# Opinions on skimmer skiff 14



## Lagoonnewb (Apr 16, 2017)

I am about 95% sure that this will be my first skiff. Having not been on one I'm looking for opinions on one. Have a buddy that is close to getting his finished and he is raving about it.

How do they track, and how stable are they? I will be fishing the central Florida lagoon systems so having a shallow draft is a must they claim 6 inches with motor and fuel. I know the boat will be somewhat wet and that isn't a huge concern of mine.


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## D. C. Ward (Oct 26, 2015)

Man I love mine, it is wet but after you run it for a bit you'll figure out ways to stay a little drier. It poles pretty good I guess it's my first skiff so I don't have anything to compare it to but it stays relatively straight and doesn't wear you out. its as stable as one would expect from such a narrow boat.


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## Brandon Spina (Apr 26, 2017)

Lagoonnewb said:


> I am about 95% sure that this will be my first skiff. Having not been on one I'm looking for opinions on one. Have a buddy that is close to getting his finished and he is raving about it.
> 
> How do they track, and how stable are they? I will be fishing the central Florida lagoon systems so having a shallow draft is a must they claim 6 inches with motor and fuel. I know the boat will be somewhat wet and that isn't a huge concern of mine.


I have one and it is a fantastic boat, handles amazing. I'm selling it unfortunately, looking for something a bit bigger.


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## permitchaser (Aug 26, 2013)

D. C. Ward said:


> Man I love mine, it is wet but after you run it for a bit you'll figure out ways to stay a little drier. It poles pretty good I guess it's my first skiff so I don't have anything to compare it to but it stays relatively straight and doesn't wear you out. its as stable as one would expect from such a narrow boat.


Man that's an understatement. Of course a 14' skiff poles great.


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## CPurvis (Apr 6, 2016)

So did you order one? I am about to place my order for one this Tuesday after I give it a wet test.


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## Lagoonnewb (Apr 16, 2017)

CPurvis said:


> So did you order one? I am about to place my order for one this Tuesday after I give it a wet test.


I actually did not, I found a used ankona native for sale local to me that I got at a steal of a price. I couldn't pass it up so I jumped at it


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## Backcountry 16 (Mar 15, 2016)

Lagoonnewb said:


> I actually did not, I found a used ankona native for sale local to me that I got at a steal of a price. I couldn't pass it up so I jumped at it


Did you get a 14 or 17? I am building a shadowcast and considered the 14 suv.


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## Lagoonnewb (Apr 16, 2017)

Backcountry 16 said:


> Did you get a 14 or 17? I am building a shadowcast and considered the 14 suv.


I got a 14, I've had some motor problems with what came with it so I've only had it on the water a few times but I've got the motor squared away so I should be good to go. Had to order replacement parts for the smart tabs so Sunday should be a good time for me to test everything out. The few times I did take it out it was great, fast and handled great, surprisingly very dry in a chop. I'm very happy with it.


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## CPurvis (Apr 6, 2016)

So finally took the trip from Panama City to Sanford to wet test the skimmer 14. Let me say from the start Bobby at Skimmer Skiffs has been awesome to work with. He always answers the phone and is always willing to answer any questions. So anyway my wet test of the 14.6 turned into an all day trip on mosquito lagoon with a friend of his. I was able to see all that this little skiff could do. It poles well with a very stable platform. We poled through some pretty skinny stuff. A storm started to pop up and it handled the chop very well for a 14 ft poling skiff. I was sitting on a yeti cooler on the bow while running through some pretty nasty chop and never felt uncomfortable. With a 25 Suzuki 4stroke and 2people we were running around 30mph. 
I like how you have alot of options when building this boat. Such as you can keep it simple with the rolled deck or go with a nicer fit and finish with a molded deck. I am definitely looking forward to my build. Nice to see customer service isn't dead.


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## CPurvis (Apr 6, 2016)

I hope the OP doesn't mind I'm going to keep this thread going even though he didn't buy a skimmer skiff. I don't want to start a new one if one already exists.


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## Lagoonnewb (Apr 16, 2017)

Don't mind at all, it hard of similar great experiences from skimmer skiff, Bobby really does listen to the customers wants. I would buy one if I didn't come across the deal I found


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## Backcountry 16 (Mar 15, 2016)

Lagoonnewb said:


> Don't mind at all, it hard of similar great experiences from skimmer skiff, Bobby really does listen to the customers wants. I would buy one if I didn't come across the deal I found


What did you pick up


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## Lagoonnewb (Apr 16, 2017)

Backcountry 16 said:


> What did you pick up


Found a used ankona native 14.8 with a 30hp 2 stroke for 5700$ it's a bad ass skiff


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