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2 hours ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

Sabine is a cool boat and Brian Little is a cool dude. They are a little heavy because they are made of aluminum, but they seem to perform well and they're damn near indestructible. I like that they are made in Texas. It makes warranty work or just getting upgrades done easier. You can probably get a used one around $50K or less. No reason you couldn't flounder gig with a light setup, but you'd want it to be removeable. I'd stick with the Versatile, the Micro is going to be like trying to stand up in a canoe. 

The used skiff market in Texas is tough. There aren't that many around, and they sell pretty fast. Don't be afraid to drive to Florida for the right boat. 

This is a sweet Hell's Bay Waterman for sale in Fla. It's not a tunnel, but like I said, not sure you really need one in POC. 

https://www.microskiff.com/threads/waterman-18-for-sale.100803/

Here's a Maverick HPX T for sale in S. Padre. If I was in the market, I'd have already bought it. They stopped making the T (tunnel) model in 2016, so this is the last year. This is a proven hull for Texas, and Maverick is the same company that makes Pathfinder, so you know the quality. It's a little above your number, but it's been for sale a while. I think he started at $62,000. Maybe he'll work with you? 

https://www.microskiff.com/threads/2016-maverick-17-hpx-t-tunnel.103473/#post-996098

 

Goddammit. I REALLY want that Maverick.  Dropped the price to $56,500 today.  I'm not quite ready, but I don't know that I can afford to wait.

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1 minute ago, Ojo Rojo said:

Goddammit. I REALLY want that Maverick.  Dropped the price to $56,500 today.  I'm not quite ready, but I don't know that I can afford to wait.

yea, if I wasn't recovering financially from a divorce this spring I'd have probably bought it and then sold my Hell's Bay after the fact. It's a really sweet boat. 

Just now, Pescado_Rojo said:

yea, if I wasn't recovering financially from a divorce this spring I'd have probably bought it and then sold my Hell's Bay after the fact. It's a really sweet boat. 

That ice blue is f'n gorgeous. 

1 minute ago, fattyflattie said:

That ice blue is f'n gorgeous. 

yea. Pretty much my favorite color for the Mavericks. A buddy of mine found a brand new one just like it sitting at a dealer in S. Carolina in late 2019, and hopped in the truck that day to drive over and get it. Got a smokin deal on it in the pre-covid times. I like the powder coated aluminum on this one. I'd have a front platform made to match, probably get rid of the power pole (weight) and have a back rest made for it. I'd also spruce up the trailer with some nicer wheels. 

10 minutes ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

I like the powder coated aluminum on this one.

I like it too, but after a few years of towing, it's a battle to keep new.  Bugs and rocks do a number on powder. 

Just now, Pescado_Rojo said:

Marquesa is their Tarpon boat. Too much V for redfishing in Texas. You want a Pro or a Waterman. 

My dream would be a Pro like the one I posted a few pages back.  But it would probably take several steps for me to step down to a true technical skiff, unless it was a second boat.  I've been spoiled by a big, fast, chop crushing Pad V for far too long.  I'm pretty certain I can never go back to a tunnel as the only boat.  

2 hours ago, fattyflattie said:

My dream would be a Pro like the one I posted a few pages back.  But it would probably take several steps for me to step down to a true technical skiff, unless it was a second boat.  I've been spoiled by a big, fast, chop crushing Pad V for far too long.  I'm pretty certain I can never go back to a tunnel as the only boat.  

Here's you a sweet second boat so you can keep your big, fast Pad V

https://www.microskiff.com/threads/2007-gordon-waterman-16.100672/

22 minutes ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

Here's you a sweet second boat so you can keep your big, fast Pad V

https://www.microskiff.com/threads/2007-gordon-waterman-16.100672/

Man, no floor to reduce weight is dedication.  Interesting on the glass keelguard, especially if put on by Young (high quality shit) Looks out of place on such a sweet hull but its purpose driven I guess.

What do the non-tunnel skiffs draw on step?  At the end of the day, you still have ~12" of prop and skeg (unless you're surface piercing, which would be terrible for a fishing prop)   Similar to mine, if I jack up on 6 and bury the bow with the tabs, I can run thru shit that is scary (in the sense that if I fuck up, I'm there for awhile) but no chance I'm stopping under my own volition.  I'll use it to cross shallow entrances or cuts into lakes if there's a really hot bite in there.  But typically I stop deep and ease in somewhere, or troll motor in.    But at the end of the day, I'm still swinging 16" of steel down there and that just limits what you can do without a tunnel. I can run all day on 6 without losing pressure or getting hot though, and had the motor lifted 2 holes from when I got it. 

