# Swiss Army Skiff - Tavernier 17



## THX1138 (Dec 20, 2016)

Sweet ride for sure!

Lou


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## JET4 (Jul 14, 2014)

Very nice


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## privateer (Dec 6, 2013)

Thanks.

I was looking for a skiff with the following criteria -
- well constructed, easy to service, good wiring
- light enough for me to handle solo in and out of the water and fits in my garage
- skinny enough for flood tide reds
- stable enough for my 80 year old dad or my grandkids to fish with enough room to fish “in” vs “on”
- a front deck to fly fish from (the lip is nice and keeps the fly line in or there’s enough room to use a stripping bucket.
- push pole holders, trolling motor, and ladder that are removable leaving the deck and gunnels clear
- rod holders on the gunnels to be able to troll for kings off the beach in the summertime, including holding a downrigger.
- easy cleanup

I wanted a boat that if you were thinking about going fishing for a couple of hours on the spur of the moment, you wouldn’t hesitate because it was too much a hassle to get ready or to clean up afterwards.
Some of the reasons above are why I ruled out a bay boat. My dad has a Pathfinder and with it being stored at a storage yard we don’t use it as much.


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## Guest (Aug 5, 2018)

Congrats, I really like to sorta old school look!


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## NativeBone (Aug 16, 2017)

Nice! The bow kind of reminds me a little of the panga.


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## G McC (May 16, 2018)

Very well thought out!

Looks like it would be my ideal boat as I have the same needs, skinny enough for flood tide reds but able to run the beach for Kings, Tarpon, etc. Where do the other passengers sit? Saturday sand bar trips are how I justify having a boat as I am the only one who really loves to fish so I need comfy place for mama to sit. What model ladder fits on the TM quick release, could you post a close up of it on there?


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## eightwt (May 11, 2017)

Also the boat I would love to have as your criteria matches mine pretty well. Awesome boat. Had it any rough water yet? Did you consider a tiller? What's a base hull price, if I might ask? Again, well done.


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## privateer (Dec 6, 2013)

G McC
I’ll look the ladder over and let you know. I know it’s different than the one tjtfishon has. And the bracket that mates to the motor guide quick release bracket was custom made by Ankona’s fabricator. I’ll try to post pics in a day or two. 
The livewell seat behind the console is relatively narrow. It’s roomy for one. Two is possible but tight. I have a yeti 45 with a cushion in front of the console that two could share. Realistically it’s a 2-3 person boat. 4 for the sandbar. I wanted one rated for 4 for the one or two times a year I may carry a fourth.

Eightwt
I haven’t had it in rough water yet. I know it’s not a bay or offshore boat and I don’t have unrealistic expectations for it. I spend a lot of time fishing near shore, especially for kings. This summer we did it in a 19’ Panga including fishing the Jax kingfish tournament in brutal conditions. The Tavernier doesn’t have the weight or the length to regularly fish that those kind of seas. I’m expecting to use it it for running the beach or for reefs and live bottom within 5-7 miles on good calm days. I also am coming from a Beavertail BTX that floated in 5”-6”. I know that at least 85% - 90% of the time I can live with 7”-8” for our flood tides and wintertime low tides here in Jax so it will work. 
I didn’t consider a tiller. My Custom Gheenoe LT 25 is a tiller so I have the luxury of another skiff and wanted a more comfortable long range setup for this one.
As far as price goes, please contact Ankona. I think the base price starts at <$18k and goes up from there depending on motor, trailer, options, etc. I added quite a few options and also, had them install and wire extras that I provided (trolling motor, Simrad, power pole, battery charger, etc.)

Is it perfect? Of course not. There’s always something in hindsight that you wish you would have done a little differently or that you wish you would have thought over more or talked over a little more with the builders. The hull is hand laid. And the finish is practical, a rolled finish cap. I knew that going into it. Overall I’m very happy with the product and feel like I got a very good deal for the cost.

I also can’t say enough good things about the folks at Ankona. Mel is a great boat designer with an engineering background and Rory knows his stuff and runs a good shop. Erin and Rose run the front end of the business and are always very helpful. If you’re even remotely interested in the Tavernier I recommend you give them a call.


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## G McC (May 16, 2018)

Thanks!


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## Shadowcast16 (Mar 5, 2017)

Beautiful build!!! Perfect!


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## Shadowcast16 (Mar 5, 2017)

Beautiful build!!! Perfect!


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## Finn Maccumhail (Apr 9, 2010)

That’s a slick set up man. I like it. What’s the beam on it? As said before it definitely has the Panga feel with the bow or the high bow aluminum skiffs so common in South Louisiana.


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## privateer (Dec 6, 2013)

Finn Maccumhail said:


> That’s a slick set up man. I like it. What’s the beam on it? As said before it definitely has the Panga feel with the bow or the high bow aluminum skiffs so common in South Louisiana.


