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The Boat Fanatic Thread


Yarbr

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4 minutes ago, Brew said:

Running at night while either intoxicated, with malfunctioning equipment, or just completely lost on the water. You can sometimes explain away hitting a jetty, but that looks like straight into a wall.

Details are on the fishing thread.  That wall sticks out into the ICW about 100 feet or so from shore, they got too close to shore.  One guy died.  

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13 minutes ago, Judge Roybeanbag said:

Details are on the fishing thread.  That wall sticks out into the ICW about 100 feet or so from shore, they got too close to shore.  One guy died.  

Looks like a jetty from those pictures. You have to be distracted in some way to be that far off. It happens all the time though. There are constantly threads on THT on people hitting jetties, markers, etc. I don’t run at night. It’s something that has never interested me. It’s dangerous enough with the sun out.

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Man, he got off course quick. There are two cuts out of the Sanctuary, 600 yards or so apart. There’s a fishing pier right between them that stick out as far a the jetties. If he really hit the west wall of the easternmost jetty, he was coming back toward POC and somehow threaded the needle of missing the pier and hitting the jetty in about 300 yards. It’s also normally really shallow up in there...especially this time of year. If it wasn’t for the storm surge, he’d have probably bumped bottom before he hit. Terrible. 

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So, I'm in the very early stages of looking for a bay boat.  Will probably pull the trigger next winter (21-22).  My experiences have been primarily with Haynie and Majek.  But, I really like the look of the Mowdy as well.  Probably something in the 23-25' range.  

Needs will be mixed.  Some wade fishing.  Some drifting.  Some bait soaking.  Some cruising and messing around.  Primarily used around Rockport, but may run down to Baffin occasionally as well.  I have a wife and three kids (8-10-12), so dry and smooth ride trumps skinny water at this point.  Thoughts or suggestions?

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23 hours ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

Man, he got off course quick. There are two cuts out of the Sanctuary, 600 yards or so apart. There’s a fishing pier right between them that stick out as far a the jetties. If he really hit the west wall of the easternmost jetty, he was coming back toward POC and somehow threaded the needle of missing the pier and hitting the jetty in about 300 yards. It’s also normally really shallow up in there...especially this time of year. If it wasn’t for the storm surge, he’d have probably bumped bottom before he hit. Terrible. 

From the pics, he had a really nice light bar up on the boat. The light bar was on. It implies that he regularly drives at night so he's experienced. Or maybe this was his maiden night trip. Either way I would assume that he could see how close he was to the shoreline and how shallow he was. He should've had time to see the wall unless he was running way to fast for the conditions. All kinds of questions. I feel for the driver, his dead friend and all families involved. That's not something you can ever forget.

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We do a few night fishing trips on Conroe each year, usually on a Friday or Saturday night and its amazing on the number of boats you hear getting up on plane and opening it up coming back from the bars and restaurants.  We barely get up on plane and run less than 20mph and hit out in front of the boat with a spotlight every 30 sec or so.  I'm nervous the whole time.

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We do a few night fishing trips on Conroe each year, usually on a Friday or Saturday night and its amazing on the number of boats you hear getting up on plane and opening it up coming back from the bars and restaurants.  We barely get up on plane and run less than 20mph and hit out in front of the boat with a spotlight every 30 sec or so.  I'm nervous the whole time.

I won’t get above 15-18 mph and I’m scanning and looking every direction. This is on my home lake that I know very well, using my phone GPS maps too.

Last weekend we ended up at dinner on the lake with a friend that rented a place to get away from it all and so we were coming back after dark, a lot farther away than I like to be. My preference is within 5 mins of my marina which happens to be around a lot of homes so the shore and even the water is well lit up.

Anyway coming back my girlfriend took us left not right and it took me until we were almost to the final turn before being able to see Mansfield dam before I realized she went the wrong direction. I took over and turned around and started what is a very long ride home from near windy point. On the way back west of emerald point we had a hard time making out a boat floating in the middle of the lake. The lights just didn’t register. We avoided it but probably came within 200 feet of it before maneuvering around.

That kept me up for two nights, had near panic attack thinking about the what if’s.

I enjoy being out at night but not long after dark unless I’m a hop and a skip away from my dock.
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So, I'm in the very early stages of looking for a bay boat.  Will probably pull the trigger next winter (21-22).  My experiences have been primarily with Haynie and Majek.  But, I really like the look of the Mowdy as well.  Probably something in the 23-25' range.  
Needs will be mixed.  Some wade fishing.  Some drifting.  Some bait soaking.  Some cruising and messing around.  Primarily used around Rockport, but may run down to Baffin occasionally as well.  I have a wife and three kids (8-10-12), so dry and smooth ride trumps skinny water at this point.  Thoughts or suggestions?