 

1 hour ago, fattyflattie said:

Man, no floor to reduce weight is dedication.  Interesting on the glass keelguard, especially if put on by Young (high quality shit) Looks out of place on such a sweet hull but its purpose driven I guess.

What do the non-tunnel skiffs draw on step?  At the end of the day, you still have ~12" of prop and skeg (unless you're surface piercing, which would be terrible for a fishing prop)   Similar to mine, if I jack up on 6 and bury the bow with the tabs, I can run thru shit that is scary (in the sense that if I fuck up, I'm there for awhile) but no chance I'm stopping under my own volition.  I'll use it to cross shallow entrances or cuts into lakes if there's a really hot bite in there.  But typically I stop deep and ease in somewhere, or troll motor in.    But at the end of the day, I'm still swinging 16" of steel down there and that just limits what you can do without a tunnel. I can run all day on 6 without losing pressure or getting hot though, and had the motor lifted 2 holes from when I got it. 

 

Tabs down and motor trimmed out, probably 7-8 inches with the right prop (heavy cupped and swept 3 blade). With a low water pickup and a JP and cav plate, maybe a little better. That hull probably floats in 3" empty, so you could shut it down and walk it or poll it over really skinny bars. 

Holy shit those skiff prices are insane. You can buy a pretty decent offshore boat with bedrooms, bathrooms and galley for a fairly small multiple of that price. Damn.

12 minutes ago, justhookit said:

Holy shit those skiff prices are insane. You can buy a pretty decent offshore boat with bedrooms, bathrooms and galley for a fairly small multiple of that price. Damn.

625# of carbon/Kevlar layup doesn’t go as far as it used to…

34 minutes ago, justhookit said:

Holy shit those skiff prices are insane. You can buy a pretty decent offshore boat with bedrooms, bathrooms and galley for a fairly small multiple of that price. Damn.

A new Chittum 18 is pushing $100K with a 60. South Austin Marine has a Maverick HPX-S in stock they have listed at $92K with a Yamaha 70. That's at least $10K over list, but they have it available today, no wait.

Skiff build times are out over a year in some shops because the 50-70 HP motors are seriously backordered from all vendors. Buddy of mine is building a new East Cape Evo-X and the hull has been done for 5 months. Tohatsu USA is getting 36 60s in November and he's number 36 on the wait list. 

1 minute ago, justhookit said:

Good grief. I no longer believe offshore boats are overpriced.

I paid $16K for my 1999 Hell's Bay in 2004. The same build ordered new today would be $62K with a 1 year wait time. A boat exactly like mine (same year model, same engine) recently sold in Fla for $32K. I spent about $10K on mine in 2017 on a repower, rewire, and new trailer so I've got $26K in it over 18 years. Crazy to think I could sell it tomorrow and make money on it. 

10 minutes ago, justhookit said:

Good grief. I no longer believe offshore boats are overpriced.

I wouldn’t go that far. My BIL had a 34 (iirc) Yellowfin as a regular guy, about 20 years ago.  That boat is now well into 400’s USED. You have Freeman’s well past a million and getting close to 2.  Saw a wake boat at boat show ~3-4 years ago for 325k.     Boats are overpriced, across the board. 

I paid $16K for my 1999 Hell's Bay in 2004. The same build ordered new today would be $62K with a 1 year wait time. A boat exactly like mine (same year model, same engine) recently sold in Fla for $32K. I spent about $10K on mine in 2017 on a repower, rewire, and new trailer so I've got $26K in it over 18 years. Crazy to think I could sell it tomorrow and make money on it. 

Pic below is of a near identical sled to the one I had built. Mines an 09 with a 4stk , better upholstery, and overall cleaner imo. I paid less than he’s asking - brand new, 0 hours, custom spec’d. Knock on wood but only real $$ I’ve spent on it has been batteries, tires, and fresh props. It’s kept with an open checkbook, but thankfully it remains in the drawer for the most part. When it comes time, it’ll probably get a repower/refresh with a 400/450R. Ironically that outboard will cost more that I originally paid for the whole rig.


2c29db654594ddb46fdcb8ad5b9a2a70.jpg


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4 minutes ago, fattyflattie said:


Pic below is of a near identical sled to the one I had built. Mines an 09 with a 4stk , better upholstery, and overall cleaner imo. I paid less than he’s asking - brand new, 0 hours, custom spec’d. Knock on wood but only real $$ I’ve spent on it has been batteries, tires, and fresh props. It’s kept with an open checkbook, but thankfully it remains in the drawer for the most part. When it comes time, it’ll probably get a repower/refresh with a 400/450R. Ironically that outboard will cost more that I originally paid for the whole rig.