The beam is 68” so it’s a relatively narrow skiff. But the combination of the open layout and the stable bottom configuration actually feels like bigger cockpit than my old BTX and other skiffs I’ve been in with 70”-72” beams

And since I spent a lot of time in a 19’ Panga this summer I’m really familiar with the feel of one and the similarities and the differences between the Tavernier and the Panga. I have to admit I waffled back and forth between the Panga and the Tavernier for a couple of weeks and could have been happy with either one. (Including getting input from you - thank you btw). In the end I went with the lighter easier to handle boat for me. If I still had kids at home or the percentage of time I spend near shore vs inshore were a little different I may have gone with the Panga 18.


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## eightwt (May 11, 2017)

Thanks


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## Shadowcast (Feb 26, 2008)

It came out looking real nice! Congrats!


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## oysterhsdr (Feb 21, 2017)

Man that is a cool boat, congrats and have fun with it!


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## Finn Maccumhail (Apr 9, 2010)

privateer said:


> The beam is 68” so it’s a relatively narrow skiff. But the combination of the open layout and the stable bottom configuration actually feels like bigger cockpit than my old BTX and other skiffs I’ve been in with 70”-72” beams
> 
> And since I spent a lot of time in a 19’ Panga this summer I’m really familiar with the feel of one and the similarities and the differences between the Tavernier and the Panga. I have to admit I waffled back and forth between the Panga and the Tavernier for a couple of weeks and could have been happy with either one. (Including getting input from you - thank you btw). In the end I went with the lighter easier to handle boat for me. If I still had kids at home or the percentage of time I spend near shore vs inshore were a little different I may have gone with the Panga 18.


Cool.

The 18' panga I have is a great boat. There are only a couple minor things I'd tweak right now. My issue with it is that, as a compromise boat, it's not quite what I need. If I lived in Florida I probably wouldn't be working on my project skiff (which I need to update with pics here).

Reason being that, in my experience, in most of FL you don't truly need a boat that can run in less than 12" or have a true 6-7" poling draft. I'm sure there are areas but where I've been it's not necessary (this includes most of the Panhandle from Pensacola around to St. Mark's, the Tampa area, some areas in the Keys, and the Indian River between Titusville & Sebastian Inlet). Here in Texas you really do need to have a boat which can do that unless you're able to get to a flat you can effectively wade, and even then tons of places you can't wade without sinking to your crotch in muck.

So my plan is to finish my microskiff project ('79 Banana River) that's only 15' and will float super skinny and then trade in the 18' panga or sell it and get a 22' panga.


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## privateer (Dec 6, 2013)

The second shake down cruise and engine break in trip in the Tavernier 17 was a success. Spec’d and set the skiff up to be super stable and efficient and to be able to fish and run both skinny water and the beach on good days in search of fish. Mission accomplished for all objectives today including that all important first fish - a small legal trout on fly. We couldn’t find any tarpon willing to play today so we had to settle for sharks.

Trip 1 - break in. Ran 55.5 miles (mostly @<3000-4000 rpm) and burned 5 gallons of gas =11.1 mpg.
Trip 2 - break in and fishing. Ran 27.5 miles and burned 3.5 miles = 7.85 mpg

The T17 handles the beach well. It was relatively nice in the ocean 1’-2’ ground swells with the occasional 3’ swell. Closer to the beach and running through the inlet we ran through a lot of wind and cross chop over the beach and inlet bars. It’s not a deep v and it’s a small shorter boat so you have to be aware and adjust for swell height and speed when you’re running. Otherwise the relatively flat bottom will quickly remind you of its limitations. Also with the engine set up to be able to jump up on plane immediately and run skinny, you’re limited on how high you can trim the bow up to run more on the rear of the skiff in the seas and chop.

Overall I’m pretty pleased with how it performed and my friend who fished with me today and runs charters out of a 19’ Panga was favorably impressed.


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## Salt of the Water (Feb 26, 2018)

Do you have an extra TM plug in the back so you can run the TM on either end of the boat? I flip-flopped back and forth when rigging my panga on whether I should set up a stern quick mount and extra battery plug. I still might, but so far the TM on the bow hasn't been enough of an aggravation to make me rig it up.


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## privateer (Dec 6, 2013)

Salt of the Water said:


> Do you have an extra TM plug in the back so you can run the TM on either end of the boat? I flip-flopped back and forth when rigging my panga on whether I should set up a stern quick mount and extra battery plug. I still might, but so far the TM on the bow hasn't been enough of an aggravation to make me rig it up.


I thought about having Ankona add the extra plug but decided to pass. The main goal was to have a clean low profile quick release system for the ladder and also be able to store the TM out of the way in case I wanted a clean bow. After having fly fished from the bow, the TM is really out of the way for a right hander. A left hander might want the TM stored away. BTW there's also plenty of room on the front deck for the angler and a stripping bucket.


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## Jorgerivadeneira (Aug 7, 2019)

Do you know the full weight of boat motor trailer ?


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## privateer (Dec 6, 2013)

Jorgerivadeneira said:


> Do you know the full weight of boat motor trailer ?



Sorry I do not.


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