I’d really look at something that has a head on it.


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11 hours ago, Spaulding Smails said:

So, I'm in the very early stages of looking for a bay boat.  Will probably pull the trigger next winter (21-22).  My experiences have been primarily with Haynie and Majek.  But, I really like the look of the Mowdy as well.  Probably something in the 23-25' range.  

Needs will be mixed.  Some wade fishing.  Some drifting.  Some bait soaking.  Some cruising and messing around.  Primarily used around Rockport, but may run down to Baffin occasionally as well.  I have a wife and three kids (8-10-12), so dry and smooth ride trumps skinny water at this point.  Thoughts or suggestions?

Majek and Haynie both make great boats. I’m partial to the Haynie but it’s served me well for over a decade.  It’s a very good mix of fast, shallow enough, and able to crush chop. I fish primarily fish Allyns and east, and leave from KA, so long runs in rough water were driving the criteria.  When I commented on how thick the glass was on the gunnels, Coulter’s exact comment was “the only one you’ll find thicker is a Majek”. Dude did nothing but speak highly of them, even though Tran was my second choice, with Simmons in a distant third. Anyhow, can’t go wrong with them.  I don’t have anything bad to say about Mowdy except they’ve lost their damn minds on pricing, imo. 

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11 hours ago, crash_davis said:

From the pics, he had a really nice light bar up on the boat. The light bar was on. It implies that he regularly drives at night so he's experienced. Or maybe this was his maiden night trip. Either way I would assume that he could see how close he was to the shoreline and how shallow he was. He should've had time to see the wall unless he was running way to fast for the conditions. All kinds of questions. I feel for the driver, his dead friend and all families involved. That's not something you can ever forget.

That’s not the light bar, it’s the anchor/all-around light. There is a story floating around that the light bar went out on the run to Sanctuary from POC. 

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12 hours ago, Spaulding Smails said:

So, I'm in the very early stages of looking for a bay boat.  Will probably pull the trigger next winter (21-22).  My experiences have been primarily with Haynie and Majek.  But, I really like the look of the Mowdy as well.  Probably something in the 23-25' range.  

Needs will be mixed.  Some wade fishing.  Some drifting.  Some bait soaking.  Some cruising and messing around.  Primarily used around Rockport, but may run down to Baffin occasionally as well.  I have a wife and three kids (8-10-12), so dry and smooth ride trumps skinny water at this point.  Thoughts or suggestions?

I would get a JH B series before I got a Mowdy. I have a 22’ Xtreme and love it. But I use it primarily for wade fishing. 60% of the time or more I fish alone. The 22’ is not what I would consider a great family boat. Cannot speak to the 25’.   If I primarily fished Baffin I would have an Xtreme, JH B series, or a 23’ Magnum. My big problem with Haynie is the finish work is meh.  JH or Mowdy will be tippy for drift fishing.  May want to consider a Shallow Sport Mod V or Pathfinder. 

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13 hours ago, Spaulding Smails said:

So, I'm in the very early stages of looking for a bay boat.  Will probably pull the trigger next winter (21-22).  My experiences have been primarily with Haynie and Majek.  But, I really like the look of the Mowdy as well.  Probably something in the 23-25' range.  

Needs will be mixed.  Some wade fishing.  Some drifting.  Some bait soaking.  Some cruising and messing around.  Primarily used around Rockport, but may run down to Baffin occasionally as well.  I have a wife and three kids (8-10-12), so dry and smooth ride trumps skinny water at this point.  Thoughts or suggestions?

Those are all super skinny water setups. I see a lot of Hewes in SWFL, but I think every market has skiff builders that are built for the market. I’m in the same market but more in a hybrid style like the Bonefish Malvado 26, Barker Open, etc. 

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Great feedback and suggestions.  I probably should have qualified this more.  Needs are pretty mixed and varied.  Oldest son is a fishing machine and can be on the water all day.  Dude just did a two day paddle into a headwind on the Devils River with me and didn't miss a beat while outfishing me.  My middle son is special needs.  Good mobility, but wouldn't fish, and would probably tolerate the boat for an hour max.  My daughter's too young to really get a feel for her fishing interest long-term, but I'm guessing she can take it or leave it.  Wife loves to fish, but would only be able to do so when we have respite or family in town to watch my middle son.  Personally, I'd wade fish over anything else.  But, I'd probably take clients and employees down there a few times a year.  I'm doing that right now, but it's almost always with a guide.  I'd say 40% with my just my oldest son wading or drifting with artificials, 10% with my whole family except the middle son soaking bait, 10% with all five of us just cruising, 10% solo wade fishing and the remaining 30% with guests as a mixed bag depending on their interest and skill.  