2c29db654594ddb46fdcb8ad5b9a2a70.jpg


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Those are pretty sweet. I've always liked those and the Tran XLR8 21 LS. @Kyrie Eleison and I have a buddy that fished a Tran for a while. We were fishing with him one day, and I happened to look over and we were doing 65, and I probably could have stood up and walked to the bow it was so smooth. 

7 minutes ago, fattyflattie said:

I wouldn’t go that far. My BIL had a 34 (iirc) Yellowfin as a regular guy, about 20 years ago.  That boat is now well into 400’s USED. You have Freeman’s well past a million and getting close to 2.  Saw a wake boat at boat show ~3-4 years ago for 325k.     Boats are overpriced, across the board. 

Oh for sure. I should have said used sportfish/flybridge boats. They don’t look that bad in comparison since they are basically a floating condo that can also fish. When this boat was purchased 10 years ago someone I know had also just bought a downtown condo in Austin (for much more) and got on it and was like shit, this is nicer than my condo. The center console market is nuts considering you get few or almost no amenities. I’ll take my a/c, kitchen, couches, flat screen, toilets, shower, and beds thank you very much. 

5 minutes ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

Those are pretty sweet. I've always liked those and the Tran XLR8 21 LS. @Kyrie Eleison and I have a buddy that fished a Tran for a while. We were fishing with him one day, and I happened to look over and we were doing 65, and I probably could have stood up and walked to the bow it was so smooth. 

The Tran 21LS, 24HO sit down, and this were the 3 finalists.  I like Tran, was closer to palacios than Aransas, etc. but the extra oomph this one has sold me. At the time, SCB stingrays were only about 5k more, but I was coming out of a shallow water cat and said fuuuuck that.  Im also just not a fan. Add to that, at the time, Coulter was outrunning them because they’d scatter for the shoreline and he’d let his eat shit across the bay.  When I demo’d his (mine was #4) only he and his partner Kevin A had them, and one other guy (obv). We took off across a decently chopped up bay. It was eating it up. He looked over at me and just pushed the throttle down. It smoothed out even more as we got into the 60’s and I said, here’s a check.  He was the only sales man to compliment other brands and not dog anybody else’s boat.  I thought that was cool.  It’s been a great boat, it’s fishy, and does most everything I’ve asked it to. 

20 minutes ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

Those are pretty sweet. I've always liked those and the Tran XLR8 21 LS. @Kyrie Eleison and I have a buddy that fished a Tran for a while. We were fishing with him one day, and I happened to look over and we were doing 65, and I probably could have stood up and walked to the bow it was so smooth. 

One of my tournament regulars is this extremely smart aggy. I know. Anyhow, as book and engineering smart as he is, he lacks any single bit of common sense. One time we were going to have a photo finish for a weigh in.  We heading back to POC from Quarantine shoreline area and fucking getting it. All gear to the back, had the perfect trim and were so far back on the pad it felt just about uncomfortable. It was dialed to where it was going back and forth on a tenth of a mph, right around 71 mph. We had been that way for probably 5-6 mins on the west end of the ditch after we crossed SAB. This dude figures, fuck it, I need some sunscreen right NOW and can’t wait 9 minutes to make it to the fishing center, and walks towards the bow.  A pad V aired out isn’t meant to have a major weight shift near the bow.  Fucking aggy. We made it (barely)but new rule is he has to be touching rocket launcher/seats at all times.  

Edited by fattyflattie

6 minutes ago, troph said:

He had me at moon dust … and under $50k. 

Yeah so the Rybovich needs to come down A LOT in price. It’s beautiful though. One day . . .
And that boat just caught 30 blue marlin on a 2 day trip. Wish we could run out for an overnight on my boat right now but I don’t want to do it while it’s on the market. 

2 minutes ago, justhookit said:

Yeah so the Rybovich needs to come down A LOT in price. It’s beautiful though. One day . . .
And that boat just caught 30 blue marlin on a 2 day trip. Wish we could run out for an overnight on my boat right now but I don’t want to do it while it’s on the market. 

Nuts, what do they want? 

1 minute ago, troph said:

Nuts, what do they want? 

For now it’s not listed but when they do the captain said it’s probably going to be right around a million. Hopefully the market keeps crashing. I didn’t have my phone when I got on it yesterday but I’ll go grab some pics soon.

