes. It almost maxed out my drag and ran about 40 yards and jumped out of the water and got loose. It looked darker than a red but I have no idea what it was.
The boat handled great but I wouldn’t want to hit a large wake. Max speed is only about 12 mph but that is plenty for the backwater and its a good starter boat.
“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”
Awesome little rig there bud! One thing that I would suggest and may ease your mind is putting a bilge pump in it. You never know when a wake will come and put more water in there than you want.
Thanks guys. I was just looking at bilge pumps lol. I don’t know anything about em but I suppose I can get one that just connects to my trolling motor battery and put the hose off the back of the boat. For now I’ve been carrying a hand bilge pump, but that isn’t much peace of mind lol.
“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”
Really cool boat. Every little boat needs a bailer. Take a Clorox bottle and cut the top in the shape of a scoop, using the handle as, well, the handle. Great bailer and it can move a lot of water. IT also doubles as a crab scoop.
You get more water out with a bailer in a boat like yours with no actual bilge where the water drops into.
That style of boat fishes very well for our rivers, and creeks. I grew up building and fishing out of boats very similar to that one. No bilge pump needed, a coffe can works well for dipping water and doubles as a “pee can”. The one photo shows the trolling motor on the back. Its much easier to control the boat if its on the front, with the outboard half down and straight to act as a rudder. Enjoy the boat!!
DRIVE IT LIKE YOU STOLE IT!!!
The harder you work, the luckier you’ll get.
Thanks guys. Maybe ill just stick to the pee can/bailer lol. The less wires on the small boat the better. I thought about moving the trolling motor up front, I imagine I can just mount a piece of wood up there and clamp the motor on.
Any advice on what type of water I can fish with it regarding chop? I’ve fished creeks and the upper wando with no problem but i’m a bit nervous to test my boundaries. I’m a kayak fishermen and I know my kayaks capabilities but this flat bottom hull has me wondering.
“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”
Very nice looking little skiff I grew up with little wood boats. Still build them.
quote:Any advice on what type of water I can fish with it regarding chop?
Not knowing the construction method, no, but at 12 mph it doesn’t have a lot of stress. She looks to have good freeboard and volume. It will become very uncomfortable before it becomes dangerous. The very uncomfortable is your clue to turn around. The transom is the most vulnerable area. With big wakes or waves just slow down and keep the bow quartered into them. That thing can ride a freighter wake if you approach it at the right angle and speed. Running straight into a short chop will jar your teeth. You’ll know when to turn around.
I wouldn’t complicate it with a pump either, a milk jug or bucket is all you need to keep from sinking.
Capt. Larry Teuton
Cracker Built Custom Boats
“Ships are the nearest things to dreams that hands have ever made.” -Robert N. Rose
Thanks larry. I’m not certain on the construction myself. Its marine grade wood apparently and it seems very sturdy. The outside is coated in a thin fiberglass and the inside is just painted in marine paint. I looked up gator boats on google and it was built from the big mamma model/blueprint.
“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”
You are getting good advise. I can’t see making any changes to how it’s set up. Pictures are showing it fishing just fine.
On boats (and large canoes) that size I always carry one of those big yellow sponges. Cleans up that pesky last quart or two of water and pluff mud. PLUS, you can wash the boat with it.
That would also be a great boat for Goose Creek Res. I hear from a couple of neighbors the are catching some decent bream and crappie right now. One of them is using a slip float rig with worms.
You can catch as many redfish and trout from that boat as you can a $60,000 flats boat.
+1
Fun little boat. Also, good advice given on quartering any wake you encounter. Hell, put some sort of bumper rail on it and you can get into some great spots for sheep as well (as long as dock owners don’t mind you doing it; always good to ask).
I’ve got an OLD 14’ johnboat that I rejuvenated that we fish around on Lucy Creek/parts there abouts-it’s definitely a fair weather boat but we’ve had a ton of memorable fishing jaunts in the little boat! I’ll cross the bay north of Sam’s Point with it and fish the north side BUT only if it’s pretty smooth and there’s a good forecast…learned the hard way a couple of years ago that crossing back in blown up squall was NOT a smart thing to do-worked the waves back across but not back to Lucy!!! Hit a protected spot and bailed it out on the south side using a scoop made from milk jug and finishing off with an old wash towel. Have fun and stay safe!! Oh yeah-make sure you’ve got food and water with you-that little boat makes real tempting to hit some of the good looking spots that the bigger boats wouldn’t dare try but you may find your self back in an area that you can’t get out at low tide!!!..BUT those little boats are a LOT easier to push off a quickly appearing oyster bar too
Great looking boat, worth every penny! Another option to consider is a collapsable camping bucket. They roll up for easy storage and hold a lot of water. I keep one on my 17’ Scout for emergencies. You can find them on most camping/outdoor websites.
I grew up with little wood boats. Still build them.