I'm originally from Corpus, and still have a ton of family down there.  Most of my family that fish run Majeks.  Johnny Majek was a friend of my grandfather, so that may be somewhat sentimental.  My business partner and another buddy have Haynies and love them.  So, I really do need something that runs skinny but can take chop like @fattyflattie mentioned.  Needs to have sides for sure.  @Handcruser, that Robalo looks sweet, but I think the open bow and shallow draft are going to be must-haves for me.

 

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16 hours ago, Dry Elbows said:

I would get a JH B series before I got a Mowdy

I tend to agree. Friend has a 24’ with 250 SHO and he used it to fish Chandeleurs constantly when he was living in MS. Does everything pretty well, but has that stupid looking stern deck. The originals with the flat stern deck didn’t have enough flotation.   The guys at Sport Marine are petty jam up too.  I’ve got an acquaintance who’s a big SCB fanboi but is very impressed with that JH cat. He’s told me more than once that’s #2 behind his Revolution.  But he keeps ordering the Revs so it must me a distant #2. 
 

16 hours ago, Dry Elbows said:

My big problem with Haynie is the finish work is meh.

I hear this a lot but don’t really see it, at least compared to its peer group (Majek, Tran, Shoalwater, JH, Mowdy). I was on a 90k Majek Reaper a few weeks ago that wasn’t rigged any nicer or worse than my Haynie.  Neither will be confused with a Simmons or Isla Morada anytime soon.  Would assume there’s some ebb and flow in the finishing, depending on when it was built. I’ve been in some pretty meh RFLs thru the years.  I Haven’t been in many Haynies other than mine but have seen some pics that were definitely bleh. We did spec up when we built on a lot of components so maybe what they typically use isn’t as nice. I have my complaints and things I would do different for sure; there are some head scratchers.  But people talk like they have exposed glass or come with rats nest wiring or something.  Majek does offer a cap which is nice, and Coulter could never figure out how to make one work (there are a few HOs with them but they would supposedly crack) 

16 hours ago, Brew said:

I’m in the same market but more in a hybrid style like the Bonefish Malvado 26, Barker Open, etc. 

Stunning boats.  But it wouldn’t do much here very well. It’d be a really nice 150k bad fit.    I want an Isla Morada in a bad way  but it’s just a bit too deep to be effective for what I do. If I get away from wading more, I’ll consider it a bit more seriously. 

7 hours ago, Spaulding Smails said:

So, I really do need something that runs skinny but can take chop like @fattyflattie mentioned.  Needs to have sides for sure

Skinny is relative of course. I came out of a raised console (18” alum riser) flats cat to mine, so it was like captaining a tanker. But it’s relatively “skinny”, especially for the way it handles big water.  If I had needed tall gunnels, I would have gotten a sit down HO.  I can’t zip into any backlake I want anymore, but I can cruise 25 mph faster than my cats WOT, and don’t have to buy Alieve by the case for windy days.  

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11 minutes ago, fattyflattie said:

I hear this a lot but don’t really see it, at least compared to its peer group (Majek, Tran, Shoalwater, JH, Mowdy). I was on a 90k Majek Reaper a few weeks ago that wasn’t rigged any nicer or worse than my Haynie.  Neither will be confused with a Simmons or Isla Morada anytime soon.  Would assume there’s some ebb and flow in the finishing, depending on when it was built. I’ve been in some pretty meh RFLs thru the years.  I Haven’t been in many Haynies other than mine but have seen some pics that were definitely bleh. We did spec up when we built on a lot of components so maybe what they typically use isn’t as nice. I have my complaints and things I would do different for sure; there are some head scratchers.  But people talk like they have exposed glass or come with rats nest wiring or something.  Majek does offer a cap which is nice, and Coulter could never figure out how to make one work (there are a few HOs with them but they would supposedly crack) 

Rigging is done by the dealer, generally.  I bought my Majek from Kresta's and have been happy with the rigging.  When I talk about finish work, I'm speaking of the hull itself.  Haynies just seem sloppy to me.  A friend of mine bought one in the past 18 months.  We went on a quick drift fishing trip and I noticed the drain holes from his front hatches to the deck (1) did not have brass through fittings and (2) were not fiberglassed or gel coated.  It was just bare marine plywood.  That is ridiculous for a $70k boat.