Picked up the new X3 on Friday.  I was pretty excited to get the boat on the water, but we got a good weather window Saturday am to run out for a quick snapper limit and took the Bertram.  Fished cleaning fish around 2:00 and FINALLY got the new rig in the water around 3.  Fished/ran the boat Saturday afternoon.  I’m tremendously impressed with the build quality and fishability of the boat.  We upgraded from a 2002 Majek 20V with a 135 Yamaha (light, and relatively quick out of the hole - TWSS), which is for sale.  

 

The X3 went everywhere we would take the Majek and had no issues with hole shots in 12 inches.  The boat is smooth as shit in chop and dry as a bone.  The way the boat turns takes a bit to get used to.  It’s hard to describe, but there’s no banking in the turn, the boat just pivots.  With the 400R, the boat ran 50 mph at 5800 RPM with 1.8 mpg.  At 30/3800 we were getting close to 3 mpg, which I thought was outstanding.   Can’t wait to get back on it.

7 hours ago, justhookit said:

For now it’s not listed but when they do the captain said it’s probably going to be right around a million. Hopefully the market keeps crashing. I didn’t have my phone when I got on it yesterday but I’ll go grab some pics soon.

2000 hatteras SFY with a dive compressor for $900k - cocos is off the Costa Rica coast. 

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Ch2Is35jHpv/?igshid=ODBkMDk1MTU=

10 hours ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

A new Chittum 18 is pushing $100K with a 60. South Austin Marine has a Maverick HPX-S in stock they have listed at $92K with a Yamaha 70. That's at least $10K over list, but they have it available today, no wait.

Skiff build times are out over a year in some shops because the 50-70 HP motors are seriously backordered from all vendors. Buddy of mine is building a new East Cape Evo-X and the hull has been done for 5 months. Tohatsu USA is getting 36 60s in November and he's number 36 on the wait list. 

Best bet right now is keeping any eye on the dealers that sell what you want and finding something that someone else backed out on when it came in. I’ve seen some really good deals on new boats (at least when compared to used) because people aren’t walking in to buy off the floor because everyone is ordering and waiting. It just hasn’t been anything I’m looking for. Financing is going to have changed a lot since people ordered 6/12/18/24 months ago, so it will be interesting to see what happens with inventory. Used boats have slowed quite a bit too in the markets I pay attention to. Some of that is time of year where I’m looking, but some has to be price related and market related. The toy market is going to be interesting with the Fed pushing rates a projected 2-3 more times this year.

Edited to add: Checked the dealer I have used for the last few boats, they have 7 Scouts sitting on the floor right now. I haven’t seen one on the floor in 2 years. I’m not buying one, but it is a change.

Edited by Brew

Tied up some Slumpbusters. Now I just need to get out and actually fish.

10a7a024496016395345deb7248324f6.jpg66620840cbca84166ae9a166c1a2fc4c.jpg

4 minutes ago, crash_davis said:

http://www.ankonaboats.com/native

Had this boat for a few years and sold it. I think in 2011 was around $12K. Now the same boat is $27K. Fucking hell.

Anyway, GREAT boat. It's not a Hells Bay but it's still a great boat considering the price.

I always thought the Cayenne would be a good Texas skiff. 

http://www.ankonaboats.com/cayenne

10 minutes ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

I always thought the Cayenne would be a good Texas skiff. 

http://www.ankonaboats.com/cayenne

I stopped following them awhile back but they made the Shadowcast for Texas inshore. Back in 2011ish, you could get a new tiller Shadowcast for about $8K. They seemed to have stopped making them, not sure why. I see a few used on sale in FL for $10K with console steering. If I were in the market to buy a poling skiff, I'd look at getting a used Shadowcast or Native 17'. Great boats for the money.

Edited by crash_davis

1 minute ago, crash_davis said:

I stopped following them awhile back but they made the Shadowcast for Texas inshore. Back in 2011ish, you could get a new tiller Shadowcast for about $8K. They seemed to have stopped making them, not sure why. I see a few on sale in FL for $10K for console steering. If I were in the market to buy a poling skiff, I'd look at getting a used Shadowcast or Native 17'. Great boats for the money.

The Shadowcast is too narrow for my liking. I wouldn't buy anything with a 60" (or less) beam, but I'm 52 and 6'5", so I'm not exactly graceful. My cousin had an East Cape Glide for about 3 months, and he couldn't even stay on the platform without the sissy bar on the back to lean on. 

Picked up the new X3 on Friday.  I was pretty excited to get the boat on the water, but we got a good weather window Saturday am to run out for a quick snapper limit and took the Bertram.  Fished cleaning fish around 2:00 and FINALLY got the new rig in the water around 3.  Fished/ran the boat Saturday afternoon.  I’m tremendously impressed with the build quality and fishability of the boat.  We upgraded from a 2002 Majek 20V with a 135 Yamaha (light, and relatively quick out of the hole - TWSS), which is for sale.  
 
The X3 went everywhere we would take the Majek and had no issues with hole shots in 12 inches.  The boat is smooth as shit in chop and dry as a bone.  The way the boat turns takes a bit to get used to.  It’s hard to describe, but there’s no banking in the turn, the boat just pivots.  With the 400R, the boat ran 50 mph at 5800 RPM with 1.8 mpg.  At 30/3800 we were getting close to 3 mpg, which I thought was outstanding.   Can’t wait to get back on it.

Is this like yours? Twin 250s on this, listed at about $200k.

Had to pick up my not so sexy CC from the service dept today.

61496c35fd266ab80d6028d1315a1eef.jpg
18 hours ago, troph said:

2000 hatteras SFY with a dive compressor for $900k - cocos is off the Costa Rica coast. 

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Ch2Is35jHpv/?igshid=ODBkMDk1MTU=

The Viking and Hatteras market is dropping fast right now - basically any production boat unless it’s newish say less than 7 or 8 years - it’s an interesting time to be in the boat market.

Cocos is supposedly incredible. Never been it’s around 250 or 300 miles offshore if I remember right.

25 minutes ago, fattyflattie said:

70’ is ALOT of boat. Whew. 

I live large bro.* You should know that by now. 
 

* I’d prefer the skiffs rn though.

Edited by troph

32 minutes ago, troph said:

I live large bro.* You should know that by now. 
 

* I’d prefer the skiffs rn though.

Boats shrink fast on the water.  But listening to some friends that have owned several.  That extra 10-15’, a lot of times, is just more dock, more fuel, and more cleaning.  Especially if you are fishing close waters.  Of course if you have fuck you money, the difference between an 80 and 92 aren’t going to be noticed. But I’ve got more than one friend that’s done the 50 to 65 and back to 45-50 dance.  If you need a certain stateroom layout, certain power, etc it may be worth it. Or living aboard, long runs, etc. 

39 minutes ago, troph said:

I live large bro.* You should know that by now. 
 

* I’d prefer the skiffs rn though.

I'm in for tree fiddy...

sport-fishing-boat-with-skiff.jpg

2 hours ago, fattyflattie said:

Boats shrink fast on the water.  But listening to some friends that have owned several.  That extra 10-15’, a lot of times, is just more dock, more fuel, and more cleaning.  Especially if you are fishing close waters.  Of course if you have fuck you money, the difference between an 80 and 92 aren’t going to be noticed. But I’ve got more than one friend that’s done the 50 to 65 and back to 45-50 dance.  If you need a certain stateroom layout, certain power, etc it may be worth it. Or living aboard, long runs, etc. 

I've captained a 50 foot sailing cat, it was big enough, but not below deck. I actually think a 60 foot monohull sailing yacht is the perfect size. for fishing I don't think more is better.

 

 

Yeah I've been on 55'Viking  and 64' Garlington and to me there was negligible difference.  But I am hardly a good judge of anything other than drinking beer and reeling when told.

11 minutes ago, huge said:

Yeah I've been on 55'Viking  and 64' Garlington and to me there was negligible difference.  But I am hardly a good judge of anything other than drinking beer and reeling when told.

When you start living on them the beam and length does matter just like well you know. But for moving through the water and fishing - yeah size and beam not an issue once you reach a minimum size - other factors make comfort underway. For me the issue for living on one is having enough room to have a master cabin with a walk around king bed. I don’t need all the square footage but I do need my bed space. 

12 hours ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

I'm in for tree fiddy...

sport-fishing-boat-with-skiff.jpg

I’ll meet your next tree fiddy . Now, where’s the next 8.5m coming from? 


Is this like yours? Twin 250s on this, listed at about $200k.

Had to pick up my not so sexy CC from the service dept today.

61496c35fd266ab80d6028d1315a1eef.jpg

That looks like the 28’ X3 to me, which is legit a bay/offshore boat.


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15 hours ago, troph said:

When you start living on them the beam and length does matter just like well you know. But for moving through the water and fishing - yeah size and beam not an issue once you reach a minimum size - other factors make comfort underway. For me the issue for living on one is having enough room to have a master cabin with a walk around king bed. I don’t need all the square footage but I do need my bed space. 

This is that 65 foot cat I took a picture of the other night when the lighting was bad. That cradle at the stern is usually carrying a jet ski. It’s got outriggers and rod holders. I’ll go stick a sail up on top and then it will be perfect for you.

B52B6984-AFFF-4E94-9796-AA664FA8088A.jpeg

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