I don't know what JH has done, but they've really stepped up the finish work and rigging on their boats.  If I ever move on from an Xtreme, a JH will be in top contention.

11 minutes ago, fattyflattie said:

 

 

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30 minutes ago, Dry Elbows said:

We went on a quick drift fishing trip and I noticed the drain holes from his front hatches to the deck (1) did not have brass through fittings and (2) were not fiberglassed or gel coated.  It was just bare marine plywood.  That is ridiculous for a $70k boat.

Agreed. Mine are resin’d anywhere that isn’t gel’d. I haven’t found a space without resin yet.   When I stopped into the hull shop in seadrift before we built, they were glassing both sides of the ply.  Underside of both decks are glassed but not gel’d.  I paid considerably less than that, and would still find that to be bullshit. 

 

34 minutes ago, Dry Elbows said:

 

I don't know what JH has done, but they've really stepped up the finish work and rigging on their boats.  If I ever move on from an Xtreme, a JH will be in top contention.

One thing I like and hate at the same time is they use the pre-made liners in their boxes.  They are very nice to clean, but you lose a lot of storage.  Also, the guy that runs sport told me that’s why they can’t use glass lids.  I haven’t looked in awhile to see if they’ve changed that, but that’s one of my pet peeves.  60-70k for a boat and plastic hatches gtfo.  I don’t know if I could ever do a big V like that; I’ve don’t the old tunnel V 180. 

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3 hours ago, fattyflattie said:

Stunning boats.  But it wouldn’t do much here very well. It’d be a really nice 150k bad fit.    I want an Isla Morada in a bad way  but it’s just a bit too deep to be effective for what I do. If I get away from wading more, I’ll consider it a bit more seriously.  

Market uses are all different and there are numerous builders tailored to the markets. Hewes, HellsBay, and maybe East Cape are the flats style boats I see the most in SWFL. The first two are far and away the leaders though from what I’ve seen. I’ve never seen one of the TX varieties mentioned.

I fish shallow, but typically anything that will draft a foot or so works for me. It puts me in the bay style which also gives me a casting deck on the front and the ability to get offshore. The Malvado 26 is the best looking, most functional one on the market for my money. I really like the Bonefish Hill Tide as well but it’s too flats style. The guide/tackle shop owner I spend the most time around runs an old Sportsman Master, so the boat side of the equation probably is overvalued.

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3 hours ago, Brew said:

Market uses are all different and there are numerous builders tailored to the markets.

I agree. But Spaulding specifically mentioned Rockport, and that Barker would spend more time beached than not.  And the east side of that system is one of the deeper systems in Texas. Absolute fantastic boats, just not practical for Texas coastal waters imo. What really sucks is they don’t work for our nearshore either, I say it sucks because they are bad ass. 

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Someone in my neighborhood just got a big Yamaha ski/wake boat. Beautiful boat, and the layout looked cool from what I saw, but I can't imagine jet boats make very good wake surf boats? This thing had twin jets, which would seem to be difficult to shape waves, but I know fuck all about that style boat so maybe I'm wrong. Sure is pretty, though. 

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2 hours ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

Someone in my neighborhood just got a big Yamaha ski/wake boat. Beautiful boat, and the layout looked cool from what I saw, but I can't imagine jet boats make very good wake surf boats? This thing had twin jets, which would seem to be difficult to shape waves, but I know fuck all about that style boat so maybe I'm wrong. Sure is pretty, though. 

Seems like hull shape and ballast woudl be more important than the propulsion, but I have not idea what I am really talking about. Those jet boats are interesting and the layouts are quite nice.  Fucking expensive like everything else though. 

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Someone in my neighborhood just got a big Yamaha ski/wake boat. Beautiful boat, and the layout looked cool from what I saw, but I can't imagine jet boats make very good wake surf boats? This thing had twin jets, which would seem to be difficult to shape waves, but I know fuck all about that style boat so maybe I'm wrong. Sure is pretty, though. 


Yeah, twin engine jet boats don’t make freaking good wake or surf boats, don’t care how much ballast they have.
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They have a removable plate that throws a decent enough wake for surfing. They also have internal ballast. The newer model Yamaha jets also have a keel system tied to the pump nozzle(s) that allows them to track a lot better than they used to. Still not winning any slalom tournaments, though.

 

Yamaha 242 Limited S (2019-) 2019 Reviews,performance,compare ...

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8 minutes ago, Horns99 said:


Yeah, twin engine jet boats don’t make freaking good wake or surf boats, don’t care how much ballast they have.

 

This. They realign the jets to tune the wake in surf configuration along with a surf gate to create the surf wave. From what I’ve seen it creates a wave that can be ridden, but the Cobalt surf model throws a better wave. Like anything it’s about getting as much of the boat as you can creating max downward force to create the wave. The use the jets to help create the downward force along with shaping the wave since they are dual jet setups. You can make anything work for your purpose with the right mindset I suppose, but jet drive boat is on the bottom rung of my boat buying interest levels especially when the larger models push $100k.

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1 hour ago, Brew said:

This. They realign the jets to tune the wake in surf configuration along with a surf gate to create the surf wave. From what I’ve seen it creates a wave that can be ridden, but the Cobalt surf model throws a better wave. Like anything it’s about getting as much of the boat as you can creating max downward force to create the wave. The use the jets to help create the downward force along with shaping the wave since they are dual jet setups. You can make anything work for your purpose with the right mindset I suppose, but jet drive boat is on the bottom rung of my boat buying interest levels especially when the larger models push $100k.

So I just went to Boat Trader and did some half-assed comparisons. The Cobalt CS23, which seems to be the cheapest wake/surf boat they make is around $140K. A Yamaha 242X, which seems to be comparable in size and features is $79K list. That's almost double for the Cobalt, and I bet you could option it out and spend more. I guess the 80% rule for fishing boats applies here? (You buy the boat for how you plan to use it 80% of the time) If you're looking for a family runabout to pull a tube, or swim in a cove and maybe surf a little bit, the Yamaha probably works. If you're a serious surfer, you need to come up with more money than I spent on my first house?(or finance it as long as a house) I know, used is an option, boat clubs yada yada. I'm not pissing in anyone's Cheerios, just interesting to lean about a style of boat I know little about. 

Also, I'll never bitch about the price of skiffs again. 

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17 minutes ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

So I just went to Boat Trader and did some half-assed comparisons. The Cobalt CS23, which seems to be the cheapest wake/surf boat they make is around $140K. A Yamaha 242X, which seems to be comparable in size and features is $79K list. That's almost double for the Cobalt, and I bet you could option it out and spend more. I guess the 80% rule for fishing boats applies here? (You buy the boat for how you plan to use it 80% of the time) If you're looking for a family runabout to pull a tube, or swim in a cove and maybe surf a little bit, the Yamaha probably works. If you're a serious surfer, you need to come up with more money than I spent on my first house?(or finance it as long as a house) I know, used is an option, boat clubs yada yada. I'm not pissing in anyone's Cheerios, just interesting to lean about a style of boat I know little about. 

Also, I'll never bitch about the price of skiffs again. 

I’m not recommending the Cobalt to wake surf, I was making the statement that an I/O throws an equivalent/better wake than the Yamaha if you’re not looking at a vdrive. There is nothing comparable between those two either from a quality standpoint or a resale standpoint or most any standpoint really in my opinion. If I want to go run the lakes/rivers and surf occasionally and not buy a vdrive, I’m looking for a used a Cobalt over a jet drive boat.

However, if you’re buying new and want a wakesurf boat you shouldn’t be looking at either one. Go look at Axis, Mastercraft NXT series, etc which can all be bought brand new for under $100K. You can find new NXT’s right now for $75k, but it’s going to be a budget wake boat.

Edit: Actually, I would recommend anything over a jet drive boat outside of certain circumstances. I’m sure they have improved their ability for the back end to hold in place, but historically the tail would wag the dog if pulling much of anything behind it. The concept of a jet drive recreational boat is something that has never made sense to me. At one point they were at a price point where they competed with lower end I/O’s but the price has jumped substantially. I would take an NXT20 over one all day, every day, and twice on Sunday. Like everything, boats are all personal opinion though.

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Looks to me like you can pick up an NXT20 for under $80k. There were a bunch a few weeks ago, but it looks like the numbers have dropped. I’m not sure what Hull it was based on or if it was a new design, but I’ve heard good things from an entry level standpoint. I think there are some weighting issues from a wake standpoint and it needs ballast because it doesn’t have the overall weight of the bigger boats like the old 205/X-1 line. A20’s are pretty similar in pricing although I think better optioned. You are paying some dollars for the MC name with the NXT.

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Caught another spider in my web. I flashed my lights at them so they didnt hit me but they caught the rest of the sandbar. I yelled at them to go farther offshore. This is the 6th person I have witnessed run aground here. New people dont research shit and it keeps me gruntled. d84c0dd7293a8ce7fa9dbe5e134fc2bd.jpg

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